Tire Issue Derails Hamilton in Charlotte

In one quick motion, the hopes of Bobby Hamilton went down the drain at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.  Early in the 200 lap race, the driver of the McDonald’s Ford was forced to pit under green flag conditions for a tire issue.  The untimely pit stop costs Hamilton two laps to the leaders and placed the Tennessee native in a bad position he would never recover from.  The trouble led him to a 33rd place finish and a drop of 5 positions in the Busch Series Point’s Championship.  Four of the five drivers to pass in the point’s race were full-time Nextel Cup drivers.

After practicing on Thursday afternoon, the Busch cars were off the track for 45 hours before qualifying late Saturday afternoon.  The 27 Cup drivers entered in the Busch race climbed from their Cup cars 15 minutes before qualifying started, adding to an already stacked deck against the Busch drivers like Hamilton.  With the third spot in the qualifying order, Hamilton qualified in the 39th position.

At the drop of the green flag, the McDonald’s Ford moved forward and began to find a smooth racing setup.  Then the tire issue hit and the night went downhill.  With no chance to regain the lost laps, Hamilton raced hard the remainder of the event for the 33rd place finish.

“We will put this entire weekend in the rearview mirror and head to Dover next weekend,” Hamilton said.  “I have come close to winning on the Monster Mile before, and hope we can put the McDonald’s Ford up front on Saturday afternoon.”

Kasey Kahne captured the checkered flag on Saturday Night.

The Busch Series will take the green flag in Saturday afternoon at 3:00pm on ESPN.