Bobby Hamilton is hoping his next NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start at Atlanta Motor Speedway is as good as his first one. Hamilton won the series inaugural race at AMS and has high hopes for this Friday’s John Deere 200 at the ultra-fast high banked quad-oval. Overall Hamilton has one win, two top-fives and three top-10’s in just three AMS NCTS starts.

Event:               John Deere 200 (130 laps-200 miles)
Location:          Atlanta Motor Speedway (1.54-Mile Quad-Oval)
Qualifying:         March 17th 5:10 PM ET
Race Start:        March 17th 9:15 PM ET Live on Speed

Bobby Hamilton on Atlanta Motor Speedway: “My favorite type of track is one like Atlanta. I like the fast race tracks, driver’s type of tracks. Atlanta speaks for itself in that, even when we ran Cup cars here. This is just a racy race track. I hope the fans look forward to the trucks coming to Atlanta. They know it’s going to be an all out effort for 200 miles. You'd probably see more lead changes in our 200-mile race than you'd ever seen in a 500-mile car race - and here in Atlanta, that's saying a whole lot. With the caliber of guys that we have behind the wheel of these NASCAR Craftsman Trucks and the caliber of manufacturers, we will put on a great show.”

Past Success at Atlanta: “Atlanta is usually a good race for us.  Often times I chose to run the high line during the race and my truck seems faster up there.  I don’t always think that is the case, but I’m sure I will try it again this time.  If it works, then I’ll use it.  If it doesn’t, then I’ll find another groove to race on.  I’m usually pretty simple when it comes to my racing.  I like the track and the speed that we have in Atlanta.  It makes a great race for the fans.  The last couple of years have been great endings in 2004 Mike (Skinner) and I raced each other clean, but went all out as hard as we could going for the win.  It was a great ending, no matter who won. In the spring last year we had Ron Hornaday Jr., Bobby Labonte and I all going for it at the very end. Last fall it was a bunch of folks going for the win and it was completely wild. I slid through the infield grass and still ended up with a 7th place finish, some folks weren’t so lucky.”

On owning and operating four NCTS teams: “I have a real stern business to run. I employee around 60 people with these four Dodge teams and I don't like any other kind of sport. I'm not a hunting guy or nothing. When 7 o'clock rolls around I'm in the shower, at 8 o'clock I walk in and help them unlock. Then at five or six o'clock at night I help them lock it up. I use the phone about three times a day in my office but most of the time I'm in the fab shop. That's the kind of owner I am and that's what I enjoy. It is a big commitment we make to our sponsors like Fastenal and Dodge. We know how much faith they have put in us and intend to carry out our part of the bargain."

Bobby Hamilton’s Atlanta NCTS statistics
Year           Start              Finish               Laps Led             $$$$$
2004              12                 1                    55                      $50,850
2005 (Spring) 36                 3                    6                        $21,975
2005 (Fall)      25                7                    0                         $14,375

In NASCAR Nextel Cup competition at Atlanta Motor Speedway Bobby Hamilton has 26 starts, completed 7866 laps totaling 12038.5 miles. He has five top-10 finishes with a career best 6th place finish on two different occasions-November 10, 1996 in the Petty Enterprises No. 43 STP Pontiac and on November 8, 1998 in the Kodak No. 4 Chevrolet. Hamilton has $857,475 in NASCAR Nextel Cup earnings at Atlanta.