O.K. guys, now the pressure is on.  So how do I respond?  Not like I did in Little League when after getting a litle mid-season pub my average plummeted, I hope.  Not with a big head either hopefully.

Admittedly, my head is swimming after being listed as one of the top 10 new bloggers to watch by Duddits.  O.K. I know his name isn't Duddits, but I recently watched about half of Dreamcatcher on a cheap DVD I bought at Wal-Mart.  I guess I got what I paid for when it crapped out half way through the flick.  Anyway, remember Duddits?  I liked Duddits.

And I accuse edclinch of getting off topic.

Let me lasso the moon here.

O.K.

Got it.

Anyway, I didn't come here to talk about that, I came to talk about the draft.

Nope.

Get the moon again.

Ah, yes.

After my being mentioned by Duddits, my hits went up on my site.  That felt great, I must admit.  Surprisingly, to me, several of you took an interest in my blog on Bobby Hamilton Jr. and Busch practice at Daytona today.

So, in case your interested, I found a cache of material on line about him today in the form of an interview on BGNRacing.com.  Feel free to read ahead if you like, but I think I can get a week of blogging out of it as long as anyone is interested in reading it.  All you need to do is make sure you comment if you read it, so I know whether or not to continue.  I mean, I like blogging whether or not I get a lot of hits, but it sure is more fun to get the hits.  I gare-on-tee.

If you want to follow Busch racing (which is more down to earth like Winston Cup racing used to be for better or worse and that is certainly debatable but not my intent here, however, go for it if you wish) then you might enjoy wading in the fray here with me with Bobby Jr. before the season gets started in about three weeks.

You'll find Bobby Jr. is a down to earth guy with a say what you really think mentality that has served him and his dad very well.  And if your ever at his down home on the square cafe in Springfield Tennessee, you might even recognize him as the million dollar race car driver/waiter pouring you a cup of coffee.  Now that's down to earth.  Come along if you dare.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.

Bobby Hamilton Jr. believes he is right where he belongs.  Two weeks after his father and 2004 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Bobby Hamilton Sr. passed away from head and neck cancer, Hamilton Jr. was behind the wheel of the No. 35 Team Rensi Motorsports Ford during Busch Series testing at Daytona International Speedway.  "I'm glad to be back," Hamilton Jr. said.  "I walked into the garage and told my wife (Stephanie), this is where I'm supposed to be.

Pretty much my whole career has been in the Busch Series.  With everything we've been dealing with I was glad to get to the race track where I don't have to answer phone and do everything else.  "It's silly to say you are at work and relaxing at the same time.  There was no easier moment than putting up that window net.  I was like, now I can go do my deal."

Hamilton Jr. also believes he is with the right team in the NASCAR Busch Series.  Between 2002-04, the Team Rensi-Hamilton Jr. partnership produced five victories, four poles and two top-10 finishes in the championship standings.  Towards the end of the 2004 season, Hamilton Jr. made the move to the NEXTEL Cup Series with PPI Motorsports and the No. 32 Tide Ford.

But Hamilton Jr. never found any success with PPI Motorsports.  In 2006, he filled in for his ailing father in the No. 18 Bobby Hamilton Racing Dodge for most of the season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

 "We had our best success together," Hamilton Jr. said of Team Rensi. "Of course after we separated, neither one of us have had success. We've tried to go back and rekindled that I guess."

Hamilton Jr. believes that he and Team Rensi can produce successful results again.  "Whether it's going to be a home run from the green flag at Daytona, it's like anything else, it's a building process," Hamilton Jr. said.  "We will build it. I think after having the drought of success that I had the last two years, nothing burns more than to run good and take home trophies."

Regarding today's practice, "overall, we just made single-car runs just to make sure that no fenders and stuff like that was rubbing so that we could be ready for the drafting practice after lunch because the good guys are here - the 21 car and 2 and others.  We want to make sure that we get that drafting in to make sure we can see what our car is going to do.  Nothing towards the guys that are going to be here tomorrow, but the best cars are here today.

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Being from Tennessee it was natural to pull for Bobby after becoming aware of him during the filming of Days of Thunder.  He had to actually qualify the Mountain Dew car for the movie before NASCAR would let the producers put the car on the track to get film footage.  Things have changed a lot since then with NASCAR now tripping all over itself to accommodate the movie industry to get a cut of the (all of a sudden Hollywood wakes up and realizes family movies can deliver a) profit. 

On the other hand I lived in Valley Park, Missouri, in a subdivision right above Schrader's Uncle Dennis's automotive shop.  I caught smallmouth bass while wading the creek right behind the shop (while on their property probably).   I used to walk around the old Lake Hills Speedway just across the creek where Kenny ran many a race against the Wallaces back in the day.  The people that ran Schrader's modified operation went to school where my kids went and my wife taught.  (I was talking racing in a line at the school one night with this dude with Federated Auto Parts Kenny Schrader apparel on when all of a sudden the dude says "I was talking to Kenny last night.") So, while I hate to hear (between the lines apparently) that Bobby will not be racing this year, I am thrilled for Kenny who may need to fall back on this if his Nextel Cup opportunities come to an end.

And oh, by the way, if the Nashville based Little Debbies sponsorship eventually followed Kenny over to the Nashville (Lebanon) based Bobby Hamilton Racing (BHR), that would be "one sweet ride".

From: That'sRacin.com,

Schrader to Drive a Hamilton Dodge in Some Truck Races

By DAVID POOLE

The Charlotte Observer

Ken Schrader will drive the No. 18 Dodge trucks for Bobby Hamilton racing in 2007. A driver to be named will take over when Schrader’s Nextel Cup responsibilities with the Wood Brothers prevent him from competing in Truck events.

From: bobbyhamiltonracing.com

Schrader Set to Pilot the No. 18 Fastenal Dodge
Orlando, FL | 12-07-2006
Four-Time Cup Winner Partners with BHR and Fastenal for Majority of 2007 NCTS Campagin - NASCAR fan favorite Ken Schrader has been tabbed to drive the No. 18 Fastenal Dodge for Bobby Hamilton Racing during the 2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season. Schrader and 2004 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Bobby Hamilton have been both friends and competitors throughout their NASCAR careers and now they have joined forces to help re-establish BHR as a championship caliber NCTS team. “I am thrilled to get the opportunity to drive the Fastenal Dodge,” Schrader said. “Bobby Hamilton and I have been friends for a long time so to get the chance to work with him is just an ideal situation for me."

BHR has always had some of the most competitive equipment in the series and I look forward to climbing into the seat and racing hard. Fastenal is a great company, I don't think there is a race team out there that doesn't use most of their products in some form or fashion and I can't wait to represent them proudly next year."

From: truckseries.com

 12-07-2006

Schrader Set to Pilot the No. 18 Fastenal Dodge

Four-Time Cup Winner Partners with BHR and Fastenal for Majority of 2007 NCTS Campagin

The Fastenal Company, is a Minnesota based industrial and construction supply company with more than 1,800 stores in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Singapore and the Netherlands.

Schrader has four NASCAR Nextel Cup wins, two NASCAR Busch Series wins and one NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win to his credit. He has logged an amazing 283,398 miles in NASCAR Cup, Busch and Truck series events, that is equal to racing around the world 12 times or from New York to Los Angeles 94 times. In other words, Schrader has raced enough miles to go the moon and is now almost a fourth of the way back.

In 2007 the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will run 25 races on 22 separate racetracks across the United States. All of the NCTS events will be broadcast live nationally on the Speed Channel.