Bobby Hamilton dies at age 49

[kelloggs5TLfan]

Sunday, 01/07/07

Bobby Hamilton dies at age 49

Tennessean Staff Reports


Local racing legend Bobby Hamilton passed away today at age 49, according to his son, Bobby Hamilton, Jr.

Hamilton, a former Fairgrounds Speedway champion who won the 2004 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship, missed most of the 2006 season after being diagnosed with cancer.

See tomorrow’s Tennessean for more details.
http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070107/SPORTS09/70107008

[Lee Roy]

How sad. :(

RIP Bobby.

[harvick#1]

wow :(

RIP Bobby

[Erki]

RIP Bobby. :(

What a birthday "present" for Bobby Jr(Jan 8th is his birthday)

[SmokeFan20]

Damn. That's too bad. I always liked Bobby Sr :(

[RaceFanStan]

That is so sad, Bobby Hamilton was a much respected person.
He was one of the few owner/drivers left in NASCAR.
I'm glad he won the CTS Championship when he did as it validated his racing career.

Bobby Hamilton is 1 of only 17 drivers who have won races in the NASCAR "Big 3".
Bobby has 4 Cup Series wins, 1 Busch Series win & 10 Truck Series wins.

Bobby Hamilton will likely give "the Intimidator" a bump for old times sake. :D

[MD24]

RIP http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b59/5242548/candle.gif

[Alexamateo]

This is a shock and very sad. Being a Tennessean, I always pulled for both Hamilton's, Sr. & Jr., and have seen both of them win here in Memphis. (Interestingly enough, both came from behind to win in the late stages of the race.)

Bobby Hamilton Sr. was a great story in NASCAR, coming out of poverty or so I've heard to become a champion driver and owner. He got his big break being hired as a stunt driver on Days of Thunder.

He will be missed and my thoughts and prayers go out to Bobby Jr, and the rest of the family.

[TexasRaceLady]

Rest in Peace, Bobby. You fought the good fight.

God needed another racer for His team.

[princess4e]

I can hardly believe it...what a shock, so sad. I was looking for his return to the trucks.

[call_me_andrew]

I remember seeing him in an interview where he seemed anxious to go racing again. I did not expect this at all.

[Sparky1329]

The Heaven 500 adds one more to the field. RIP Bobby. :(

[Cole_Trickle]

Sad to hear, RIP Bobby :(

[tassiedevilAB]

that is a shock to the system, he was looking forward to race in the trucks again. R I P BOBBY.

[Giuseppe F1]

What a shame and loss to the whole racing community - RIP Bobby

[dwboogityfan]

Damn this horrible disease. Bobby Sr was a great guy and this is such terrible news. RIP Bobby, we'll miss you.

[Cindy_AL]

Another life taken too soon by Cancer. :(

Here's the link to todays story in the Tennesseean.
http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070108/SPORTS09/701080352/1002/MTCN0302

[slorydn1]

RIP Bobby....

[TexasRaceLady]

Saying goodbye to an old friend

Darrell Waltrip / AllWaltrip.com

Folks, I got word on Sunday evening that my good and longtime friend Bobby Hamilton lost his battle with cancer.

I talked with Bobby a few weeks ago, and he was so optimistic. Things were going well. I was worried about him, and I prayed for him. But I didn't think there was any urgency as far as anything happening to him in such a short time. Cancer is a tough battle. It took my dad and father-in-law. Cancer has affected so many of my friends, and I'm sure those of you reading this column would say the same thing.

Bobby Hamilton was really special to me. He was a local driver at the Nashville Fairgrounds when I first met him. He got his start there just like I did. His claim to fame was being the winningest driver at the Fairgrounds, and that's how I became aware of him. I went there for a Busch race in 1988. I needed somebody to help with my car because I was racing at Martinsville. I couldn't be in Nashville to practice or qualify.

Somebody suggested that I get Bobby Hamilton to drive the car for me. I said, "Fine." I had heard how great he was at the Fairgrounds so it was a natural thing to do. He got my car all set up. He qualified in the top three, and I flew in from Martinsville on Saturday afternoon. I didn't get any practice, hopped in the car, started in the rear, and it was the best handling car I ever had at Nashville. The thing drove like a dream, and we ended up lapping the field and winning the race. It was a big night for us, and I gave all the credit to Bobby.

When the race was over, I told him in victory circle, "I don't know how I'll repay you, but if anything comes up, I'll keep you in mind." Lo and behold, it wasn't too long after that they were filming Days of Thunder. They needed a driver for the camera car. I told Rick Hendrick that Bobby would be a good candidate. My crew told me what a natural talent he was, how easy he was to work with and what a great attitude he had.

