Last week was the 20th anniversary of the “Days of Thunder” movie, and it brought back a lot of memories.
Not only was it a big deal for the sport because of all the attention and exposure that it brought to NASCAR with its cast of such stars as Tom Cruise, Robert Duvall and Nicole Kidman, but closer to home it represented a career-changer for a good guy who had endured some hard times.
It all came about when Rick Hendrick, an advisor to the movie, was asked to suggest a driver for the movie car. Darrell Waltrip, driving for Hendrick at the time, recommended Nashville’s Bobby Hamilton, with whom he was acquainted from their days at Nashville’s Fairgrounds Speedway.
Hamilton, despite his rough edges, wasn’t shy around the Hollywood stars and NASCAR big-timers. He climbed into the car at Phoenix Raceway, qualified 5th, and raced like it was a Saturday-night fender-bender at the Fairgrounds. He ran in the lead for 10 laps before NASCAR waved him in.
Somebody forgot to tell Bobby he wasn’t supposed to really be racing.
Team owner George Bradshaw was so impressed by Hamilton’s performance that he signed him to drive one of his Fords.
Hamilton eventually won Winston Cup Rookie of the Year and went to drive for Richard Petty, giving Petty his first victory as a team owner. Hamilton’s fourth and final Cup victory came in 2001 at Talladega, driving for Andy Petree. During his 15-year Cup career, Hamilton made 371 starts and finished 9th in the 1996 standings.
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