The O’Reilly 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Memphis Motorsports Park on June 30 will be dedicated to NASCAR great Bobby Hamilton, who died earlier this year of complications from cancer.
In celebration of his life, his Tennessee roots and his commitment to the sport, the Bobby Hamilton Racing team – including his wife Lori and crew members of both the No. 4 and No. 18 trucks – will be honored and recognized as Grand Marshals of the race.
“We are very honored that people want to pay their respects to Bobby in such a way, †said Lori Hamilton. “Memphis Motorsports Park has a lot of great memories for our team with Bobby since we won a race there the year we won the championship. Going to the tracks for the first time without him is hard but paying tribute to Bobby helps us remember those good times we all had as a team. â€
Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen has also signed a certificate recognizing June 30 as “Bobby Hamilton Day†at Memphis Motorsports Park. And track officials will unveil a new street name on the property in tribute to Hamilton.
All of the Craftsman Truck Series competitors will carry a special memorial decal through the O’Reilly 200 weekend to remember the 2004 series champion. And several of his friends within NASCAR will share their memories with the fans during a special pre-race ceremony on the start-finish line.
With the NASCAR Busch Series in New Hampshire on the same day, Bobby Hamilton Jr. will be competing with Team Rensi Motorsports and unable to attend.
A four-time winner in the Cup Series and rookie of the year in 1991, Hamilton left the Cup Series after the 2002 season to focus on his thriving Craftsman Truck Series team, and went on to win the Truck title in 2004 in only his second full season in the series. His season-long pursuit of the title included a win in Memphis at the O’Reilly 200 as one of four victories on the way to a 46-point margin at season’s end in his self-owned No. 4 Dodge, the manufacturer’s first championship in the series.
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