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Bobby Hamilton
Bobby Hamilton.jpg
Hamilton in 1997
Born Charles Robert Hamilton
(1957-05-29)May 29, 1957
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Died January 7, 2007(2007-01-07) (aged 49)
Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, U.S.
Cause of death Head and neck cancer
Achievements 2004 Craftsman Truck Series Champion
Awards 1991 Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Cup Series career
371 races run over 15 years
Best finish 9th (1996)
First race 1989 Autoworks 500 (Phoenix)
Last race 2005 Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 (Atlanta)
First win 1996 Dura Lube 500 (Phoenix)
Last win 2001 Talladega 500 (Talladega)
Wins Top tens Poles
4 67 5
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
86 races run over 12 years
Best finish 11th (1989, 1990)
First race 1988 All Pro 300 (Charlotte)
Last race 2005 Federated Auto Parts 300 (Nashville)
First win 1989 Commonwealth 200 (Richmond)
Wins Top tens Poles
1 22 0
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series career
102 races run over 11 years
Best finish 1st (2004)
First race 1996 Hanes 250 (Martinsville)
Last race 2006 John Deere 200 (Atlanta)
First win 2000 NAPA 250 (Martinsville)
Last win 2005 UAW/GM Ohio 250 (Mansfield)
Wins Top tens Poles
10 54 5

Charles Robert Hamilton Sr. (May 29, 1957 – January 7, 2007) was an American stock car racing driver and racing team owner. A driver and owner in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series circuit and the winner of the 2004 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship, Hamilton owned Bobby Hamilton Racing. Hamilton's son, Bobby Hamilton Jr., was also a NASCAR driver.

Hamilton may be best remembered for two of his Winston Cup Series wins. His first career victory at the 1996 Dura Lube 500 at Phoenix was the first win for the No. 43 Petty car since Richard Petty's last win in 1984. He also had a memorable win at the Talladega 500 in April 2001 driving the No. 55 car for owner Andy Petree. The entire 500-mile race was run caution-free and was under intense scrutiny from both NASCAR and the media at large, being the first superspeedway race run since the death of Dale Earnhardt at the 2001 Daytona 500 two months earlier. A physically and mentally exhausted Hamilton slumped to the ground after exiting his car and was given oxygen from a tank before giving the standard post-race Victory Lane interview while sitting on the ground, leaning against the drivers door.

Early life

Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Hamilton lost his custodial parents to illness when he was thirteen years old (Grandfather Preacher Hamilton, car builder and crew chief for Marty Robbins at the old Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, and Grandmother Annie Mae Hamilton) who had raised him from early childhood. Hamilton quit school at the age of fourteen and began his racing career at Nashville Speedway USA, now Fairgrounds Speedway, racing on the weekly circuit at the legendary track, where he won back to back Late Model Stock Car Championships in 1987 and 1988. In 1988, Hamilton won an unprecedented four races, in three different divisions, in one night, at Nashville Fairground Speedway. Hamilton began to be noticed within the NASCAR ranks after racing in a special four-car "Superstar Showdown" at Nashville in 1988 against Cup Series drivers Sterling Marlin, Darrell Waltrip, and Bill Elliott.

NASCAR career

Days of Thunder

Hamilton broke into the Winston Cup ranks in a very unusual way. He was asked to drive one of the "movie cars" for the 1990 film Days of Thunder, qualifying fifth in the movie car at the 1989 Autoworks 500 in Phoenix, in a car that was not intended to be competitive. The car was the No. 51 Exxon-sponsored machine, portrayed in the movie as being driven by the character Rowdy Burns.

