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.
Marcos Ambrose retains his eighth position in the overall Busch Series Standings overall and his second place standing in the Busch Class. He also maintains his tight tussle with ex-Formula One driver Juan Pablo Montoya in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year competition. Montoya finished one place ahead of Ambrose last Friday night.
Ambrose ran comfortably inside the top 15 for the first half of the race. The two-time Australian V8 Supercar Champion dropped down the order slightly in the flurry of late-race pit stops and once among the battling on the verge of the top 20 he was unable to forge a break and get back up the order. Ambrose encountered a close shave on the final lap of the race as he avoided a series of clashes that culminated in his Wood Brothers/JTG Racing team-mate Jon Wood crashing when he was left no where to go when cars spun on the track.
“We were running well and felt good in the early part of the race,” said Ambrose. “It shows some of the progress we have been making that we can qualify in the top ten and run well on a one-mile oval like Phoenix. This is a tough race track and it was a tough field out here today. It certainly felt good running around with all the Cup guys in the first part of the race. "We ran well, showed some speed and we kept our spot in the standings."
Matt Kenseth ended Carl Edward's two-race Busch winning streak by pulling his car out of a spin without hitting the wall early in the race, then overtaking Denny Hamlin with nine laps left. Hamlin finished second and Edwards finished third extending his points lead.
“I heard something break, I guess it was the tire popping,” Kenseth said. “My first thought was, ‘I hope I don’t hit anything.’ Because of all the dumb stuff I’ve done before, I guess, I was able to figure out how not to hit the wall. …It was a lot of luck, too.” Kenseth’s spin did bring out a yellow, but his crew fixed the car and Kenseth got his lap back on a subsequent caution. Casey Mears wound up fourth. Rookie David Ragan, who started on the pole, finished fifth.
The Busch class win went to Paul Menard who finished ninth overall. Menard needs to stick with the Busch Series as it appears to suit his skill level well. Second in class was Jason Leffler in the great Clips car. Leffler finished 13th overall.
Bobby Hamilton Jr. finished third in class in his No. 35 McDonald's Ford Fusion and 14th overall. More importantly he made good on his promise made two weeks ago to be the top "Busch Guy" in two weeks. He leads the Busch Class standings in first place and is seventh in the Busch Series Standings overall. He is only 14 points behind Kenseth for sixth overall and will now put Matt right in his sites.
Mike Wallace finished fourth in class and 15th overall in his No. 7 Geico Ford Fusion. While Brad Coleman enjoyed a good day with a fifth place class finish and 16th overall.
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