Bobby Hamilton

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 a No. 51 Exxon-sponsored Chevrolet, portrayed in the movie as being driven by 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 fourteenth. He competed in the next race at Rockingham and finished twentieth. He drove full-time in the Busch Series in 1989 driving the No. 8 Lighting & Fans Buick for FILMAR Racing, finishing eleventh 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 Oldsmobile, posting four top-ten finishes and narrowly defeating Ted Musgrave for Rookie of the Year.

In 1992, Hamilton had two top-tens 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-tens 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 Pontiac Grand Prix. He had just one top-ten finish and left at the end of the season.

1995–2002

For the 1995 season, Hamilton moved to Petty Enterprises to drive the No. 43 STP Pontiac. He posted ten top-tens and moved up to fourteenth 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 sixteenth in points.

Hamilton 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 tenth in the points. He had another ten top-ten finishes in 2000 and finished that season off thirtieth in points. He left for Andy Petree Racing to drive the No. 55 Square D Chevy. He won his final Cup career race at Talladega and finished eighteenth in points. He posted three top-tens 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, Hamilton 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-three 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, Hamilton 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.

Hamilton drove the No. 18 Fastenal Dodge for the first 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 told the press at Atlanta Motor Speedway that he had been diagnosed with head and neck cancer, discovered during the removal of an infected wisdom tooth. Hamilton announced that the Craftsman Truck Series race at Atlanta would be his last for the time being, with his son, Bobby Hamilton Jr., replacing him in the 18 truck. Hamilton added that he wanted to return to racing by the end of season race at Homestead–Miami Speedway on November 17 and that he would attend races as his health allowed. He would begin chemotherapy and radiation at Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. Hamilton finished 14th in the race at Atlanta that evening.

Hamilton finished chemotherapy and radiation treatments on June 7 and retained his goal to make it back to his truck at Homestead–Miami. Hamilton added that he wanted to be back at the track, but his doctors told him his white blood cell count had to rise before they would allow it. He also began working on Craftsman For a Cure, a charity designed to help multiple other organizations, including Victory Junction and Relay For Life. Hamilton returned to the track on July 8 to watch the Truck Series race at Kentucky Speedway. By August 2006, Hamilton returned to his shop to perform everyday duties and returned to the track at Nashville Superspeedway on August 12 to watch his son race and answer questions to the press. Hamilton's doctor, Barbara Murphy, added that a recent scan had shown forward progress and no sign of the cancer advancing.

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 continued in late model and truck racing until his death in 2026.

Hamilton decided to sit out the season finale race at Homestead–Miami on November 17, 2006, citing that he was dealing with medical treatments for a sore throat. He added that he would look at the opening race of the 2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season at Daytona International Speedway for his return. Bobby Hamilton Jr. would return to the NASCAR Busch Series for the 2007 season.

With his health in flux, Bobby Hamilton Racing announced on December 8 that they would hire Ken Schrader to race the No. 18 truck for the 2007 season on weekends where the Nextel Cup Series and Truck Series would be together. At races where Schrader's Cup schedule took priority, a driver would be determined later on. However, later in December, Hamilton returned to chemotherapy due to the return of cancer cells in his neck.

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.)

