2002 Media Release

Contact: David Pepper 
615-754-6868  dnpracing@aol.com

2002 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship Point Standings

2002 Truck Series Season
Starts - 6   Poles - 0   Wins - 1   Top fives - 3   Top tens - 3   Earnings - $ 164,325
Laps Led - 82 of 1057   Races Led - 2 of 6   DNF's - 1

Truck Series Career Statistics
Starts - 6   Poles - 0   Wins - 1 (Tied for 24th all-time)   Top fives - 3  Top tens - 3
Earnings - $ 164,325

Performance Record: Texas Motor Speedway
Winston Cup Series (four starts, no wins, one top five, and one top ten) Busch Grand National Series (No starts) Truck Series (No starts)

Topics of Interest

Crew Chief and Team Parted Ways: Crew chief, Danny Gill and the No. 18 team
of Robert Pressley parted company following the MBNA 200 at Dover Downs
International Speedway. Gill served as crew chief for the No. 18 since January of this year. It was his second stint with Bobby Hamilton Racing in the last four years.

"Following the race in Dover, it became apparent that Danny (Gill) was not happy with the progress of the team," said Bobby Hamilton, owner of Bobby Hamilton Racing. "The one thing that I didn't want to do was hold him back in his career, and since I have 100 percent confidence in the driver, it just seemed like the right thing to do was to let Danny move on. One of the main reasons for having three teams and having them in one building is to build the strongest, most diverse, successful team in the Truck Series. I've got 30 to 40 employees working on this race team, and it's important that we have three crew chiefs and three drivers that are all pulling for the good of the whole organization. I'm not going to risk losing all my employees because of one person. I'm looking for that one person that can work with my people." Hamilton went on to say, "I'm in no hurry to fill the crew chief position. This change will not affect our goals for this season. I've had several crew chiefs run the No. 18, truck and each time we have won races.  That will not change. I still feel like I have one of the best teams in the Truck Series. I'm sure that the people I have leading my teams will be able to pull together and overcome this small set back."

In the interim, Todd Myers will serve as crew chief on the No. 18 Dodge
truck at Texas Motor Speedway this week. Myers has been with the No. 41 TKO
Motorsports team for several years, but with that team parked while seeking
sponsorship, he became available.

"I'm sorry to see Danny (Gill) go, but things happen," said Robert Pressley. "We still have the goal of winning that championship, and nothing will keep this team from contending. I'm not worried about the change at all. Bobby (Hamilton) has a tremendous group of guys working in his shop, on all his teams, and I'm sure we won't miss a beat."

Previous History: The No. 18 Team has one top five finish and three top ten
finishes in six starts at Texas Motor Speedway, all with Joe Ruttman behind the wheel. The best finish was a fourth place run in this race last year.

This Week's Truck: Pressley is going to drive "Chunky" this week at Texas
Motor Speedway. It is the same truck that he drove to a second place finish
at Darlington earlier this season.

Performance Chart: Chunky
DATE RACE START/FINISH DRIVER
3-20-99 Homestead 15 9 Butch Miller
3-27-99 Phoenix 11 26 Butch Miller
4-10-99 Bakersfield 12 9 Butch Miller
5-8-99 Memphis 14 10 Butch Miller
8-5-99 IRP 2 10 Joe Ruttman
8-28-99 Topeka 10 17 Olivier Berretta
10-15-99 Texas 26 22 Eric Norris
3-26-00 Bakersfield 7 16 Joe Ruttman
6-3-00 Monroe 26 32 Donny Morelock
7-1-00 Milwaukee 25 27 Donny Morelock
7-15-00 Nazareth 26 21 Donny Morelock
3-15-02 Darlington 3 2 Robert Pressley

Pressley Quotes
"I've had some great races at Texas in the past. I ran third there in 1998, but I've run up front just about every race there. I know in 1999 I was running seventh when I got crashed with 20 laps or so left in the race. Then in 2000, I was running fifth when the engine blew up. So I like the place but I guess I feel like it owes me one."

"It's a great track. The whole thing is smooth as silk and fast. It has a lot of grip so you can drive it off into the corners and know it is going to stick."

Pressley's 2002 Craftsman Truck Series Event Results

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 (Next Event)

Totals 932 of 1057 (88.1%) $ 164,325

Pressley's 2002 Craftsman Truck Series Event Results click here

Best Start: fourth place @ Daytona International Speedway 2-15-02
Best Finish: third place @ Daytona International Speedway 2-15-02
Biggest Purse: $ 39,640 @ Daytona International Speedway 2-15-02

For More Information see www.bobbyhamiltonracing.com
 

©2002 Bobby Hamilton Racing