Hamilton Runs Strong in Milwaukee

The 13th place finish at The Milwaukee Mile doesn’t come close to indicating how well Bobby Hamilton, Jr. ran in Saturday night’s NASCAR Busch Series race.  The driver of the McDonald’s Ford Fusion started the 250 lap event in 11th place and after running nearly the entire race inside the top-five, finished 13th.

From the start of the event, Hamilton was fast on the flat one mile racetrack.  Crew Chief Chris Wright had prepared a strong race car and the pit crew provided Bobby with solid pit stops.  A top-five finish was going to be just the medicine the doctor ordered for the No. 35 Team Rensi Motorsports organization.

As the race approached the final 75 laps, Hamilton and the remainder of the teams took the opportunity for a pit stop under caution.  The pit area at The Milwaukee Mile is very tight, leading to tough working conditions for the teams.  A slight error in the pits came at the wrong time for the McDonald’s car and Hamilton dropped ten positions following the pit stop.  From that point forward, Hamilton was sandwiched in traffic and could only manage a 13th place finish.   The finish allowed Hamilton to move up to 8th in the Busch Series Point’s Championship.

“We had a top-five car tonight, so it hurts to come out of here with a 13th place finish,” Hamilton said. “Next week in New Hampshire, we race on another flat track, so we should be strong again.  It’s time for us to bring the McDonald’s Ford home inside the top-five.

For the first time since Harry Gant drove in a relief effort for Jack Ingram in 1985, a relief driver visited victory lane.  Nextel Cup star Denny Hamlin took over the seat of Aric Almirola early in the race Saturday night and drove to victory.  Next week the Busch Series will visit New Hampshire International Speedway for racing action on Saturday afternoon.