Nextel Cup Series NASCAR Nextel 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 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 PHO32 ATL 89th 72 1990 Diamond Ridge Motorsports 68 Pontiac DAY RCH CAR ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT39 DOV SON POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS 66th 168 Tri-Star Motorsports CLT28 CAR PHO ATL40 1991 Olds DAY10 RCH28 CAR21 ATL33 DAR20 BRI31 MARDNQ TAL12 CLT27 DOV11 SON22 POC35 MCH22 DAY28 POC11 TAL34 GLN29 MCH19 BRI13 DAR10 RCH12 DOV8 MAR17 NWS18 CLT29 CAR6 PHO13 ATL18 22nd 2915 Pontiac NWS21 1992 Olds DAY32 CAR18 RCH31 ATL24 DAR23 BRI26 NWS27 MAR13 TAL20 CLT21 DOV18 SON34 POC17 MCH31 POC22 GLN22 BRI21 25th 2787 Chevy DAY33 TAL24 Ford MCH15 DAR21 RCH32 DOV10 MAR28 NWS31 CLT15 CAR19 PHO8 ATL12 1993 DAY27 CAR15 RCH22 ATL26 DAR23 BRI35 NWS29 MAR33 TAL SON 37th 1348 Akins Motorsports 38 Ford CLTDNQ DOV10 POC MCH POC19 TALDNQ GLN MCH Moroso Racing 20 Ford DAY17 NHA BRI33 DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT37 CAR PHO ATL21 1994 SABCO Racing 40 Pontiac DAY12 CAR38 RCH33 ATL19 DAR25 BRI9 NWS14 MAR13 TAL12 SON33 CLT17 DOV34 POC27 MCH41 DAY24 NHA40 POC23 TAL22 IND24 GLN34 MCHDNQ BRI28 DAR22 RCH34 DOV31 MAR13 NWS12 CLT19 CAR33 PHO11 ATL24 23rd 2749 1995 Petty Enterprises 43 Pontiac DAY18 CAR36 RCH9 ATL17 DAR9 BRI4 NWS13 MAR8 TAL15 SON14 CLT9 DOV24 POC15 MCH25 DAY40 NHA16 POC19 TAL21 IND11 GLN33 MCH8 BRI20 DAR14 RCH5 DOV2 MAR4 NWS16 CLT10 CAR30 PHO31 ATL25 14th 3576 1996 DAY20 CAR24 RCH6* ATL16 DAR16 BRI32 NWS8 MAR6 TAL11 SON17 CLT31 DOV21 POC5 MCH15 DAY16 NHA20 POC39 TAL17 IND31 GLN38 MCH13 BRI10 DAR19 RCH7 DOV10 MAR3* NWS8 CLT19 CAR28 PHO1 ATL6 9th 3639 1997 DAY15 CAR28 RCH5 ATL10 DAR37 TEX20 BRI13 MAR2 SON19 TAL31 CLT29 DOV17 POC39 MCH32 CAL23 DAY20 NHA31 POC32 IND20 GLN28 MCH26 BRI22 DAR20 RCH38 NHA3 DOV13 MAR3 CLT21 TAL20 CAR1 PHO3 ATL7 16th 3450 1998 Morgan-McClure Motorsports 4 Chevy DAY12 CAR9 LVS20 ATL21 DAR35 BRI18 TEX26 MAR1* TAL30 CAL27 CLT20 DOV17 RCH16 MCH38 POC20 SON2 NHA15 POC20 IND20 GLN13 MCH20 BRI11 NHA34 DAR23 RCH6 DOV10 MAR14 CLT4 TAL15 DAY21 PHO21 CAR6 ATL6 10th 3786 1999 DAY29 CAR9 LVS24 ATL12 DAR7 TEX29 BRI18 MAR33 TAL31 CAL30 RCH4 CLT13 DOV21 MCH31 POC10 SON11 DAY8 NHA16 POC17 IND38 GLN22 MCH35 BRI41 DAR7 RCH7 NHA11 DOV30 MAR30 CLT22 TAL9 CAR10 PHO23 HOM25 ATL10 13th 3564 2000 DAY43 CAR40 LVS34 ATL13 DAR7 BRI15 TEX16 MAR18 TAL43 CAL18 RCH31 CLT34 DOV27 MCH43 POC40 SON16 DAY36 NHA22 POC39 IND40 GLN16 MCH14 BRI34 DAR22 RCH38 NHA35 DOV25 MAR35 CLT34 TAL36 CAR9 PHO43 HOM31 ATL16 30th 2715 2001 Andy Petree Racing 55 Chevy DAY8 CAR13 LVS30 ATL22 DAR9 BRI8 TEX18 MAR4* TAL1 CAL36 RCH28 CLT24 DOV20 MCH22 POC33 SON15 DAY38 CHI30 NHA29 POC29 IND27 GLN36 MCH28 BRI23 DAR15 RCH13 DOV10 KAN15 CLT31 MAR13 TAL5 PHO36 CAR22 HOM39 ATL27 NHA29 18th 3575 2002 DAY32 CAR9 LVS43 ATL29 DAR13 BRI28 TEX31 MAR27 TAL22 CAL30 RCH17 CLT23 DOV9 POC27 MCH37 SON31 DAY16 CHI15 NHA26 POC19 IND23 GLN19 MCH23 BRI11 DAR23 RCH NHA DOV KAN TAL CLT27 MAR25 ATL35 CAR38 PHO29 HOM10 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 IND27 GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH NHA DOV TAL KAN CLT ATL30 TEX PHO HOM 60th 201 Phoenix Racing 09 Dodge MAR39