1988–1994

Hamilton made his NASCAR debut in the Busch Series in 1988 at Charlotte Motor Speedway driving the No. 16 Filmar Racing Chevrolet, finishing 14th. He competed in the next race at Rockingham and finished 20th. He drove full-time in the Busch Series in 1989 driving the No. 8 Lighting & Fans-sponsored Buick for FILMAR Racing, finishing 11th in points, and winning his only career Busch race at Richmond International Raceway. He made his Winston Cup debut in a "Days of Thunder" car owned by Hendrick Motorsports. He led five laps but finished 32nd after an engine failure. He matched his 11th-place points finish in 1990 with Filmar Racing, when he was picked up by Tri-star Motorsports to run Winston Cup full-time beginning in 1991, driving the No. 68 Country Time Lemonade-sponsored Oldsmobile, posting four Top 10 finishes and narrowly defeating Ted Musgrave for Rookie of the Year.

In 1992, he had two Top 10s and finished 25th in points. He began 1993 with Tri-Star but was released early in the season. He spent the rest of the season in the Cup and Busch Series, posting two Top 10s for Akins-Sutton Motorsports. Hamilton also made five Busch Series starts in the No. 05 Key Motorsports Chevrolet. In 1994, he joined SABCO Racing to driving the No. 40 Kendall Motor Oil-sponsored Pontiac Grand Prix. He had just one Top 10 finish and left at the end of the season.

1995–2002

BobbyHamilton1997Pocono
Hamilton's 1997 Winston Cup car
Bobby Hamilton Bobby Hamilton Racing Chevrolet Martinsville 1997
Hamilton at Martinsville in 1997

For the 1995 season, Hamilton moved to Petty Enterprises to drive the No. 43 STP-sponsored Pontiac. He posted 10 Top 10s and moved up to 14th in the final standings. The next season, he finished a career-best ninth in the points standings and won his first race at Phoenix, the first for Petty Enterprises since 1983. He also formed his own Craftsman Truck Series team and began competing in the series part-time. He won at Rockingham in 1997, but departed the team after falling to 16th in points.

He then signed with Morgan-McClure Motorsports in 1998 and in their eighth race together, he won from the pole, leading 378 of 500 laps at Martinsville Speedway. He ended the season, finishing 10th in the points. He had another ten Top 10 finish in 2000 and finished that season off 30th in points. He left for Andy Petree Racing to drive the No. 55 Square D-sponsored Chevy. He won his final Cup career race at Talladega and finished 18th in points. He posted three Top 10s in 2002 but suffered a broken shoulder late in the season, causing him to miss several races.

Although his Cup Series run in 2000 was not successful, he made history regardless as he joined Ken Schrader, Terry Labonte, and Mark Martin as one of the drivers to, at that point, win a race in each of NASCAR's Top 3 series when he won a Craftsman Truck Series race at Martinsville.

Craftsman Truck Series

Due to the injury, as well as an unstable financial situation at Petree Racing, Hamilton left the Winston Cup Series for the Truck Series driving for his own team, taking the Square D sponsorship with him. Driving the No. 4 Dana Dodge Ram Hamilton picked up two wins in his first year on the circuit and finished sixth in points. The following season, he picked up four wins and clinched the championship, marking the first time since Alan Kulwicki's championship in 1992 that an owner-driver won a NASCAR championship. He switched to the No. 04 in 2005.

In 2005, he started his Truck series season with a bizarre finish. He led the final laps of the 2005 Dodge Dealers 250 at Daytona International Speedway when Jimmy Spencer got by with a few laps left and the white flag flew just before a crash occurred in turn 1. During the accident, Hamilton passed Spencer for the lead. Due to the scoring-loop rules, before the accident it was initially believed that Spencer won. Spencer drove to victory circle, but not long afterward it was determined that Hamilton won; Hamilton was at the final scoring loop as he was in the lead.

Hamilton later won at Mansfield and went on his way to another sixth-place points finish.

He drove the No. 18 Fastenal Dodge for three races in 2006, but was diagnosed with cancer and never raced again, with his son finishing out the season.

Illness and death

On March 17, 2006, Hamilton announced that he had been diagnosed with head and neck cancer. He took part in the Craftsman Truck Series race that night, before starting therapy the following Monday.

