History shows Dennis Setzer (No. 18 BHR-V Dodge) as the only North Carolina-born driver to win a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race in Charlotte.
Setzer, from Newton, N.C., won in 2004 and is the only Tar Heel winner in NASCAR national series points competition at Lowe's Motor Speedway since Dale Jarrett's UAW-GM Quality 500 victory in 1997.
That's a far cry from earlier eras when names like Petty, Baker, Parsons and Earnhardt dominated.
The birth of the Craftsman Truck Series in 1995 aided the rush of non-southern and off-oval competitors into the sport. Only one champion -- the late Bobby Hamilton -- was born south of the Mason-Dixon line.
After scoring an emotional victory at Martinsville, Dodge Driver Dennis Setzer and crew went west to Kansas with high hopes of capitalizing on the team’s momentum.
Setzer made his way to the front of the pack, climbing as high as fourth position before disaster struck. On lap 73 as Setzer was coming out of turn one he was unable to miss a competitor who spun directly in front of his racing line. Crew Chief Marcus Richmond jumped into action on the radio giving each crew member a job as they went over the wall. “Get a bat, a hammer, lots of bearbond and duct tape,” said Richmond in a hurry. “Make sure you get the grill pulled back out so it does not over heat.” The Dodge Racing Team repaired the substantial front end damage and Setzer returned to the track still on the lead lap.
As the No. 18 Dodge headed into turn four on lap 113 the right front tire blew sending Setzer hard into the turn four wall. The extensive damage forced the team to retire from the event, where they finished in the 25th position.
"Bobby Hamilton Racing owner Lori Hamilton hopes a new partnership will return her team to victory lane for the first time since May 2005. "
Scenedaily.com
Lori Hamilton has made adjustments to Bobby Hamilton Racing in an effort to make the team more competitive. MICHAEL HELMAN / GETTY IMAGES
By Dave Rodman, NASCAR.COM
In the offseason, BHR owner Lori Hamilton announced that the team formed by her late husband -- 2004 Truck Series champion Bobby Hamilton -- would merge with a diverse group of Virginia racers, take on a new name and relocate to Martinsville, Va. Bobby Hamilton had been passionate about maintaining a championship-level race team in his hometown of Mt. Juliet, Tenn., but on Saturday during a break in Truck Series Preseason Thunder testing at Daytona International Speedway, his widow said discussions of moving the team to Virginia had begun in 2005 -- nearly two years before Hamilton passed from neck cancer in early January 2007.
"BHR was extremely successful where it was, in Mt. Juliet and Bobby's vision was that he wanted it to be in his hometown, but behind the scenes we had numerous meetings with Martinsville and Henry County about moving the team," Lori Hamilton said. "NASCAR obviously has a hub and it's convenient to be close to [it]. "Does that mean that your team will be more successful or not more successful because you're right down the road from it? No, not necessarily -- but I think it's going to help us in the vision that we have the group of people that we've assembled."
On Saturday, the team's drivers, Stacy Compton and Truck Series veteran Dennis Setzer; and the ownership group including Martinsville Speedway president Clay Campbell, Arrington Manufacturing head Joey Arrington, Lori Hamilton and S&M Brands' chief executive officer Mac Bailey sat down to explain the dream.
"One of the things BHR lacked last year was Bobby. So we had to fill those roles and help secure Bobby's vision for many years to come." Lori Hamilton
"The people we've surrounded ourselves with, you can see, come from all different aspects of NASCAR," Hamilton said. "We have the sponsor side with Mac, the track side; with Mark Melling we have someone who's been an owner and the racer [Compton and Arrington] over here. "One of the things BHR lacked last year was Bobby -- and Bobby wore those hats. So we had to fill those roles and help secure Bobby's vision for many years to come and the best way to do that was to surround ourselves with strength and power. "When you put a group of powerful people together, they'll help push Dodge back up to where they deserve to be, because [Dodge] backed us through some difficult times. So the key group of people that came from Tennessee are there, and they're excited about it. Change is good."
But there was a price. While Hamilton said that a number of key members of the team's competition department had transferred -- including crew chief Marcus Richmond and truck chiefs Jonathan Ellis and Todd Perryman -- others did not. Hamilton said that engineer Jeff White, another long-term BHR fixture who most recently served as crew chief on the team's No. 18 Dodge, didn't make the transfer due to family considerations; and has taken a position as team engineer with Baker-Curb Racing's Nationwide Series team, which is based in Nashville, Tenn. Kip McCord, who along with Bobby Hamilton could be considered one of "the faces" of long-term Nashville racing and who served BHR as both a team manager and crew chief, opted not to make the move, Hamilton said.
