Hamilton, Jr. Powers To Third Place Finish In Talladega

You knew it was going to be a good day when Bobby Hamilton, Jr. blasted his way from 36th to 12th in just three laps Saturday afternoon at Talladega Superspeedway.  The Smithfield Foods driver was bound and determined to leave his mark on the Aaron’s 312 race.  Over the course of the next two hours, Hamilton managed to steer clear of major accidents and keep his eyes focused on the front of the pack.

With less than 20 laps remaining, Hamilton became a serious player for the win.  Agreements were being made and broken between cars as each driver jockeyed for position on the 2.66 mile track.   On the final lap, Hamilton hung tough and followed David Stremme through the heavy traffic.  He battled Jason Leffler for the final 1000 yards and claimed a strong third place finish.  The finish placed Hamilton into the 10th position for the season long point’s race.  Hamilton is the highest driver in points with less than ten starts.

Hamilton spoke to the media following the event.

“It was really mind-blowing was that you couldn’t get anything done on the outside. You had to have a ton of help. The track has just so much grip. But overall, like I said, you had to, once we got past that big one eliminating a lot of the cars, it was who could stick around the bottom and who’s going to make the move at the end. A lot of those guys took off for the high side. Matter of fact, I asked the 64, ‘What’s he doing? Is he going to go? Is he going to stay right there?’ And they said he’s going to wait until there’s two to go, and it happened with one to go. But, overall, it worked out for the Smithfield Ford.. Overall, it was a pretty good day. Talladega is simple: Put yourself in position and you’re going to have a shot at winning – well, maybe not at winning, because I don’t think anybody could touch the 20, but put yourself in position and you’re going to have a good day.”

The Nationwide Series will now move forward to the Richmond International Raceway for Friday night racing action.