Kyle Busch paid tribute to Hamilton two months later for the Truck race at Lowe's Motor Speedway by driving a truck painted to resemble the Rowdy Burns car in Days of Thunder, complete with the No. 51 and "Rowdy" decals, a tribute that Busch continues today in late model and truck racing.

Hamilton returned to the track for the race at Kentucky Speedway, overseeing his team's operations. Knowing he would not be well enough to drive in 2007, he hired Ken Schrader to drive his No. 18 Fastenal-sponsored Dodge for the full 2007 schedule while Hamilton continued his cancer treatment. Hamilton died on January 7, 2007, at his home in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, with his family by his side.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Cup Series

NASCAR Cup Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 NNCC Pts Ref
1989 Hendrick Motorsports 51 Chevy DAY CAR ATL RCH DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV SON POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT NWS CAR PHO
32
ATL 89th 72
1990 Diamond Ridge Motorsports 68 Pontiac DAY RCH CAR ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT
39
DOV SON POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS 66th 168
Tri-Star Motorsports CLT
28
CAR PHO ATL
40
1991 Olds DAY
10
RCH
28
CAR
21
ATL
33
DAR
20
BRI
31
MAR
DNQ
TAL
12
CLT
27
DOV
11
SON
22
POC
35
MCH
22
DAY
28
POC
11
TAL
34
GLN
29
MCH
19
BRI
13
DAR
10
RCH
12
DOV
8
MAR
17
NWS
18
CLT
29
CAR
6
PHO
13
ATL
18
22nd 2915
Pontiac NWS
21
1992 Olds DAY
32
CAR
18
RCH
31
ATL
24
DAR
23
BRI
26
NWS
27
MAR
13
TAL
20
CLT
21
DOV
18
SON
34
POC
17
MCH
31
POC
22
GLN
22
BRI
21
25th 2787
Chevy DAY
33
TAL
24
Ford MCH
15
DAR
21
RCH
32
DOV
10
MAR
28
NWS
31
CLT
15
CAR
19
PHO
8
ATL
12
1993 DAY
27
CAR
15
RCH
22
ATL
26
DAR
23
BRI
35
NWS
29
MAR
33
TAL SON 37th 1348
Akins Motorsports 38 Ford CLT
DNQ
DOV
10
POC MCH POC
19
TAL
DNQ
GLN MCH
Moroso Racing 20 Ford DAY
17
NHA BRI
33
DAR
RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT
37
CAR PHO ATL
21
1994 SABCO Racing 40 Pontiac DAY
12
CAR
38
RCH
33
ATL
19
DAR
25
BRI
9
NWS
14
MAR
13
TAL
12
SON
33
CLT
17
DOV
34
POC
27
MCH
41
DAY
24
NHA
40
POC
23
TAL
22
IND
24
GLN
34
MCH
DNQ
BRI
28
DAR
22
RCH
34
DOV
31
MAR
13
NWS
12
CLT
19
CAR
33
PHO
11
ATL
24
23rd 2749
1995 Petty Enterprises 43 Pontiac DAY
18
CAR
36
RCH
9
ATL
17
DAR
9
BRI
4
NWS
13
MAR
8
TAL
15
SON
14
CLT
9
DOV
24
POC
15
MCH
25
DAY
40
NHA
16
POC
19
TAL
21
IND
11
GLN
33
MCH
8
BRI
20
DAR
14
RCH
5
DOV
