When Bobby Hamilton qualified 10th for the Sylvania 200 race at the New Hampshire International Speedway, the team thought their luck had turned around.  Then just past the halfway mark of the race, Bailey’s driver Bobby Hamilton radioed on a restart that his transmission was out.  The team rallied back to fix the transmission in record time and Hamilton finished the 200-lap event in the 30th position.         

“We had a good start but were very free on restarts.  After a few laps the truck came around,” Hamilton said.  “Then with about 60 laps left, the transmission broke after a restart.  The guys fixed it and we picked up all we could there at the end.” 

No. 04 Bailey’s Dodge Sylvania 200 Recap

• Hamilton qualified 10th earlier in the day under dense clouds and moist, cool air.   
• By the first caution on lap 23 Hamilton had fallen back to the 17th position.  The Tennessee native said to his Crew Chief Danny Rollins, “At the start of the run it was so loose I couldn’t drive it and then 20 laps later it started getting tight in the middle.”
• The Bailey’s Dodge Racing Team made its first pit stop on lap 57 under the second caution.  The team made adjustments, taking cross out and pumping up tire pressure to help Hamilton’s tight-in-the-middle condition.
• Hamilton fell back to the 30th position on lap 62, but worked his way up to the 19th spot by the time the fourth caution came out on lap 78. 
• On lap 108 under the fifth caution of the afternoon, Hamilton was still fighting the same problem from the beginning and pitted once again.  The team gave him four fresh Goodyear Wrangler tires and a full load of Sunoco fuel and made adjustments by opening up the front shocks on his Bailey’s Dodge.
• On lap 128 the sixth caution came out, and Hamilton pitted for the final scheduled time.  The team made adjustments, added fuel and sent Hamilton back on the 1.058-mile oval in the 22nd position.
• On the restart on lap 133 Hamilton could not put his truck in gear.  So he radioed his Bailey’s Team telling them that the transmission had gone out of it while he pulled it into a garage stall.  The team quickly went to work fixing the torn up transmission and sent Hamilton back on the track 26 laps later on lap 159.
• Hamilton managed to pick up four more positions to finish the race in the 30th position.  He remains at sixth in the Championship points battle.

“The good thing about it is that we finished the race without a scratch on our truck,” Hamilton said.  “We have a quick turnaround this week before Las Vegas and we’re taking the same truck, so that is easier for us.  I’ve told my guys to keep their chins up because we’re building on winning races again…and everything we do will only help us next year.” 

 Rick Crawford won the Sylvania 200, the first win for Ford in over one year.  Dennis Setzer, Ted Musgrave, Clay Rogers and Ron Hornaday followed in the top five