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was a driver and owner in the NASCAR Truck Series circuit and the winner of the 2004 NASCAR Truck Series championship. Hamilton owned Bobby Hamilton Racing, which fielded three entries in each Truck Series event. Hamilton's son, Bobby Hamilton, Jr., was also a driver in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Hamilton may be best remembered for two of his NASCAR Cup wins. Bobby ran his first NASCAR race in the xfinity Series; making two starts in 1988; finishing 14th and 20th. He ran the full Xfinity season in 1989. He started 29th and pulled off the win at Richmond in September. Rick Wilson was leading at the lap 170 mark when he crashed and Hamilton assumed the lead; He held on the last 30 laps to claim his only Xfinity series win. He got his first Cup start at Phoenix in late 1989. 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 a movie car at the 1989 Autoworks 500 in Phoenix, in a car that was not intended to be competitive. The car was the #51 Exxon-sponsored machine, portrayed in the movie as being driven by the character Rowdy Burns. At this time Hamilton was a relative unknown, but he performed outstandingly and took the lead on lap 81 and then again from Geoff Bodine on lap 209.

Shortly afterwards his motor billowed smoke and scattered part and pieces all over the track; and his day was done. Greg Sacks was also driving a "movie car" - the one of "Cole Trickle". Hamilton returned to running full time in the Xfinity Series in 1990 and posted seven top five finishes. His great showing in the Cup race at Phoenix and a good Xfinity season opened the eyes of a few Cup owners and Mark Smith hired Hamilton to drive his Country Time sponsored Oldsmobile for 1991. He posted four top 10 finishes in his rookie season. He drove for Smith through the 1993 season; when he was Hired by Felix Sebates hired him to wheel the #40 Kendall Oil Pontiac. He only was able to get one top 10 finish that season; and was released. He was hired by Petty Enterprises to drive the #43 STP machine, where he remained through 1997.

In 1995 he posted ten top-tens and moved up to fourteenth in the final standings. His first career victory at the 1996 Dura Lube 500 at Phoenix was the first win for the #43 Petty car since Richard Petty's last win in 1984. Oddly enough his first win would come at the site of his first start (Phoenix). He qualified 17th and by lap 81 he had taken the lead. He would lead on a couple other occasions and took the lead for good with 30 laps to go to take the victory. He finished a career best of ninth in the points that season. The following season he would score another win for Petty Enterprises taking the checkers at Rockingham NC. This win would come exactly one year to the day after his first win. Petty and Hamilton split after the 1997 season and Bobby went to drive the Kodak Chevy for Larry McClure. The duo posted a win in only their

eighth start as they would claim the victory at at Martinsville VA. It would be a convincing win as he would win the pole and lead 378 of the 500 laps. He stayed with McClure through 2000 when he went to drive for owner Andy Petree in the #55 Square D Chevy. He had a memorable win at the Talladega 500 in April 2001. 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. He posted three top-tens in 2002, but suffered a broken shoulder late in the season, causing him to miss several races. Due to the injury, Hamilton left

the Cup Series for the Truck Series driving for his own team, taking the Square D sponsorship with him. Driving the #4 Dana Dodge Ram Hamilton picked up two wins in his first full year on the Truck circuit (2003) 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 #04 in 2005 and won an additional two races on his way to another sixth-place points finish. He drove the #18 Fastenal Dodge for three races in 2006, but was diagnosed with cancer and never raced again, with his son finishing out the season. On March 17, 2006, Hamilton announced that he had been diagnosed with neck cancer. He took part in the 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 #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 #18 Fastenal Dodge for the full 2007 schedule while Hamilton was to continue his cancer treatment. Hamilton died of neck cancer on January 7, 2007. For his career Hamilton competed in 371 CUP events, and won four times. Racing in the Xfinity Series he won once out of 86

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CHARLES ROBERT "BOBBY" HAMILTON - 05/19/1957 - 01/07/2007