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September 9, 2002
Robert
Pressley Finishes 15th after Being Involved in Last Lap
Accident
Click Here For Robert Pressley
Career Statistics
Robert Pressley had his
eighth top ten in a row slip through his fingers on the
final lap of the Virginia is for Lovers 200, when his
teammate and owner crashed in front of him and several other
trucks. Pressley swerved low in turn one to avoid the
accident but Bobby Hamilton's No. 4 truck spun right into
his path. The resulting impact shoved the front end and
radiator into the engine, and ended the night for Pressley
and the Dickies Square D team. "We had a good truck
and had played our strategy out to maybe have a shot at a
top five after that last restart, but somebody got together
with Bobby (Hamilton) and after that, we all got in the
wreck," said Pressley. "It was a tough hit. All I saw was
smoke and then the No. 4 truck right in front of me. After I
hit him, the truck just spun around and it would not start.
Come to find out, the whole front end was right against the
engine and we weren't going anywhere."
Pressley began the night 100 points out of the NASCAR
Craftsman Truck Series points lead, but after the accident,
he and the Dickies Square D Team find themselves 147 points
behind the leader, with just six races to go in the season.
"It's a tough blow for us in the points battle, but we still
have a chance," said Pressley. "We're going to have to get
on track real quick though. One more bad race and we're out
of it."
Pressley's night began from the 11th position, and his night
was fairly uneventful until the final lap of the race.
Pressley and the team had made the decision early in the
event to take their time and not do anything that might cost
them points. During most of the event, Pressley raced the
track as the team worked on the handling of the No. 18
truck. Over the course of the race, Pressley ran in the top
ten for most of the evening. At the end of the race, the
team chose not to pit for tires and take track position, but
with the caution with eight laps to go, the strategy back
fired as Pressley was left on the track with older tires.
When the final green flag of the night came out, Pressley
had just radioed the crew and said that he felt he could
hold on for a top five finish, which would have been great
considering his closest points competitors were behind him
in the running order. But when the smoke had cleared after
the malay in turn one on the final lap, he had fallen to
15th position in the running order.
"It's just how things turn out sometimes," said Pressley.
"We'll just have to go out at Texas and try and get back up
front. The pressure will be on us there because we have our
new sponsor, Dickies, based in Fort Worth, so we'll need to
get them a strong run in their backyard."
Driver: Robert Pressley, No. 18 Dodge Team
Starts Pole Wins Top Fives Top Tens
Earnings Points Position
16 0 2 6 11 $345,130 5th
Race-by-Race Run Down:
Location Start Finish Laps Status
Money Won
Daytona 10 1 100 of 100
Running $ 81,635
Darlington 3 2 147 of 147 Running 25,875
Martinsville 17 14 248 of 250 Running 7,365
St. Louis 7 31 141 of 160 Running 7,985
Pikes Peak 10 30 152 of 200 Engine 8,590
Dover 9 2 200 of 200 Running 32,875
Texas 3 6 167 of 167 Running 15,500
Memphis 7 12 200 of 200 Running 10,865
Milwaukee 8 7 203 of 203 Running 11,775
Kansas 7 7 167 of 167 Running 13,125
Kentucky 13 3 150 of 150 Running 37,875
Loudon 6 9 207 of 207 Running 11,525
Michigan 8 1 100 of 100 Running 48,250
IRP 4 5 200 of 200 Running 14,025
Nashville 4 9 150 of 151 Running 9,100
Richmond 11 15 199 of 200 Accident 8,765
Texas (Next Event)
Totals 2675 of 2802 (95.4%) $ 345,130
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Bill Lester Upset after
Early Crash at Richmond
Click Here For Bill Lester Career
Statistics
Bill Lester and the No.
8 Dodge Motorsports Bobby Hamilton Racing Dodge saw their
race at Richmond International Raceway end in just five laps
against the turn three wall. Lester began the evening from
the 18th position and had plans of taking it easy the first
few laps while the field sorted itself out, but
unfortunately, the driver of the No. 50 truck had other
plans.
Lester was coming off the back straightaway and entering
turn three, when the No. 50 truck ducked under the left rear
quarter panel and spun Lester around and head on into the
wall. The crew tried to repair the damage, but after further
inspection of the No. 8 truck, they determined that it was
too badly damaged to repair.
"I really don't understand what some people are thinking out
there," said Lester. "It's early in the race; it's a give
and take kind of deal. If a man gets up to my door, then I
let him go early on in a race. But to have a guy just drive
into you and spin you into the wall, that is hard to take. I
guess I have learned a valuable lesson in who I can race
with and who I can't. I just feel bad for the guys. They
pour their hearts and souls into building me great trucks,
and to have to load up and go home with this type of mess is
just disheartening for everyone."
Lester remained in the 17th position in the NASCAR Craftsman
Truck Series points standings despite the 36th place finish
in the Virginia is for Lovers 200.
