RICHMOND, Va., (Sept. 9, 2004) – On lap two of the Kroger 200 at Richmond International Raceway Square D driver Bobby Hamilton slid up the race track and hit the wall coming off turn four.  The Square D Racing Team worked overtime trying to help Hamilton’s crippled Dodge get the best finish possible.  Hamilton’s respectable 26th-place finish helped him keep the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points lead over Dennis Setzer.      

“I don’t know if I slipped in something out here or just hit the wall,” Hamilton said after the crash.  “The steering wheel still seems straight on it, but I know there is some damage to the rear.”  Immediately the team jumped on the wall waiting for Hamilton to bring his mangled Dodge into the pit stall. 

Crew Chief Danny Rollins was determined to get his driver in and out of the pits in a timely manner, so he asked Spotter Andy Dunlap to radio the team of where the pace truck was to ensure that Hamilton would exit pit road ahead of the field.  Hamilton pitted on lap three, lap five and again on lap seven so the team could pull out the sheet metal on the right rear tire, tape the deck lid down and change right side tires.   Hamilton restarted the race on lap 10 in 34th position, still on the lead lap. 

Ten laps later the second caution of the night came out.  Hamilton said the truck was really loose and for the team to double check the damage under the rear as something did not feel right.  Hamilton pitted on lap 25 and again on lap 27 so the team could replace the rear deck lid with a brand new one bolting it on the Dodge only seconds before Hamilton was forced to exit his pit stall to stay on the lead lap. 

The team continued to work on the Square D Dodge under the several cautions.  Hamilton said each time, “The truck is hopping around.  It feels like it is pulling the back wheels off the ground at times.  I don’t know if the rear shocks are bent or the rear clip is ruined, but it’s hard to handle.”  Rollins told the crew members to adjust the track bar, pull the rubbers out of the rear springs and close the left front shock down.  Each time the team continued to work on the deck lid smoothing tape across it to hold it in place. 

Hamilton’s muddled truck was a handful, but the veteran driver kept it out of the way all night and still managed to finish the race in 26th position.  He is the leader over Dennis Setzer by 57 points in the championship standings.  

“I just busted my tail,” Hamilton said. “They told me someone blew up in front of us, but I don’t know if that’s what happened or not. Regardless, I was trying to pass on the outside and I busted it. The team did a heck of a job. That truck is totaled out. The rear clip is knocked off. It’s broken on one side. I don’t know how we did what we did. They put a whole new bed cover on it. This team is prepared for whatever happens. On a bad night, we have to suffer a little bit, but on a good night, they worked and pulled us out of a hole. At one point we were running 33rd and we ended up 26th, so that’s pretty good.”

Ted Musgrave led the most laps and won the Kroger 200 at Richmond.  Jamie McMurray, Tony Stewart, Todd Bodine and Carl Edwards followed in the top five.