With a 16th place finish in Friday Night’s Emerson 250 NASCAR Busch Series race, Bobby Hamilton, Jr. moved within 102 points of fifth position in the season long point’s race. The driver of the McDonald’s Ford Fusion currently stands in sixth position, second among non Nextel Cup drivers.
With time winding down, Hamilton hung tough and overcame slight damage to the right front of his car. The checkered flag waved with the McDonald’s Ford in 16th position. The finish allowed Hamilton to reposition himself for a run at fifth place in the point’s race. Nextel Cup driver David Ragan stands just 102 points ahead of Hamilton with seven races remaining in the 2007 Busch Series season.
“We had a super fast race car tonight, qualifying just made it tough on us,” Hamilton said. “We keep learning more information about these race cars, now we can go back, take this weekend off and apply some of the information to the final races of the year.”
O.K., so it isn't pretty. It might not even be anything to brag about. But Bobby Hamilton Jr. is steady and he perseveres as he moves in to sixth place in the Busch Series standings this week. Bobby remains second in the Busch regular standings to Jason Leffler.
From bobbyhamiltonjr.com
The ability to overcome adversity allowed Bobby Hamilton, Jr., driver of the Eckrich Meats/Kroger/McDonald’s Ford, to finish in 13th place on Saturday Night. After a penalty for speeding on pit road dropped Hamilton back to 28th position with less than 100 laps to go, Hamilton began his charge back to the front. The determination allowed Hamilton to grab the 13th place finish and move to sixth in the NASCAR Busch Series Point’s Championship.
“The penalty hurt us, it kept us from probably finishing around sixth or seventh,” Hamilton said. “Our car was strong all night long, and we helped ourselves in the point’s race again.” “We really enjoyed driving this car for Eckrich Meats and Kroger. We got to meet a lot of their customers and employees this week and that’s always a lot of fun.”
Jason Leffler, a regular driver on the Busch Series, rocketed his way past Nextel Cup driver Greg Biffle for the win late in the race. The Busch Series will now head North of the border for a road course race in Montreal on Saturday. Check your local listings for broadcast times in your area.
I arrived at the track just before qualifying was to begin at 3:30 p.m.,. Shopping is usually my first routine. I noticed that Mike Wallace was going to sign autographs at his souvenier trailer at 4:00. Around 3:30, the sounds of racing engines and the announcer called me in to watch qualifying.
Bobby went out fairly early and put it on the provisional pole. But now I had a dilemma. What if Bobby was going to sign autographs? I hadn't found his trailer. Should I continue watching qualifying or go find his trailer? My mind told me to go find that trailer.
I noticed Kenny Wallace had a tent set up and was going to be signing souveniers. This was St. Louis after all and the Wallaces are local royalty.
As it turned out Bobby didn't have a trailer. Neither was any of his merchandise for sale in what may have qualified as the "Busch" souvenier trailer. The souvenier trailers were dominated by merchandise for the Nextel Cup elite.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. stuff was going cheap though. There will be no use carrying that Bud 8 stuff over to next year. Nope, that won't sell. Best dump it now, the souvie trailer salesmen are thinking.
I went back in to finish watching the qualifying. Bobby's provisional pole didn't hold. But it was fun hoping it would stay in the top 10 and give him a good start. In the end, he just missed the top 10.
McDonald’s NASCAR Busch Series driver Bobby Hamilton, Jr. continued his march through the summer racing season on Saturday Night. The Gateway International Raceway was the site of race number 21 of the 2007 season. Known for its long, tight straightaways and flat turns, Gateway is a challenge for even the most experienced of drivers. On this night, Hamilton would start from the 11th position in the field of 43 cars.
It seemed from the start that Hamilton had a top 15 or top 20 car. He slipped back early. Then he got lapped.
However, he continued to fight valiantly and the pit crew made good adjustments and had good stops. Bobby was later awarded with a lucky dog. He went on to make the most of it.
Saturday night’s race found Hamilton contending for a top-ten finish at the end of the night. The McDonald’s Team worked long and hard to improve the handling on Hamilton’s car over the 200 lap race. In the end, Hamilton dashed under the checkered flag for a 13th place finish. Hamilton remained in 7th place in the point’s championship, just 88 points out of fourth, 74 out of fifth and 69 behind sixth.
“We wanted to finish better here tonight and gain a few more points on some of these guys,” Hamilton said. “We are really looking forward to next Saturday night in Indianapolis. We need to leave there with a top five or top ten finish and head into the two road course races with some momentum.”
Watching the race live Bobby just didn't seem to have top ten equipment. It was evident he was racing hard. It appeared he drove an excellent race. The pit crew was excellent. Therefore, I am led to conclude that the Team Rensi equipment just isn't up to standard.
McDonald’s NASCAR Busch Series driver Bobby Hamilton paid the price for a rookie’s mistake on Saturday Night. Hamilton’s No. 35 Ford Fusion was nearly destroyed when AJ Frank, a rookie driver, drove into its side. The impact sent Hamilton slamming into the wall and ended his night with a trip to the infield care center where he was treated and released.
“This was a disappointing end to what should have been a great night of racing for our team,” said Hamilton. “We took a big hit in the points and had a great racecar destroyed here tonight. Now we head to Milwaukee and put this behind us. It’s time to get the McDonald’s Ford back up front on Saturday Night.”
A.J. whothe####k? Frankly, I do give a damn and he can kiss my ####! Sheit!
A little home cooking for McDonald’s driver Bobby Hamilton left the Tennessee native in seventh place in the NASCAR Busch Series Point’s race. For the second time this 2007 season, the Busch Series came to Bobby’s home track, The Nashville Superspeedway for a 300 mile race. When the checkered flag waved across the field, Hamilton had moved forward to seventh in the point’s race with a 13th place finish.
A long green flag run allowed Hamilton to move inside the top-five before the first pit stop of the day. Unfortunately, the team had trouble changing the front tires and dropped to 15th following the pit stop. For the remainder of the race, crew chief Chris Wright was forced to make pit stop decision to regain the lost positions. Wright tried two tire pit stops and was successful in placing Hamilton back inside the top five.
Next Saturday night, Hamilton will return to Kentucky Speedway where he will go for his second win at the 1.5 mile track.
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