 Bobby
Hamilton's trip to racing stardom came down the seam pat as so many other NASCAR
greats - Nashville Raceway.
Having grownup around racing with
his father and grandfather building racecars for country music great Marty
Robbins, the younger Hamilton cut his teeth in racing around the Nashville area.
By winning track championships at Highland-Rim Speedway and Nashville Speedway,
the 43 year old driver got one of his first big breaks in 1988 when he beat
Nashville Speedway greats Darrell Waltrip and Sterling Marlin, as well as Bill
Elliott, in a special four car "Super Showdown."
It was that night that helped open eyes that would put him in Winston Cup cars
for such owners as Rick Hendrick, George Bradshaw, Felix Sabates, Richard Petty
and Larry McClure.
Hamilton's first venture into Winston Cup racing came in 1989 when he qualified
fifth at Phoenix for car owner Rick Hendrick - in a car that was designed to be
a film car for the Tom Cruise movie "Days of Thunder." Hamilton
did more than film a race movie that fall afternoon, as he ran near the front
all afternoon before retiring from the event.
On his way to winning three NASCAR Winston Cup Series events - two for Petty
Enterprises and one for Morgan-McClure Racing, Hamilton won rookie of the year
honors in 1991 while driving for Bradshaw and finished ninth int he Winston Cup
series standings in 1996.
After a season with Sabates, Hamilton joined the famed Petty Enterprises team
and returned them to victory in 1984. His first career victory came at the
same location as his first start - Phoenix raceway. One year later, he
returned to victory lane at North Carolina Speedway.
His winning ways didn't stop in 1998. After joining Morgan-McClure racing
at the beginning of the season, Hamilton captured his third career victory by
winning at Martinsville raceway.
In addition to driving Winston Cup cars, hamilton and his wife, Debbie, own a
successful NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team driven by Joe Ruttman. He
also keeps a close watch on the career of his 22-year-old son, Bobby Jr., who
races full-time in the NASCAR Busch Series.
Hamilton and his family reside in Nashville.
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