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November 18, 2002
Pressley
Finishes Season with a Strong Fourth Place Finish
Click Here For Robert Pressley
Career Statistics
Robert
Pressley and the No. 18 Bobby Hamilton Racing Team gave
sponsor Dickies their first top five finish, on the day they
unveiled their new paint scheme for the 2003 season.
Pressley battled all day to finish in the fourth position
after being forced to start in the 33rd position after
failing post qualifying inspection.
"We had a tough deal in qualifying," said Pressley. "We had
a fast truck the whole weekend, but after qualifying NASCAR
said we had an illegal right front spring. They made us
start in the back of the pack. I guess the new paint job
must have helped us because we had a rocket ship for a
truck. When the race got started, I could run the truck just
about anywhere. I passed people at will, but the track
position hurt us. With the leaders out front with no lapped
traffic they could make better time. So, it took all day to
get to them. We had a chance there at the end of the race,
but we just came up a little short. All in all it was a good
race for us and a solid year. We won a few races, but we
were just a little inconsistent."
Pressley began the day by rallying from his 33rd starting
position to 13th place in the first 50 laps of the event.
Over the next 50 laps, Pressley moved into the top ten and
began establishing himself as one of the guys to beat. Then
in the final 20 laps, a late race caution, and some pit
strategy by the Dickies Dodge crew put Pressley into the
fifth position. Over the final few laps, Pressley made a
gallant charge at the leaders. He passed Mike Bliss for
fourth place on the final lap of the event.
"I wish this race would have been 150 laps not 134 laps,"
said Pressley. "I think we could have made a run at the lead
if things would have played out right for us, but as it was
we just ran out of laps at the end of the race."
Pressley and the Team's fourth place finish was the seventh
top five finish of the season and it helped them hold onto
the seventh position in the final NASCAR Craftsman Truck
Series points standings. That marks the third time in as
many seasons the No. 18 Bobby Hamilton Racing team had
finished the season with a top ten points position
performance.
"With all the ups and downs this year it was a solid
finish," said owner, Bobby Hamilton. "We know we can do a
little better, and that's what we're going to work on in the
off season. We did have some really good moments though.
Along the way we picked up some great sponsors like Square D
and Dickies to help us, and we managed to win the two
biggest race of the year (Daytona and Michigan). We'll be
ready in a few months to get to Daytona and try and improve
on this year's performance."
Driver: Robert Pressley,
No. 18 Dodge Team
Starts
Pole Wins Top Fives Top Tens Earnings Points Position
22 0 2 7 15 $ 495,817* 7th
*Includes Point Fund Earnings
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 11 7 146 of 146 Running 12,295
South Boston 8 24 241 of 257 Accident 5,465
Las Vegas 15 7 146 of 146 Running 11,075
California 5 7 100 of 100 Running 14,450
Phoenix 10 14 151 of 152
Running 9,940
Homestead 33 4 134 of 134 Running 19,425
Totals 3649 of 3737 (97.6%) $ 417,780
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lester Closes Out Rookie
Year with 18th Place Finish at Homestead
Click Here For Bill Lester Career
Statistics
To say Bill Lester's first season with the No. 8 Dodge
Motorsports Bobby Hamilton Racing Team in the NASCAR
Craftsman Truck Series has been filled with moments of
greatness and moments of disappointment may be the biggest
understatement of the year. It began right from the start in
Daytona, where Lester was running in the top five before
being involved in a crash, to this past weekend at Miami,
when he started in the ninth position and finished in the
18th position. It has been a year of highs and lows.
"Well, we weren't able to meet one of our goals in bringing
home a top-10 finish this year," said Lester. "It hurts me,
but what can I say? I do the best that I can with what I
have. I'm just hopeful that we'll be able to work on this
platform next year, so we can use the experience that we got
this year and build upon it. I'm optimistic for the future."
Lester's final race of the year in the No. 8 Dodge was one
of frustration. From the drop of the green flag the truck
just did not want to turn for Lester. He fell back until
about halfway in the race, when the crew got a chance to
work on the truck. They got it handling a little better and
for a period of time Lester was running laps close to the
leaders. Unfortunately, Lester and the team had lost several
laps at that point. From then on Lester simply made laps and
brought the truck home in one piece.
