In his 60th career start Square D driver Bobby Hamilton led 133 of 153 laps, stretching that lead to eight seconds at times, en route to winning the Built Ford Tough 225 at Kentucky Speedway. The series-leading win moved Hamilton up to second in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points battle; he is only six points behind leader Dennis Setzer.
“I wanted my eight seconds,” Hamilton said of his rocket-ship Dodge. “Even when I tried to slow down, that truck would still haul the mail. It amazed me. I slowed down a little in the middle of the race to let someone get near me, and once they did it only took a few laps to stretch the lead back out again. It was like a slot car on a kid’s racing track, stuck in the groove and moving.”
Hamilton smashed the track record previously held by Mike Bliss, who led 94 laps in 2002, by leading 133 laps, all but three competition laps. He also added his family name in the record books as the first father/son combo to win races at Kentucky Speedway (Hamilton Jr. won in 2003).
“Bobby Jr. told me a lot of stuff about this race track and how to drive it,” Hamilton said. “It helped me a lot talking to him; he’s been dominate every time he’s gone there. He’s only won one race, but mows the field every time. I turn to him because our driving styles are a lot alike. When I tried his ideas, I could run two or three tenths quicker. I never will tell what he said, not even to my teammate. I wouldn’t do that to myself. Somebody will figure it out soon enough.”
Hamilton dominated the race which started under yellow conditions due to rain. Dennis Setzer was credited for leading the first 11 laps. Then on lap 12, under green-flag conditions, Carl Edwards took the lead from Setzer. On lap 13 Hamilton ducked under Edwards in a smooth pass for first. He held this position until lap 146, through two flawless pit stops and slick maneuvers lapping the field up to the 16th position.
Then the fourth caution of the night came out on lap 137 when Terry Cook hit the wall. On lap 144 Hamilton restarted the race in first. Immediately he was pressured from second-place racer Jack Sprague when he spun the tires on the restart. Sprague took over the first spot on lap 146 then the next lap Rick Crawford spun through the grass bringing out the final caution.
The crowd jumped to their feet for the famous Craftsman Truck Series green-white-checkered flag finish. The race restarted on lap 151. Hamilton took the lead from Sprague holding him off to the finish line by 0.179 seconds and claimed his second win in only four starts.
“I never really got nervous on the final restart,” Hamilton said. “I didn’t really put a lot into Jack passing me before that. I thought to myself well I’ve led the most laps and if I finish second I’m still going to get the same points. He just got a run and I thought I’ve just got to push the gas pedal down on this restart. I messed up a little bit and that is the only reason he got by me the first time. I didn’t have a lot of confidence in my truck on dirty tires so I cleaned them up really well for the final restart. Sprague has got a lot more experience at green-white-checkered flag finishes than I do. I knew we wouldn’t have enough time to get up to speed, so I needed to do it right after the flag fell. I got up under him going in to turn one and just held it to the mat. That was all horsepower. Joey Arrington won that one for us.”
Following Hamilton at Kentucky Speedway was Jack Sprague, David Starr, Matt Crafton and Chad Chaffin in the top five respectively.