2
MAR
4
NWS
16
CLT
10
CAR
30
PHO
31
ATL
25
14th 3576
1996 DAY
20
CAR
24
RCH
6*
ATL
16
DAR
16
BRI
32
NWS
8
MAR
6
TAL
11
SON
17
CLT
31
DOV
21
POC
5
MCH
15
DAY
16
NHA
20
POC
39
TAL
17
IND
31
GLN
38
MCH
13
BRI
10
DAR
19
RCH
7
DOV
10
MAR
3*
NWS
8
CLT
19
CAR
28
PHO
1
ATL
6
9th 3639
1997 DAY
15
CAR
28
RCH
5
ATL
10
DAR
37
TEX
20
BRI
13
MAR
2
SON
19
TAL
31
CLT
29
DOV
17
POC
39
MCH
32
CAL
23
DAY
20
NHA
31
POC
32
IND
20
GLN
28
MCH
26
BRI
22
DAR
20
RCH
38
NHA
3
DOV
13
MAR
3
CLT
21
TAL
20
CAR
1
PHO
3
ATL
7
16th 3450
1998 Morgan-McClure Motorsports 4 Chevy DAY
12
CAR
9
LVS
20
ATL
21
DAR
35
BRI
18
TEX
26
MAR
1*
TAL
30
CAL
27
CLT
20
DOV
17
RCH
16
MCH
38
POC
20
SON
2
NHA
15
POC
20
IND
20
GLN
13
MCH
20
BRI
11
NHA
34
DAR
23
RCH
6
DOV
10
MAR
14
CLT
4
TAL
15
DAY
21
PHO
21
CAR
6
ATL
6
10th 3786
1999 DAY
29
CAR
9
LVS
24
ATL
12
DAR
7
TEX
29
BRI
18
MAR
33
TAL
31
CAL
30
RCH
4
CLT
13
DOV
21
MCH
31
POC
10
SON
11
DAY
8
NHA
16
POC
17
IND
38
GLN
22
MCH
35
BRI
41
DAR
7
RCH
7
NHA
11
DOV
30
MAR
30
CLT
22
TAL
9
CAR
10
PHO
23
HOM
25
ATL
10
13th 3564
2000 DAY
43
CAR
40
LVS
34
ATL
13
DAR
7
BRI
15
TEX
16
MAR
18
TAL
43
CAL
18
RCH
31
CLT
34
DOV
27
MCH
43
POC
40
SON
16
DAY
36
NHA
22
POC
39
IND
40
GLN
16
MCH
14
BRI
34
DAR
22
RCH
38
NHA
35
DOV
25
MAR
35
CLT
34
TAL
36
CAR
9
PHO
43
HOM
31
ATL
16
30th 2715
2001 Andy Petree Racing 55 Chevy DAY
8
CAR
13
LVS
30
ATL
22
DAR
9
BRI
8
TEX
18
MAR
4*
TAL
1
CAL
36
RCH
28
CLT
24
DOV
20
MCH
22
POC
33
SON
15
DAY
38
CHI
30
NHA
29
POC
29
IND
27
GLN
36
MCH
28
BRI
23
DAR
15
RCH
13
DOV
10
KAN
15
CLT
31
MAR
13
TAL
5
PHO
36
CAR
22
HOM
39
ATL
27
NHA
29
18th 3575
2002 DAY
32
CAR
9
LVS
43
ATL
29
DAR
13
BRI
28
TEX
31
MAR
27
TAL
22
CAL
30
RCH
17
CLT
23
DOV
9
POC
27
MCH
37
SON
31
DAY
16
CHI
15
NHA
26
POC
19
IND
23
GLN
19
MCH
23
BRI
11
DAR
23
RCH NHA DOV KAN TAL CLT
27
MAR
25
ATL
35
CAR
38
PHO
29
HOM
10
32nd 2832
2005 Bobby Hamilton Racing 04 Dodge DAY CAL LVS ATL BRI MAR TEX PHO TAL DAR RCH CLT DOV POC MCH SON DAY CHI NHA POC IND
27
GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH NHA DOV TAL KAN CLT ATL
30
TEX PHO HOM 60th 201
Phoenix Racing 09 Dodge MAR
39
Daytona 500
Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
1991 Tri-Star Motorsports Oldsmobile 20 10
1992 22 32
1993 Ford 27 27
1994 SABCO Racing Pontiac 23 12
1995 Petty Enterprises Pontiac 25 18
1996 39 20
1997 39 15
1998 Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 22 12
1999 16 29
2000 37 43
2001 Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 35 8
2002 32 32

