With the Nationwide Series drivers not allowed on track for nearly 48 hours prior to the race, all the advantages were in place for the Sprint Cup Series drivers to dominate the event, and they did. The pace set by Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick was tough for most to follow. The order of the day was simply follow the leaders and hope for the best.
“This was a tough race for us, staying off the track for nearly 48 hours really hurt us, we were left to make an educated guess on the chassis setup,” Nationwide regular Bobby Hamilton Jr. said.
With 25 Nextel Cup drivers entered in Saturday’s Busch Series event, Bobby Hamilton, Jr. and the remaining 17 Busch Series drivers knew there would be nothing easy about the USG Durock 300. The race had all the makings for domination by the Cup drivers. The 25 Cup drivers were able to take advantage of nearly three times the amount of practice over the weekend in sweeping 17 of the top 20 positions on the 1.5 mile superspeedway. The advantages were just too strong for the 25 Cup drivers in the field. Hamilton crossed the finish line in the 29th position.
“Today was very tough for us, we did all we could with the practice we had to work with,” Hamilton said. “My guys worked hard on the Eckrich / McDonald’s Ford all weekend. We were real excited to have Eckrich on board our car this weekend. Now we can go to St. Louis and O’Reilly Raceway Park the next two weeks for what should be very good races for our team. We have our focus on moving up into the top-five in the point’s race and these next few weeks will be very important for us.”
Kevin Harvick captured the win, leading Matt Kenseth across the finish line.
Constant Reader knows I am a Bobby Hamilton Jr. fan. But what this article doesn't say is that Bobby was the seventh highest Busch regular. For whatever reason, Team Rensi's performance wasn't even up to their normal "Busch Regular" standards on Saturday.
Granted, this article does ease the pain of the disappointment of the 29th place finish to some degree.
Still, why did David Gilliland, driving similar Team Rensi equipment, finish 27th if it was all about practice? It seems to me that Rensi's equipment simply isn't up to the quality of the Nextel Cup operation's Busch cars. I would like to see Rensi admit this and Bobby's handlers and he himself complain a little less about the practice issue.
McDonald’s NASCAR Busch Series driver, Bobby Hamilton, Jr. climbed to seventh place in the NASCAR Busch Series Point’s Championship following Saturday’s 200 mile race in New Hampshire. With the Cup drivers taking advantage of their two hour practice session on Saturday morning, Hamilton and the remainder of the Busch Series regulars were faced with a tough task of competing with the Cup drivers entered in Saturday’s race.
“We didn’t run as well as I would have liked today,” Hamilton said. “Next week we head to Daytona and our focus will be on the front as we want to continue to gain positions in the point’s race.”
Kevin Harvick captured the checkered flag, holding off Carl Edwards on the final lap. Next week, the Busch Series will compete at Daytona International Speedway on Friday night; check your local listings. for broadcast time in your area.
Two years ago it was Johnny Sauter who cruised as one of only three leaders the whole race, running 162 laps up front and taking victory at The Milwaukee Mile as the race ended under caution. Last year it was Paul Menard who led a race-high 85 laps and brushed aside a charging Kevin Harvick with three laps to go, which ultimately resulted in the aggressive Harvick spinning into a seven-car pileup while Menard rolled to victory. The last two Wisconsin races ... two Wisconsin winners. Neither Sauter nor Menard will be driving tonight. But Wisconsinites won't be without local flavor.
"I have been going to Milwaukee for as long as I can remember and watched my uncle race there along with #### Trickle, Rusty Wallace and Mark Martin," said Wausau native Scott Wimmer.
"The track itself is not one of my favorites just because I don't usually like the flat tracks very much, but winning there would be one of the best places to do it because it's home," said Todd Kluever, who is from Sun Prairie.
Mauston native Kelly Bires will be making just the third Busch Series start of his career by again filling in for Jon Wood. It will be his first NASCAR start at The Milwaukee Mile, although he has won at the track before in the American Speed Association Late Model Series.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is Frank Kreyer, a 37-year-old from Lyndon Station who has plenty of Late Model experience but will be making his Busch Series debut. He ran two Truck Series races at Martinsville and Mansfield to get certified to drive in the Busch Series.
He is not necessarily my boy. But I hope you enjoyed hearing more about Kelly Bires who appears to be an up and coming young gun in NASCAR. If he isn't my boy, why am I writing about him? He is a team mate of my boy Bobby Hamilton Jr. on the Ford Racing team in the Busch Series. That's why. Cheers!
Marcos Ambrose currently sits 13th in the NASCAR Busch Series standings and is third among Busch regulars. This weekend Ambrose will make his second start at Dover International Speedway, a tough, portland cement concrete surfaced one-mile oval known as ‘The Monster Mile’. The Australian was 27th in his fifth race in last year’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Dover. Ambrose will be looking for his fourth Raybestos Rookie of the Race Award this weekend as he seeks to improve on his third place in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings.
2007 NASCAR Busch Series Points Standings – After Race 13 1. Carl Edwards 2075 2. Kevin Harvick 1652 3. Dave Blaney 1483 4. Matt Kenseth 1431 5. David Reutimann 1393 6. Regan Smith 1393 7. David Ragan 1358 8. Clint Bowyer 1349 9. Jeff Burton 1340 10. Greg Biffle 1320 11. Kyle Busch 1318 12. Bobby Hamilton Jr 1316 13. Marcos Ambrose 1303 14. Casey Mears 1302 15. Juan Pablo Montoya 1302
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