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By
Don Ward
Editor
SPARTA, Ky. – (June 2003) Sitting behind
the wheel of the fastest car on the track,
Bobby Hamilton Jr. was beginning to sense
a victory early June 14 in the NASCAR Busch
Series' "Meijer 300 Presented by Oreo"
at the Kentucky Speedway.
But a miscue on a pit stop on Lap 86 resulted
in a stop-and-go pit stop penalty, sending
Hamilton from first to 13th. Suddenly, the
smell of victory turned into frustration
when a crew member spun off a lug nut while
changing a tire. Hamilton was forced to
give up the lead to pit again to correct
the problem.
"If you were listening to my radio
chatter, it was like, 'Don't worry,' "
Hamilton's perseverance paid off. He slowly
worked his way back toward the front and
was in third place within 10 laps of the
penalty stop.
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Photo
by Don Ward
A
sellout crowd watches the Busch race.
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Then with only 36 laps to go, leaders
Scott Riggs and Ron Hornaday Jr. made contact,
sending Riggs spinning out of control and
causing a six-car crash that ended Riggs'
hopes of a second consecutive Busch Series
victory. Hamilton took advantage of the
situation and, trailing only Jason Keller
and Hornaday with 25 laps remaining passed
Hornaday and set his sights on Keller. His
chance came on Lap 198 when Keller got caught
behind lapped traffic on the high side of
Turn 1. Hamilton sped under him to take
the lead and hold on for the final three
laps and the victory before a sellout crowd
of 69,366.
It was Hamilton's first trip to victory
lane this season – second of his career
– and his fourth consecutive top-six
Busch Series finish.
"I kept working on the 57 (Keller)
high and just kept digging. The longer we
ran the faster we got. Once I got into open
air, I just moved," said Hamilton Jr.,
25, who earned $95,270 in what was the series'
second-biggest purse in a standalone Busch
event.
Keller collected $69,725 for his second-place
finish. Hornaday earned $51,860 for third.
Riggs, the points leader after winning the
previous week in Nashville, was able to
retool his damaged car and finish the race,
placing 30th. Owensboro, Ky., native David
Green started third and finished eighth.
Kentucky's defending Busch Series champion
Todd Bodine started 14th and finished 29th.
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Photo
by Don Ward
From
left, Kerry Earnhardt & Casey
Atwood prior to the "Meijer 300."
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Rain clouds threatened to put an early
end to the 43-car event as the pre-race
festivities began. A light rain fell briefly
but dissipated, giving way to blue skies
by the time the green flag dropped. Hamilton
took the lead from pole-sitter Stacy Compton
at the start and held it for the first 66
laps until he pitted for tires and fuel.
He regained the lead for laps 70-87 when
the other leaders pitted.
The first yellow caution flag didn't appear
until Lap 86 when Randy LaJoie lost his
transmission in Turn 1, leaving oil on the
track that had to be cleaned up. The entire
field pitted. Hamilton pitted to take four
tires and fuel, but a lug nut spun off the
wheel just before he pulled away. The mandatory
second pit stop put him behind the 12 lead
cars as he returned to the track on Lap
89. Up until that point in the race, Hamilton
had averaged 1 mph faster than the other
cars.
"I knew we had a good car. I just got
back out there and got back to second and
kept riding," Hamilton said."
Harold Holly, Hamilton's newly hired crew
chief, said of the pit stop incident, "It's
a pretty pressured situation down there,
and these guys have got to get used to things
like that. He (the crew member) made an
attempt to get the lug nut, and it spun
off. He stepped up and nailed it the next
time."
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Photo
by Don Ward
Terry
Bradshaw is introduced to the Busch
crowd.
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Riggs, meanwhile, appeared to be headed
for his second checkered flag in as many
weeks, but he wound up on the losing end
of a tight battle for the lead with Hornaday
Jr. on Lap 165. Riggs' car got loose in
Turn 4 and spun sideways, causing several
collisions and cars hitting the wall or
the grassy infield to avoid additional crashes.
Regan Smith and Mike Bliss' cars hit the
wall, and Brian Vickers' car slammed into
the left front side of Riggs' Ford. Riggs
went to the garage for repairs and later
re-entered the race.
Hornaday Jr. later said of the incident,
"I was already by him, and all I saw
was smoke behind me. It was hard racing.
He did what he had to do to make the pass
on the restart, and I did what I had to
do to get by him."
Hamilton said of Riggs' fate," It was
just one less car to compete with."
Hamilton had plenty of time to run down
leaders Hornaday and Keller from the restart
on Lap 172. Keller and Hamilton passed Hornaday
in the final laps, then Hamilton waited
for the chance to make his final move for
the lead.
Afterward, Hamilton credited Holly for his
Team Marines Ford victory, which was only
Hamilton's second Busch triumph since winning
at Loudon on May 11, 2002.
"He gets the car running so good in
bad air or good air. Whatever I do, it runs
so good," said Hamilton Jr., a Nashville,
Tenn., native and the son of NASCAR driver
Bobby Hamilton.