BY BOB POCKRASS, SCENEDAILY.COM
In its 10-year existence, BHR won the 2004 title with Bobby Hamilton and scored 19 race wins and 22 poles.
Lori Hamilton said Stacy Compton and Joey Arrington are in the shop daily working with her to organize the team.
"They're on the competition side and I'm more to the office," Hamilton said. "These racers, they don't follow budgets very well."
"As Bobby would say, it's just time to kick their butt," Joey Arrington
Motorsport.com
The newly reconstituted Bobby Hamilton Racing Virginia (BHR VA), with the full support of manufacturer Dodge, expects the year to be fruitful. Dodge, a three-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Manufacturers' champion with 64 victories, hasn't seen Victory Lane since the late Hamilton won at Mansfield Motorsports Park in May 2005. As newly minted team co-owner, Joey Arrington had the final words.
"As Bobby would say, it's just time to kick their butt," he said.
" DAYTONA BEACH -- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Dennis Setzer came to NASCAR Preseason Thunder testing on the red eye. It wasn't an early-morning flight that had Setzer's eyes red -- Setzer actually got up at 4 a.m. Saturday to drive here from North Carolina. It was because of the emotions of leaving behind his ailing mother. The 11th-hour commute was necessitated by the illness of Tommie Setzer, who suffered a stroke Wednesday night during emergency surgery for kidney stones.
"I've been with her all day and all night, and her mind's very good right now. The next couple of days are really critical, but there's no decline and she's doing OK," Setzer said. "Her left-side motor skills are paralyzed right now and we'll see how that comes back. We don't know how much the recovery will be or how long the term will be."
He contemplated not coming to the test, but it was at his mother's urging that he finely decided to come.
"She told me, 'You've got a job to do. You go do it,' " Setzer said. "Being here may make it easier on her because she's not there worrying about me having a job to do."
The test in Bobby Hamilton Racing-Virginia's No. 18 Dodge is a new start for Setzer, a winner of 17 truck races during the last decade.
"(Wood Brothers Racing) wanted (Ken) Schrader in the 21 car because they were back in the top 35 in points, and we had looked at Dennis the year before," BHR-V co-owner Lori Hamilton said. "Dennis and (crew chief) Jeff White just clicked and it was just a carryover from what he and Schrader had started."
"We've got some great racers behind this deal," Setzer said. "They're doing everything for BHR-Virginia." "
"Day 1 AM Testing at Daytona: #99-Erik Darnell was the fastest in Day 1 AM Testing at Daytona Int'l Speedway with a speed of 177.420 followed by #6-Colin Braun, #09-Joey Clanton, #7-Andy Lally, #18-Stacy Compton."
18 Stacy Compton, hey hey, way to go. Nice run in Dennis Setzer's ride.
Or is it Setzer's ride? It begs the question. Does a number on a team truck driven by a teammate constitute the other driver's ride? I guess it might if indeed they were two distinct teams with two distinct crew chiefs. But I am not even sure if this is the case at BHR at this point in the year and this jucture in their merger with Arrington. I don't even know if they are operating out of Tennessee or Virginia at this point.
"Day 1 PM Testing at Daytona: #10-Brendan Gaughan was the fastest in Day 1 PM Testing at Daytona Int'l Speedway with a speed of 184.638 followed by #7-Andy Lally, #09-Joey Clanton, #11-David Starr, #30-Todd Bodine. The fastest Dodge [20th] #18-Stacy Compton. "
20th! 20th?
What the heck happened over lunch. How much did Stacy eat for Pete's sake. Did a cloud come over the track? Something changed. Did it snow?
"Day 2 AM Testing at Daytona: #99-Erik Darnell was the fastest in Day 2 AM Testing at Daytona In'tl Speedway with a speed of 178.547 followed by #29-Scott ####, #5-Mike Skinner, #9-Justin Marks, #4-Stacy Compton. "
O.K. Maybe Stacy just needed to rest. Back to fifth just like that.
My point? I guess it is this. While I enjoy looking at test speeds for a little info. They really don't mean that much necessarily. You don't know what the situation was.
Were they single truck runs? Were they drafting? Were they in qualifying trim? Were they in Racing Trim. Were they on new tires? Were they on old tires? Were they simulating a race run? Were they adjusting this? Were they tinkering with that?
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