Bobby Hamilton Jr. proved that he had a truck to contend with in Friday night’s Casino Arizona 150 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at Phoenix International Raceway.  Unfortunately for Hamilton Jr. it just didn’t have the staying power it needed. Hamilton Jr. qualified his No. 18 Fastenal Dodge in the sixth position and climbed as high as fourth early in the event before mysterious electrical woes derailed his bid for a victory. Hamilton Jr. was forced to the pit area numerous times and as a result ended up with a 32nd place finish.

No. 18 Fastenal Dodge Phoenix Race Recap

• Hamilton Jr. qualified his Fastenal Dodge in the 6th position during the Friday morning qualifying session. He toured the one mile oval in 27.603 seconds which equates to 130.420 miles per hour.
• Hamilton Jr. had powered his Fastenal Dodge into the 5th position by lap 2 of the 150 lap event.
• Hamilton Jr. radioed his crew on lap 20 that his Fastenal Dodge was losing battery power. When the caution flag fell on lap 34, Hamilton Jr. brought his truck down pit road to the attention of his Bobby Hamilton Racing crew. They quickly changed four tires, added fuel and changed the battery. When Hamilton Jr. attempted to pull out of the pits it became apparent that his Fastenal Dodge had  more significant electrical problems. He was unable to crank the motor. The crew attempted to push Hamilton Jr. down pit road to manually start the ailing Dodge but was unable to do so. Hamilton Jr. was pushed back to his pit stall to attempt to remedy the electrical problem and lost two laps while repairs were made. Crew Chief Danny Gill determined the problem was a short in the main switch panel.
• On lap 73 Hamilton Jr. notified his crew that his Fastenal Dodge had once again lost all electrical power. He came down pit road on lap 75 and his crew changed four tires, added fuel and again changed the battery. Hamilton Jr. exited the pits on lap 78 five laps down. He returned to the pits two laps later and his crew went to work on the main switch panel. After a brief electrical fireworks show inside his Fastenal Dodge the work was completed and Hamilton Jr. exited the pits, albeit 12 laps down to the lead lap competitors.
• The Fastenal Dodge made three more pit stops during the remainder of the event – on lap 98 for a chassis adjustment, tires and fuel; on lap 107 to adjust the faulty switch panel on dashboard; and on lap 126 for a track bar adjustment. 

Johnny Benson won the Casino Arizona 150 before an estimated crowd of 30,000, posting his fifth career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory. Mark Martin, Mike Skinner, Todd Bodine and Matt Crafton rounded out the top five finishers.