Hamilton, Jr. Moves to Sixth After Indy Race

The ability to overcome adversity allowed Bobby Hamilton, Jr., driver of the Eckrich Meats/Kroger/McDonald’s Ford, to finish in 13th place on Saturday Night.  After a penalty for speeding on pit road dropped Hamilton back to 28th position with less than 100 laps to go, Hamilton began his charge back to the front.  The determination allowed Hamilton to grab the 13th place finish and move to sixth in the NASCAR Busch Series Point’s Championship.

Driving the specially designed Eckrich Meats Ford with Kroger also on board the hood, Hamilton was determined to exit O’Reilly Raceway Park with a solid finish.   Hamilton qualified in the 28th position and began to move forward early on in the race.  With the top-ten just a couple of positions away, Hamilton received the speeding penalty, essentially starting his race over from the back of the pack.  With tenacious driving, the positions began to improve on a regular basis.  The car was working well and Hamilton was focused on the goal at hand.

Over the final 25 laps, Hamilton gained five positions for the 13th place finish. 

“The penalty hurt us, it kept us from probably finishing around sixth or seventh,” Hamilton said. “Our car was strong all night long, and we helped ourselves in the point’s race again.”

Speaking on the special paint scheme.

 “We really enjoyed driving this car for Eckrich Meats and Kroger.  We got to meet a lot of their customers and employees this week and that’s always a lot of fun.”

With this finish, Hamilton is now only 51 points behind fifth place Kevin Harvick and 73 points behind David Ragan.  Third place Jason Leffler stands 140 points ahead of Hamilton.

Leffler, a regular driver on the Busch Series, rocketed his way past Cup driver Greg Biffle for the win late in the race.  The Busch Series will now head North of the border for a road course race in Montreal on Saturday. Check your local listings for broadcast times in your area.