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 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 CLT14 CAR20 MAR 100th 0 1989 FILMAR Racing 8 Buick DAY19 CAR MAR28 HCY23 DAR24 BRI24 NZH20 SBO14 LAN24 NSV2 CLT21 DOV29 ROU19 LVL20 VOL16 MYB3 SBO16 HCY24 DUB6 IRP17 ROU23 DAR27 11th 3133 Olds BRI24 RCH1 DOV24 MAR22 CLT17 CAR3 MAR8 1990 DAY11 RCH9 CAR35 MAR5 HCY26 DAR12 BRI11 LAN4 SBO7 NZH8 HCY6 CLT36 DOV25 ROU4 VOL3 MYB23 OXF27 NHA38 SBO3 DUB20 IRP29 ROU6 BRI7 DAR21 RCH14 DOV5 MAR24 CLT5 NHA42 CAR34 MAR8 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 IRP25 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 IRP25 ROU MCH NHA BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT MAR CAR HCY 110th 88 1993 Akins-Sutton Motorsports 38 Ford DAY CAR RCH DAR BRI HCY23 ROU MAR31 NZH CLT IRP9 MCH NHA BRI DAR 47th 594 Key Motorsports 05 Chevy DOV29 MYB GLN MLW TAL RCH21 DOV32 ROU CLT MAR CAR HCY Day Enterprise Racing 16 Chevy ATL38 1995 Team SABCO 42 Pontiac DAY36 CAR RCH ATL NSV15 DAR BRI21 HCY NHA NZH CLTDNQ DOV MYB GLN MLW TAL37 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 HOM24 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 MCH28 BRI DAR RCH 80th 276 80 DOV15 CLT28 CAR MEM PHODNQ HOMDNQ 2001 Carroll Racing 08 Chevy DAY42 CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX 93rd 140 Phoenix Racing 1 Chevy NSH20 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 IRP16 MCH BRI CAL RCH DOV KAN CLT MEM ATL PHO DAR HOM 111th 115 2005 Sadler Brothers Racing 95 Dodge DAY11 CAL MXC LVS ATL18 NSH6 BRI TEX PHO TAL DAR27 RCH CLT DOV NSH22 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 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 MAR31* NWS25 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 HPT6 IRP FLM NSV GLN RCH 61st 305 51 MAR5 SON MMR CAL PHO LVS 1998 40 WDW34 HOM PHO POR EVG I70 GLN TEX BRI MLW NZH CAL PPR IRP NHA FLM NSV HPT LVL 69th 186 1 RCH34 MEM GTY MAR33 SON MMR PHO LVS 1999 4 Dodge HOM PHO EVG MMR MAR22 MEM21 PPR I70 BRI TEX PIR GLN MLW NSV NZH MCH NHA22 IRP GTY HPT RCH31 LVS LVL TEX 36th 539 04 CAL4 2000 4 DAY30 HOM PHO MMR MAR1* PIR GTY MEM29 PPR EVG TEX KEN GLN MLW NHA20 NZH MCH IRP NSV CIC RCH10 DOV TEX CAL 42nd 586 2001 DAY HOM15* MMR MAR GTY DAR1* PPR DOV TEX MEM MLW KAN KEN NHA25 IRP4 NSH CIC NZH RCH7 SBO TEX LVS PHO CAL 38th 707 2002 DAY DAR MAR GTY PPR DOV TEX MEM MLW KAN KEN NHA MCH IRP30 NSH RCH14 TEX SBO LVS CAL PHO HOM 66th 194 2003 DAY4 DAR1 MMR4 MAR5 CLT7 DOV2 TEX7 MEM7 MLW29 KAN16 KEN18 GTW14 MCH10 IRP3 NSH11 BRI12 RCH8 NHA3 CAL16 LVS10 SBO8 TEX10 MAR5 PHO5 HOM1* 6th 3627 2004 DAY11 ATL1 MAR31 MFD4 CLT10 DOV19 TEX7 MEM1 MLW6 KAN2* KEN1* GTW17 MCH5* IRP3 NSH1 BRI12 RCH26 NHA15 LVS5 CAL5 TEX3 MAR26 PHO7 DAR2 HOM16 1st 3624 2005 04 DAY1 CAL2 ATL3 MAR20 GTY6 MFD1* CLT28 DOV21 TEX17 MCH3 MLW6 KAN12 KEN31 MEM6 IRP13 NSH9 BRI31 RCH24 NHA30 LVS5 MAR14 ATL7 TEX9 PHO17 HOM31 6th 3164 2006 18 DAY21 CAL23 ATL14 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 DAY3 TEX5 RCH12 ATL10 7th 34