Busch Series

NASCAR Busch Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 NBSC Pts Ref
1988 Bobby Hamilton Racing 16 Chevy DAY HCY CAR MAR DAR BRI LNG NZH SBO NSV CLT DOV ROU LAN LVL MYB OXF SBO HCY LNG IRP ROU BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT
14
CAR
20
MAR 100th 0
1989 FILMAR Racing 8 Buick HCY
23
DAR
24
BRI
24
NZH
20
SBO
14
LAN
24
NSV
2
CLT
21
DOV
29
ROU
19
LVL
20
VOL
16
MYB
3
SBO
16
HCY
24
DUB
6
IRP
17
ROU
23
DAR
27
11th 3133
Olds BRI
24
RCH
1
DOV
24
MAR
22
CLT
17
CAR
3
MAR
8
1990 DAY
11
RCH
9
CAR
35
MAR
5
HCY
26
DAR
12
BRI
11
LAN
4
SBO
7
NZH
8
HCY
6
CLT
36
DOV
25
ROU
4
VOL
3
MYB
23
OXF
27
NHA
38
SBO
3
DUB
20
IRP
29
ROU
6
BRI
7
DAR
21
RCH
14
DOV
5
MAR
24
CLT
5
NHA
42
CAR
34
MAR
8
11th 3616
1991 Tri-Star Motorsports 68 Olds DAY RCH CAR MAR VOL HCY DAR BRI LAN SBO NZH CLT DOV ROU HCY MYB GLN OXF NHA SBO DUB IRP
25
ROU BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT NHA CAR MAR 96th 88
1992 Fred Turner Racing 48 Olds DAY CAR RCH ATL MAR DAR BRI HCY LAN DUB NZH CLT DOV ROU MYB GLN VOL NHA TAL IRP
25
ROU MCH NHA BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT MAR CAR HCY 110th 88
1993 Akins-Sutton Motorsports 38 Ford DAY CAR RCH DAR BRI HCY
23
ROU MAR
31
NZH CLT IRP
9
MCH NHA BRI DAR 47th 594
Key Motorsports 05 Chevy DOV
29
MYB GLN MLW TAL RCH
21
DOV
32
ROU CLT MAR CAR HCY
Day Enterprise Racing 16 Chevy ATL
38
1995 Team SABCO 42 Pontiac DAY
36
CAR RCH ATL NSV
15
DAR BRI
21
HCY NHA NZH CLT
DNQ
DOV MYB GLN MLW TAL
37
SBO IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT CAR HOM 57th 325
1996 Labonte Motorsports 5 Chevy DAY CAR RCH ATL NSV DAR BRI HCY NZH CLT DOV SBO MYB GLN MLW NHA TAL IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT CAR HOM
24
88th 91
1999 Mac Martin Racing 94 Chevy DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR TEX NSV BRI TAL CAL NHA RCH NZH CLT DOV SBO GLN MLW MYB PPR GTY IRP MCH
28
BRI DAR RCH 80th 276
80 DOV
15
CLT
28
CAR MEM PHO
DNQ
HOM
DNQ
2001 Carroll Racing 08 Chevy DAY
42
CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX 93rd 140
Phoenix Racing 1 Chevy NSH
20
TAL CAL RCH NHA NZH CLT DOV KEN MLW GLN CHI GTY PPR IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV KAN CLT MEM PHO CAR HOM
2004 Phoenix Racing 1 Chevy DAY CAR LVS DAR BRI TEX NSH TAL CAL GTY RCH NZH CLT DOV NSH KEN MLW DAY CHI NHA PPR IRP
16
MCH BRI CAL RCH DOV KAN CLT MEM ATL PHO DAR HOM 111th 115
2005 Sadler Brothers Racing 95 Dodge DAY
11
CAL MXC LVS ATL
18
NSH
6
BRI TEX PHO TAL DAR
27
RCH CLT DOV NSH
22
KEN MLW DAY CHI NHA PPR GTY IRP GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH DOV KAN CLT MEM TEX PHO HOM 63rd 568

