Bobby Hamilton, Jr., driver of the No. 18 Fastenal Dodge, overcame damage from an early race crash and then barely survived a last lap melee on the way to a solid 13th place finish in the Toyota Tundra 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday afternoon.  Hamilton Jr. actually overcame a spate of adversity throughout the weekend, his Fastenal Dodge proved to be one of the fastest trucks during Friday’s practice session.  Unfortunately a right rear tire explosion caused his Dodge to careen out of control entering turn 3, slamming the outside retaining wall with the driver’s side and as a result his primary truck was destroyed.

No. 18 Fastenal Dodge Nashville Race Recap

 
• Despite not having the opportunity to turn a single practice lap in his backup truck, Hamilton Jr. qualified his Fastenal Dodge in 24th position.

• By lap 18 the No. 18 Dodge had moved up to 18th in the running order.

• Hamilton Jr. made his first pit stop on lap 24.  His Fastenal crew changed four tires, added fuel and raised the track bar one-half round in an attempt to free up the chassis.

• On the ensuing restart, a crash occurred on the backstretch and Hamilton Jr. was slammed from behind by another competitor.  He was forced to come down pit road on lap 27 for significant repairs to the rear of his Fastenal Dodge.

• When the next caution flag fell on lap 35, crew chief Danny Gill called Hamilton Jr. down pit road for fuel only.  He exited the pits in the 16th spot.

• On lap 74, Hamilton Jr. radioed that there was debris on the backstretch.  Two laps later, the caution flag flew and once again the Fastenal Dodge headed to the attention of the Bobby Hamilton Racing crew for four tires and fuel.  Hamilton Jr. restarted in the 12th position.

• When the caution flag unfurled again on lap 11, Gill elected to bring Hamilton Jr. to pit road for his last set of new “sticker” tires.  The Fastenal crew executed a flawless 15.7 second stop and Hamilton Jr. restarted in the 20th position on lap 116.

• By lap 126 Hamilton Jr. had already climbed back up to the 11th spot.  He cracked the top 10 by lap 134.

• Two late race cautions bunched the field, and on the last lap an old-fashioned racing melee occurred on the backstretch.  Hamilton Jr. was running in the top 10 when leaders Mike Skinner and Todd Bodine took each other out going for the win.  Hamilton Jr. was struck from behind by Terry Cook and yet did a magnificent job of maintaining control of his truck after a wild slide through turns three and four. After a lengthy review NASCAR awarded Hamilton Jr. the 13th position.

Johnny Benson won the Toyota Tundra 200 before an estimated crowd of 25,000. Benson led only one lap to win his third NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race of the season, it was also Benson's third career series victory. Jack Sprague, Marcus Ambrose, Ted Musgrave and Brendan Gaughan rounded out the top five. The next stop for the NCTS combatants will be at the high banks of Bristol Motor Speedway, the world’s fastest half-mile speedway, on Wednesday August 23rd.