Holly, the 2000 Busch Series championship
crew chief, has built an impressive resume
while working previously with drivers Jeff
Green and Riggs. Holly joined Hamilton's
Team Rensi Motorsports organization just
two weeks prior to the Sparta race, and
Hamilton said the results have been instant
for the U.S. Marines-sponsored car. The
team placed sixth at Dover and nearly won
in Nashville with Holly at the helm.
"I told the Marines if you get me Harold
Holly as the crew chief, I'll deliver to
you a championship," said Hamilton,
now in his fourth Busch Series season after
finishing eighth in points last year. "Everybody
on our team believes in everything he says.
He has so much knowledge, and he has the
team so fired up right now. I think our
guys would take some bullets right now."
NASCAR
Busch Series' "Meijer 300 Presented
by Oreo" Results
June 14 at the Kentucky Speedway
Sparta, Ky.
Fin., Start, Driver, Car, Laps, Status
1. 2 Bobby Hamilton Jr., Ford, 200, Running
2. 15 Jason Keller, Ford, 200, Running
3. 4 Ron Hornaday Jr., Chev., 200, Running
4. 1 Stacy Compton, Chev., 200, Running
5. 10 Scott Wimmer, Chev., 200, Running
6. 19 Brian Vickers, Chev., 200, Running
7. 13 Ashton Lewis Jr., Chev., 200, Running
8. 3 David Green, Pontiac, 200 Running
9. 16 Casey Atwood, Chev., 200, Running
10. 8 David Stemme*, Dodge, 200, Running
11. 7 Kasey Kahne, Ford, 199, Running
12. 22 Wally Dallenbach Jr., Ford, 199,
Running
13. 25 Mike Wallace, Chev., 199, Running
14. 17 Paul Menard, Chev., 198, running
15. 35 Coy Gibbs*, Chev., 197, Running
16. 37 Joey Clanton*, Pontiac, 197, Running
17. 12 Johnny Sauter, Chev., 197, Running
18. 31 Lance Norick, Dodge, 196, Running
19. 6 Shane Hmiel, Chev., 196, Running
20. 43 Ron Young, Chev., 195, Running
21. 21 Martin Truex Jr., Chev., 194, Running
22. 23 Gus Wasson, Chev., 192
23. 40 Larry Gunselman, Chev., 192, Running
24. 30 Steadman Marlin, Dodge, 191, Running
25. 41 Jason White*, Chev., 191
26. 33 Dwayne Lcik, Chev., 191
27. 36 Kennt Hendrick, Chev., 189
28. 34 Shane Hall, Ford, 184
29. 14 Todd Bodine, Chev., 179, Running
30. 5 Scott Riggs, Ford, 174, Running
31. 11 Mike BLiss, Chev., 164, Accident
32. 38 Regan Smith*, Chev., 160, Accident
33. 39 Brad Teague, Ford, 149, Accident
34. 27 Kerry Earnhardt, Chev., 139, Accident
35. 20 Mike Harmon, Chev., 139, Accident
36. 42 Jason Schuler, Ford, 124, Accident
37. 9 David Reutimann, Chev., 87, Engine
38. 18 Randy LaJoie, Chev., 79, Engine
39. 32 Tim Sauter, Chev., 63, Engine
40. 24 Jay Sauter, Chev., 41, Vibration
41. 28 Jeff Streeter, Chev., 28 Engine
42. 26 Morgan Shepherd, Chev., 9 Vibration
43. 29 Jimmy Kitchens, Pontiac, 3, Overheating
* = Denotes rookie
Lap leaders: S. Compton (Pole winner), B.
Hamilton Jr. 1-66, R. Hornaday Jr. 67-68,
J. Sauter 69, B. Hamilton Jr. 70-87, R.
Hornaday Jr. 88-107, S. Riggs 108-145, B.
Hamilton Jr. 146, S. Riggs 147-153, R. Hornaday
Jr. 154-155, S. Riggs 156-164, R. Hornaday
Jr. 165-173, J. Keller 174-197, B. Hamilton
Jr. 198-200.
Ave. Speed = 136.123 mph. Lead changes =
13 among 5 drivers. Time of race = 2 hours,
12 minutes, 14 seconds. Cautions = 4 for
25 laps. Margin of victory = 0.488 seconds.
Attendance = 69, 366.
Busch Series Point Standings
As of June 14:
1. David Green
2. Scott Riggs
3. Todd Bodine
4. Ron Hornaday Jr.
5. Jason Keller
6. Brian Vickers
7. Bobby Hamilton Jr.
8. Mike Bliss
9. Johny Sauter
10. Scott Wimmer
11. Shane Hmiel
12. Kasey Kahne
13. Stacy Compton
14. Mike Wallace
15. Ashton Lewis Jr.
16. Coy Gibbs
17. Randy LaJoie
18. Stanton Barrett
19. Kerry Earnhardt
20. Kevin Grubb
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