Five years ago.  Wow!  Time flys.  Things change.  Now we have lost Bobby Hamilton.

Today I am concluding my week long period of remembering Bobby at this time of his passing.  I would like to think that I have composed these blogs to remember Bobby and preserve these memories in an electroninc format for Bobby's family, as I have been copying them to Bobby Jr.s board.  However, it may have just been my therapy.  Hopefully they have served all three purposes.

A teammate of Hamilton's at Andy Petree Racing in 2000 and 2001, Joe Nemechek said last week that it felt like he had just pushed Hamilton to victory at Talladega.

Hamilton spent three seasons with the Morgan-McClure No. 4 team before joining Andy Petree's two-car effort for the 2001 season.  Rocked that year by the death of Dale Earnhardt at Daytona, NASCAR went to Talladega that April on eggshells.  It was the first restrictor plate race after the death of the Intimidator and it was filled with safety concerns, new rules and fear of tragedy around every turn.

Still, there was a race to be run, and Hamilton would be in it.  Driving the No. 55 car with young crew chief Jimmy Elledge, Hamilton was enjoying a good first season with the team, and knew the car was good right from the first practice.

Bobby Hamilton parked the car after practice in preparation for the 500.  Hamilton headed to the truck.  "He wouldn't tell me anything about the car, so I followed him into the truck," said Elledge about that day.  "He was changing clothes, and I asked him if we needed to do anything to the car.  "I told him it had a couple more horsepower and he said we'd be fine. You had to pry it out of him, but he knew we were going to be good and we won the race the next day."

As the race unfolded that Sunday, an event many feared would be a single-file parade turned into a fun-filled event where the racing outweighed the risks, helping the community begin to heal in the face of the Earnhardt tragedy.  In a rare caution-free performance at the fastest track on the circuit, it was Hamilton who came out the upset winner.  He led just three laps, yet held off Tony Stewart in an amazing finish to hit the checkered flag first.  Hamilton gave it his all in that race; so much so that in Victory Lane, he slowly slid to the ground and needed oxygen immediately after exiting the car.  Emotionally and physically exhausted, the veteran asked for a minute, whiped his face with a towel and still had no problem showing both honesty and spunk, a defining feature of his independent streak that endeared him to so many.

"This is emotional," said Hamilton that day after the win.  "The media has been really hard on me with restrictor plate races; they more or less said I suck.  I think my confidence was beat down.  I've always sucked as a speedway driver so, to win here, the critics can just kiss my tail."

Not surprisingly, the win was the first for Hamilton's car owner, Andy Petree.  After five years of owning a team and employing seven different drivers, it was Hamilton who became the magic formula capable of taking his program to Victory Lane.

Elledge earned his first and only career Cup win with Hamilton and Petree.  "Bobby really meant a lot to me," Elledge said.  "He's the guy I won my first race with, and so far it's still my only win.  Bobby taught me a lot about a lot of things.  When he came to the team in 2001, that team was two years old, and he came in and really embraced the guys.  He really had some neat qualities.

"He came over every week and spent the day with us and took us to lunch and stuff.  He was a real solid figure that that team needed at the time, and I needed, too.  He'd calm me down when I'd get upset."

Thanks for helping calm us down Jimmy .  We all miss Bobby.  I Can't wait to have a Pepsi with him on the new earth.

http://www.startribune.com/694/story/923119.ht
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http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/
tom_bowles/01/08/hamilton/1.html

http://www.scenedaily.com/stories/2007/01/08/s
cene_daily55.html

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FS=NASCAR-CUP&SN=1_12.216.8.136:83611&S=NASCAR-CUP

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I moved to Wichita, Kansas and Sterling Marlin moved to Sabco.   Bobby Hamilton thought he was moving on up taking Sterling's old ride.  Sterling got his first six wins driving the No. 4 Kodak ride for Morgan McClure from 1994 through 1996.  Bobby had gotten his first two at Petty Enterprises.

But Morgan McClure hadn't won in 1997.  And as it turned out, it wasn't Sterling's fault.  Bobby wouldn't be able to right the MMM ship either.  And eventually things got so bad at MMM that Bobby Jr. was wise to turn down the ride when it was later offered to him.

But for one brief shining moment it all came together for Bobby and MMM one afternoon in Martinsville etching a memory of a lifetime on my brain.

My three year old daughter came into the basement where I was watching the race.  "Go Bobby!" I cheered as he came closer and closer to winning near the end of the race.  Sterling Marlin was struggling really bad at Sabco and wasn't in contention.  For me, this race became all about Bobby.

My daughter asked, "Who's Bobby?"

Damn, I am crying again.

This is the first sports hero I have lost.  I have lost a brother who died tragically at age 17 in a car accident when I was only 18.  We were like twins.  People couldn't tell us apart.

I lost my dad a few years ago.  He's the man who taught me how to golf, fish and to watch out if I decided to pull it out of my pants.  He knew too.  I'm here aren't I?

I lost my grandad several years back.  He taught me how to be tough, how to work and left me a farm to retire to if I need it one day, and I might.

I loved Queen.  And I miss Freddie Mercury. They are The Champions.

But this is the first sports hero I have lost.  And sports have always been number one with me, so forgive my blubbering.

"Who's Bobby Daddy"

Damn I can't hold them back.  I have to get those depression pills in here quick to stop this.

"Who's Bobby Daddy?"

"Bobby is Bobby Hamilton sweetie.  He's driving that yellow car right there.  He's from Tennessee like I am and he is one of my favorite race car drivers.