With the eighth place finish, Lester did however manage to
retain the second position in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck
Series Rookie of the Year battle over Jason Small.
"I'm a little disappointed with the second place finish in
the rookie points battle, but if I had to lose it to anyone
Brendan (Gaughan) has a lot of experience," said Lester. "He
has been racing these heavy vehicles for several years and
even has a Championship or two doing it. So it didn't
surprise me he was the one to beat."
Also with the 18th place finish, Lester and the team
finished the season in the 17th position in the final NASCAR
Craftsman Truck Series points standings, just 14 points out
of 16th place.
"The points finish gives us something to shoot for next
year," said Lester. "This time next year I hope to be on
stage giving a speech after finishing in the top ten in
points for the first time."
Driver: Bill Lester, No. 8 Dodge Team
Starts Pole Wins Top Fives Top Tens
Earnings Points Position
22 0 0 0 0 $264,766* 17th
*Includes Point Fund Earnings
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 6 28 49 of 146 Running 6,935
South Boston31 17 255 of 257 Running 8,315
Las Vegas 12 17 143 of 143 Running 10,040
California 3 14 100 of 100 Running 12,715
Phoenix 2 15 151 of 152
Running 10,140
Homestead 9 18 132 of 134 Running 13,415
Totals 3272 of 3737 (87.5%) $ 230,890
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Broken Shock
Sidelines Hemphill at Final Race of the Year
Click Here For No. 4 Dodge Ram Team Statistics
Ryan Hemphill and the No. 4 Square D Bobby Hamilton Racing
Dodge Team appeared to have everything in place to get back
into the top ten finish column, but a broken shock dropped
the team out of the race, and relegated them to a 28th place
finish.
Hemphill started the race from the eighth position after
turning in a solid qualifying performance, but right from
the drop of the green flag he began to fall back. The truck
had a terrible push in the turns. In fact, it was so bad
that Hemphill lost a lap to the leaders on the 33rd circuit
around the one and a half mile facility. The team made
several pit stops during the day, but on lap 93 they retired
from the event. Unfortunately, the finish was Hemphill's
second DNF (Did not Finish) in a row.
"I guess the shock broke early in the race, because the
truck just would not handle, no matter what the guys did to
it," said Hemphill. "We had a good truck in happy hour and
we thought we were in for a good run, but our bad luck got
us again. It has been a tough few weeks. We just can't catch
a break. Here, we thought we could fix the handling problem
with a few adjustments, but after we had tried everything we
could, we just pulled behind the wall. That's when we found
the broken shock. We could've fixed it, but we had lost so
many laps and we're not running for points, it just didn't
make sense to go out there and get in any ones way."
The No. 4 Square D Team finished the season in the 17th
position in the final NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series owners
points standings. During the course of the year the No. 4
team had no less than six drivers behind the wheel of the
truck.
"I'm not sure what the future holds," said Hemphill. "We're
glad that Square D came on board for this race. They're good
people, but we don't have anything for next year. I know I
would like to race for Bobby Hamilton Racing next year, but
only time will tell as to what happens."
Driver: Ryan Hemphill, No. 4 Dodge Team
Starts Pole Wins Top Fives Top Tens Earnings Points Position
6 0 0 0 1 $ 59,276 35th
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 B Hamilton
Nashville 7 4 151 of 151 Running 10,375 B Hamilton Jr.
Richmond 7 14 199 of 200 Accident 6,315 B Hamilton
Texas 13 11 145 of 146 Running 10,945 Joe Ruttman
South Boston12 10 257 of 257 Running 10,250 Ryan Hemphill
Las Vegas 4 14 144 of 146 Ignition 10,340 Ryan Hemphill
California 6* 36 2 of 100 Ignition 9,535 Ricky Bogart
Phoenix 20 26 144 of 152 Accident 6,865 Ryan Hemphill
Homestead 8 28
93 of 134 Handling 9,315 Ryan Hemphill
Totals 3180 of 3737 (85.1%) $ 243,695
*Qualifying attempt turned in by Ryan Hemphill
NEXT EVENT: The next event for the
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will be the 2003 season opener
in Daytona Beach, Florida at Daytona International Speedway
on February 14, 2003. The event will be televised live on
Speed Channel. |