Rick said, "Well, give him a call, and see if he wants to run the car at Phoenix. Now, it's just a camera car; it's not a real race car. The car is going to be loaded up with equipment. They just want to get the car in there and get some action shots." I told Bobby, but he was elated. "Man, I'll drive anything," he said. "I don't care. I'll drive a dump truck."

He went to Phoenix, and lo and behold, he drove so well and actually got up in the middle of the race to get some great footage for the movie people. He actually ended up leading the race for a few laps in a car that was loaded down with movie cameras. When the race was over, everybody was impressed with the job he did, what a nice man he was and how easy he was to work with.

Lo and behold, the next thing I know he's got a great opportunity to go Cup racing. Later on, he had a pretty good little go of it with the King, getting two of his four Cup wins with Richard Petty and Robbie Loomis.

Then he got into the Craftsman Truck Series, which seemed like the natural place for him to be because he liked to build his own equipment, maintain and oversee his team.

Lo and behold, he won the Craftsman Truck Series in 2004, and he found a home. He gave a bunch of young guys opportunities to drive his stuff. That's the kind of guy he was. He was a sharing, caring and loving man who could drive the wheels off of a race car, and he was a great friend.

I talked to Bobby on occasion, and we would share stories about our setups at Bristol and Nashville. We ran very similar setups — "hillbilly setups" we called them — and we were doing that before anybody else was. In Japan at the end of 1998, we had a little run-in. Dale Jarrett had back surgery so I drove the No. 88 Ford for Robert Yates Racing. I was running great. Driving the No. 4 car, Bobby got into me a little bit, and I spun into the fence. It was really mad at him, and he knew I was.

We laughed about it later on. He said, "I avoided you for about a month or two because I didn't want to have to face up to the fact that I had wrecked my hero." That was the thing that touched me so much. A guy that had all the success he had told me that I was his hero. It meant so much to me that he felt that way because, in reality, he was a hero of mine. That he would even think that I had anything to do with his accomplishments was always flattering.

I'm so glad Bobby Jr. drove the No. 18 truck for his father in 2006. Even though he didn't win, it was kind of Bobby's vision like Dale Earnhardt Jr. driving for Dale. Father and son had a vision of having a team and working together, and I'm glad they got to do that for a little while in the Truck Series.

My heart hurts, and I know all fans will be sad. Everybody will be praying for Bobby and his family. One other thing that I always admired about Bobby was he never left home. He stayed right there in Mt. Juliet, building his shop and team there. He hired local people that worked for him at the Fairgrounds. He never had any desire to move to North Carolina or anywhere else. I always asked, "Why don't you move closer to Charlotte? It might be better for you." But he said, "No, I like being near my friends."

Now, it's time of all of his friends to draw near his family and pray Bobby into the kingdom of heaven. That's my prayer. He's standing before the Lord right now, and the Lord is saying, "Bobby Hamilton, good job, my faithful servant." Bobby, like so many other race fans and people that knew you, we loved you, and we miss you. God bless.


Oh, by the way
Benny Parsons is in intensive care in the hospital in Charlotte. We all need to be thinking about Benny and praying for him because he's fighting the same battle that Bobby Hamilton fought. He, his wife Terri and that whole crowd need our prayers and support. Bobby lost his battle with cancer; let's pray for a miracle so Benny can win his.

[muggle not]

Good article by DW.

[kelloggs5TLfan]

Good article by DW.

Yes, it is.

[Mark in Oshawa]

God speed Bobby, the world lost one of the good guys.

A prayer for Benny means that much more, as if we needed another reminder of the fight Benny is having. We lost Bobby, lets pray Benny beats this monster....

[willracefan]

i cant believe this. i thought i had heard bobby had beaten it but yahoo! said there were undiscovered microscopic cancer cells. this is truly sad. wish the family well through this time. :(

[Robert Ryan]

All Pretty sad stuff condolences to his son and family.

[Mihai]

I read about the sad news on a Romanian automotive website:
http://www.auto.ro/A-murit-Bobby-Hamilton--a24996--sh1.html
RIP :(

[Mark in Oshawa]

I wonder, would anyone in Romania even understand who Bobby was? Has NASCAR gone THAT global?? Well, it is a tribute to people like Bobby Hamilton who made the sport what it is. In the end, it is the personality and generosity of spirit of guys like Bobby that have made NASCAR as big as it is, and he will be missed by more fans than some bigger but more controversal figures might be....

[oldhippie]

cancer dont discriminate-it kills most people that get it :(

[djarumdudley]

this was an utter and unfortuante surprise when i heard about. RIP Bobby.

[tstran17_88]

I remember seeing him in an interview where he seemed anxious to go racing again. I did not expect this at all.
The week before, Nascar Scene ran a blurb in their paper mentioning that he was still undergoing chemo, but was still calling the shots at BHR. Sounds like he was still involved until the end.

RIP Bobby. :(