NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competitor Bobby Hamilton Jr. found himself singing the old familiar country refrain “If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all” in Saturday night’s O’Reilly 200 at Memphis Motorsports Park.  Hamilton Jr. suffered a broken rear end gear while running in the top 10 on lap 93 of the 200 lap event.  Despite a valiant effort by his crew to repair his Fastenal Dodge, Hamilton Jr. was relegated to a 35th place finish. 

No. 18 Fastenal Dodge Race Review Memphis Motorsports Park

• Hamilton Jr. qualified his Fastenal Dodge in the 5th position.  Hamilton Jr. toured the Memphis Motorsports Park .75 mile circuit in 23.129 seconds which translates into 116.737mph.
• While running in the 5th position on lap 25, Hamilton Jr. radioed his crew and informed them that his Fastenal Dodge was “a little tight in the center of the corner.”
• Hamilton Jr. pitted under caution on lap 63 for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment – one and a half pound of air pressure in the left rear tire and one round up on the track bar.  He returned to the track in the sixth position.
• On a subsequent restart, Hamilton Jr. was trapped behind lap traffic and lost four positions.
• On lap 85, NASCAR officials ordered the Fastenal Dodge down pit road to inspect the rear end housing.  Finding no evidence of an oil leak, NASCAR reinstated Hamilton Jr. to the 10th position.
• On lap 93, Hamilton Jr. informed his crew that something was amiss with his Dodge, and on lap 97 he pulled his truck into the garage area for repairs.
• Hamilton Jr. returned to the race on lap 154 after his crew diligently worked to replace the rear end gear.

Jack Sprague won the O’Reilly 200 before an estimated crowd of 27,000, posting his 26th NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory. Erik Darnell, Matt Crafton, Ron Hornaday Jr. and Mike Bliss filled out the top-five.