Driver: Bill
Lester, No. 8 Dodge Team
Starts Pole Wins Top Fives Top Tens Earnings Points
Position
16 0 0 0 0 $169,330 17th
Race-by-Race Run
Down:
Location Start Finish Laps Status Money Won
Daytona 19 18 98 of 100 Running
$ 15,165
Darlington 13 28 115 of 147 Running 7,090
Martinsville 13 25 230 of 250 Accident 7,865
St. Louis 12 17 158 of 160 Running 10,790
Pikes Peak 9 15 199 of 200 Running 11,690
Dover 22 12 197 of 200 Running 13,465
Texas 7 11 166 of 167 Running 13,350
Memphis 31 17 200 of 200 Running 12,065
Milwaukee 16 18 200 of 203 Running 9,665
Kansas 3 29 87 of 167 Vibration 9,295
Kentucky 3 14 149 of 150 Running 14,740
Loudon 20 14 205 of 207 Running 9,990
Michigan 19 15 100 of 100 Running 13,215
IRP 11 28 185 of 200 Accident 7,090
Nashville 12 16 148 of 151 Running 8,640
Richmond 18 36 5 of 200 Accident 5,215
Texas (Next Event)
Totals 2442 of 2802 (87.1%) $ 169,330
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Bobby
Hamilton Credited With 14th Place Finish After Vicious Crash
on White Flag Lap
Click Here For No. 4 Dodge Ram Team Statistics
Veteran NASCAR Winston Cup
Series driver, Bobby Hamilton, was racing for fourth place
on the white flag lap of the Virginia is for Lovers 200
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, when contact with
another truck sent his No. 4 Square D Dodge slamming into
the outside of turn one, resulting in a 14th place finish.
But that was just the least of Hamilton's problems after the
initial impact. He shot across the track where several other
trucks careened off his truck as it came down the track, one
of which was his teammate, Robert Pressley, in the No. 18
Dickies Square D Dodge.
The resulting impact sent Hamilton to the hospital where he
was treated and released with a broken right scapula and
left wrist. Hamilton's injuries will keep him out of action
for the next few weeks while he recovers in his Mount
Juliet, Tennessee home.
"I'm not sure really what happened," said Hamilton. "I
realized I was spinning toward the wall and going to hit on
the driver's side, so I turned the wheel the opposite way. I
hit the wall and it pushed me back down the race track where
I got hit several times. I had such a great truck tonight
and was going for several positions there at the end. It was
a racing accident and just one of those things that happens
out there from time to time."
Hamilton was competing in his second event of the season in
the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and had high hopes of
coming home with a solid finish. Hamilton's night began from
the seventh position, and in just 23 laps, he was running in
the top five. During the course of the evening, Hamilton was
rarely out of the top ten in the running order. During the
middle stages of the event, Hamilton and the No. 4 Square D
Dodge looked to be the fastest truck on the track, racing as
high as third place before pitting for fuel and tires with
36 laps to go in the race. The pit stop dropped him to tenth
place for the restart. Over the next 28 laps, Hamilton
battled his way back to sixth place. On the final restart of
the event with five laps to go, Hamilton made a daring move
to the front just before the accident that cost him a shot
at a top five finish.
"The worst thing about the whole deal is as a truck owner,
my other truck was involved and finished behind me in the
race," said Hamilton. "This was a tough night for the team.
We lost three trucks, and I got a little banged up. Some
days this racing deal is hard on your emotions. But we'll
bounce back. I have a strong team and my guys will pick up
the slack."
Driver: Bobby Hamilton, No. 4 Dodge Team
Starts Pole Wins Top Fives Top
Tens Earnings Points Position
2 0 0 0 0 $ 13,360 55th
Race-by-Race Run Down:
Location Start Finish Laps
Status Money Won Driver
Daytona 4 3 100 of 100 Running $ 39,640 Brian Rose
Darlington 18 8 147 of 147 Running 9,975 Brian Rose
Martinsville 9 27 223 of 250 Running 7,815 Brian Rose
St. Louis 27 8 160 of 160 Running 14,425 Brian Rose
Pikes Peak 13 10 200 of 200 Running 12,675 Brian Rose
Dover 15 30 49 of 200 Running 9,415 Brian Rose
Texas 14 35 3 of 167 Accident 8,740 Brian Rose
Memphis 13 10 200 of 200 Running 12,100 Brian Rose
Milwaukee 12 19 200 of 203 Running 8,365 Brian Rose
Kansas 16 21 157 of 167 Accident 10,515 Brian Rose
Kentucky 19 24 144 of 150 Running 11,640 Brian Rose
Loudon 10 25 195 of 207 Accident 7,015 Brian Rose
Michigan 16 23 97 of 100 Running 10,390 Brian Rose
IRP 10 30 170 of 200 Suspension 7,045 Bobby Hamilton
Nashville 7 4 151 of 151 Running 10,375Bobby Hamilton Jr.
Richmond 7 14 199 of 200 Accident 6,315 Bobby Hamilton
Texas (Next Event)
Totals 2395 of 2802 (85.4%) $ 186,445
NEXT
EVENT: Silverado 350 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth,
Texas on September 13, 2002. The event will be televised
taped delay on ESPN at 12:00 AM Eastern Time.
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