"O.K. Daddy.  Go Bobby." she said, and crawled up into my lap on the sofa.  Two Bobby Hamilton fans, one a brand new one, sat in a basement in Wichita Kansas glued to the TV screen cheering him on in Martinsville.

Bobby Hamilton brought something with him to Morgan McLure racing at the beginning of the 1998 NASCAR season. He brought something that can't be bought with big sponsor funding. He brought to the team his short track talent, plain and simple.

Hamilton's talent was proven as he dominated the Goody's Headache Powders 500 at the Martinsville Speedway.  He drove smart . . . saved his precious brakes . . . and avoided the many incidents on the .526 mile oval . Hamilton's talent was obvious when the final statistics were posted.  He led a total of 378 of the 500 laps.  His talent earned him his third Winston Cup victory in 208 career starts.  It was the first victory for his Morgan McLure racing team on a track less than a mile in length.

The caution filled race resulted in 14 yellow flags totaling 96 laps.  If it weren't for the large amount of yellow flags, Hamilton quite possibly could have lapped the entire field.  Only the top six cars finished on the lead lap.  Hamilton earned $227,025 for his winning drive.  This amount included the 76 Racing Challenge money for drivers who win from the pole position.  He covered the distance with an average speed of 70.709 mph.

"I knew I'd learned how to get around here pretty good,'' Hamilton said. "The main thing was saving the brakes, and when the car corners that good and the motor's running that good, you can really take some time.  "Sometimes you just have them days when you know the thing is going to be good and you don't have to worry about  it."

Ted Musgrave, part of the Jack Roush Racing "superteam" finished second that afternoon with the same patience and talent exhibited by Hamilton.  Musgrave was quick, but was no challenge for Hamilton.  He finished more that six seconds behind the leader.

Dale Jarrett finished third that day.

Dale Earnhardt had mastered Martinsville on several occasions.  He finished in fourth place and was serious contender for the championship.  Earnhardt was shooting for his eighth Winston Cup title.

Results with finishing position, (starting position), driver, hometown, car model, laps completed, and money won follow:

1.    (1)    Bobby Hamilton,   Nashville, Tenn.,          Chevrolet,  500, $227,025
2.    (12) Ted Musgrave,       Franklin, Wis.,               Ford,           500,   $65,675.
3.    (23)  Dale Jarrett,          Hickory, N.C.,                 Ford,           500,   $58,525.
4.    (31)  Dale Earnhardt,   Kannapolis, N.C.,          Chevrolet,  500,   $49,475.
5.    (36)  Randy LaJoie,      South Norwalk, Conn., Chevrolet,  500,   $44,325.
6.    (2)    Rusty Wallace,     St. Louis,                         Ford,           500,   $41,525.
7.    (13)  Jeremy Mayfield,  Owensboro, Ky.,            Ford,           499,   $35,425.
8.    (3)    Jeff Gordon,          Pittsboro, Ind.,               Chevrolet,   499,   $47,000.
9.    (22)  Ernie Irvan,           Salinas, Calif.,               Pontiac       499,   $34,600.
10.  (6)    Ken Schrader,     Fenton, Mo.,                   Chevrolet,   499,   $41,700.

 
http://www.theautochannel.com/news/date/19980420/
news011560.html

http://www.theautochannel.com/news/date/199807
08/news014315.html

I hated to read this tonight.  I thought I might cry.  It's been seven years since I have been in the present communications age.  I was just reminiscing with a couple of other Bobby Hamilton fans about how we would post messages on the Morgan Mc Clure Racing Message Board back in the last century.  Let me give a shout out to Piedmont and Dee.

 Bobby was struggling with the Kodak Chevrolet in 1999.  We fans were willing to try anything.  Late in the year I learned that a couple of DJ's in St. Louis had tried every kind of voodoo they new to turn the Ram's around.  In late 98 sage had seemed to work.  So they burned sage before every Rams game in 99 and the rest is history (A Super Bowl victory for you young folks). So we decided to burn sage for Bobby Hamilton.

We had a friend in Idaho.  The first time Fred burned sage for Bobby Hamilton he nearly burned the whole county.  Wrong kind of sage.

The Sage Burning Gang later became a sponsor for Eric McClure in his first year of racing in the spring of 2000.  His dad, Jerry, told him if he could get a sponsor he could race at Lonesome Pine Speedway.  We showed the elder McClure the power of the internet.  Eric bought an old Nova with Wile Coyote on the hood and went racing with The Sage Burning Gang on the rear quarter panels.

The sage never helped Bobby.  It helped Eric though.  Tonight I am sticking with an old tried and true method for Bobby.  I am praying for him.

God bless you Bobby Hamilton and if it be his will may he cure your cancer.  If he decides in his divine wisdom not to intervene in this manner, I pray that he will give you strength.  Remember he is there for you as your heavenly father and will hear you anytime you call.  May he be with your family as they fight this battle with you.  Amen.

Posted on Wed, Dec. 20, 2006

DAVID POOLE dpoole@charlotteobserver.com

Bobby Hamilton said Wednesday his doctors say there are still cancer cells on the right side of his neck and that he is continuing treatments.    "Cancer is an ongoing battle," Hamilton said.  "Once you are diagnosed you always live with the thought of the disease in your body."  "We are going to continue to search for the best available treatment for my form of cancer," Hamilton said.

http://www.thatsracin.com/mld/thatsracin/ad_te
mplate/thats_racin/16284839.htm