Craftsman Truck Series

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 NCTC Pts Ref
1996 Chuck Spicer Racing 48 Chevy HOM PHO POR EVG TUS CNS HPT BRI NZH MLW LVL I70 IRP FLM GLN NSV RCH NHA MAR
31*
NWS
25
SON MMR PHO LVS 86th 158
1997 Bobby Hamilton Racing 1 Chevy WDW TUS HOM PHO POR EVG I70 NHA TEX BRI NZH MLW LVL CNS HPT
6
IRP FLM NSV GLN RCH 61st 305
51 MAR
5
SON MMR CAL PHO LVS
1998 40 WDW
34
HOM PHO POR EVG I70 GLN TEX BRI MLW NZH CAL PPR IRP NHA FLM NSV HPT LVL 69th 186
1 RCH
34
MEM GTY MAR
33
SON MMR PHO LVS
1999 4 Dodge HOM PHO EVG MMR MAR
22
MEM
21
PPR I70 BRI TEX PIR GLN MLW NSV NZH MCH NHA
22
IRP GTY HPT RCH
31
LVS LVL TEX 36th 539
04 CAL
4
2000 4 DAY
30
HOM PHO MMR MAR
1*
PIR GTY MEM
29
PPR EVG TEX KEN GLN MLW NHA
20
NZH MCH IRP NSV CIC RCH
10
DOV TEX CAL 42nd 586
2001 DAY HOM
15*
MMR MAR GTY DAR
1*
PPR DOV TEX MEM MLW KAN KEN NHA
25
IRP
4
NSH CIC NZH RCH
7
SBO TEX LVS PHO CAL 38th 707
2002 DAY DAR MAR GTY PPR DOV TEX MEM MLW KAN KEN NHA MCH IRP
30
NSH RCH
14
TEX SBO LVS CAL PHO HOM 66th 194
2003 DAY
4
DAR
1
MMR
4
MAR
5
CLT
7
DOV
2
TEX
7
MEM
7
MLW
29
KAN
16
KEN
18
GTW
14
MCH
10
IRP
3
NSH
11
BRI
12
RCH
8
NHA
3
CAL
16
LVS
10
SBO
8
TEX
10
MAR
5
PHO
5
HOM
1*
6th 3627
2004 DAY
11
ATL
1
MAR
31
MFD
4
CLT
10
DOV
19
TEX
7
MEM
1
MLW
6
KAN
2
KEN
1
GTW
17
MCH
5
IRP
3
NSH
1
BRI
12
RCH
26
NHA
15
LVS
5
CAL
5
TEX
3
MAR
26
PHO
7
DAR
2
HOM
16
1st 3624
2005 04 DAY
1
CAL
2
ATL
3
MAR
20
GTY
6
MFD
1*
CLT
28
DOV
21
TEX
17
MCH
3
MLW
6
KAN
12
KEN
31
MEM
6
IRP
13
NSH
9
BRI
31
RCH
24
NHA
30
LVS
5
MAR
14
ATL
7
TEX
9
PHO
17
HOM
31
6th 3164
2006 18 DAY
21
CAL
23
ATL
14
MAR GTY CLT MFD DOV TEX MCH MLW KAN KEN MEM IRP NSH BRI NHA LVS TAL MAR ATL TEX PHO HOM 49th 315

International Race of Champions

(key) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)

International Race of Champions results
Season Make 1 2 3 4 Pos. Points Ref
2005 Pontiac DAY
3
TEX
5
RCH
12
ATL
10
7th 34
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