"I love what I do; I love this business."
-- Bobby Hamilton Sr, March 2006 as he announced he had cancer

People With a Purpose

This group exists to lead different people that is on the Internet to a personal relationship with
Jesus Christ. Helping them to become like Christ in Character and deed.
Also this is a group for different kinds of Bible Studies. We are interdenominational.
Please feel free to join in and learn together.

Please send an email to:
peoplewithapurpose-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Hamilton, 49, dies after battle with neck cancer
By Ryan Smithson, NASCAR.COM


Bobby Hamilton, the 2004 Craftsman Truck Series champion and a four-time winner in the Cup Series, died Sunday. He was 49.

Hamilton, a native of Nashville, Tenn., had been battling cancer for nearly a year. He announced in March 2006 that he was undergoing treatment for neck cancer. He immediately turned over his driving duties in the Craftsman Truck Series to his son, Bobby Hamilton Jr.

"He will be greatly missed as a husband, a father, a grandfather, an owner and a friend," Hamilton's family said in a statement. "We want to thank everyone for their love and support of our racing operation and the outpouring of care and concern during his cancer battle. One of Bobby's greatest loves in life was racing and we will continue on in his honor."
 
Liz Allison, a family friend who co-hosted a radio show with Hamilton, said he was at home with his family in Mount Juliet, Tenn., when he died.

In addition to Bobby Jr., Hamilton is survived by wife Lori and a granddaughter.

Jim Hunter, NASCAR's vice president for communications, saw first-hand the unlikely procession of Hamilton's career from Nashville short track champion to multiple winner in NASCAR's top series.

"He meant an awful lot. He was old school and one of those guys that did it his way," Hunter said. "He was very popular in the garage area and in the industry because he worked real hard. He didn't believe anyone was owed anything."

Hunter said the news hit the sanctioning body especially hard.

"It came as a real shock. We knew [the cancer] was serious, and we knew he was fighting it, but you just never know these things," Hunter said. "He will be missed. He was a tough, tough guy."

Truck Series driver Brendan Gaughan recalled a day last fall when Hamilton took him aside and asked him to drive for his team.

"It floored me," said Gaughan, who eventually decided to turn down the offer. "He asked me to drive for his team, and it was quite an honor. That day will always sit in my head.

"He was a great driver and a great owner. My heart goes out to the BHR organization."

Hamilton was diagnosed with head and neck cancer in February after a malignant growth was found when swelling from dental surgery did not go down.

He raced in the season's first three events, with a best finish of 14th at Atlanta Motor Speedway, before turning over the wheel to his son.

"I love what I do; I love this business," Hamilton said when he disclosed that he had cancer. "NASCAR has been good to me, and I just don't feel comfortable when I am not around it."

Hamilton quit driving in the Cup Series after the 2002 season to focus on his thriving Craftsman Truck Series team. He went on to win the Truck Series title in '04.

"It is a terrible loss to us," said Larry McClure, Hamilton's team owner from 1998-2000. "I will miss him. I always thought of him as my friend."

McClure said he had talked to Hamilton just a few weeks ago.

"I asked him how he was dong and he said, 'Pretty good,' " McClure said. "Just amazing how it can turn like that."

Jeff Purvis, a fellow Tennessean and a close friend of Hamilton's, was shocked at the news of Hamilton's death. A longtime Busch Series regular whose career was curtailed by a 2002 crash, Purvis visited with Ken Schrader on Friday and they had discussed Hamilton's progress.

"We went to lunch and talked about Bobby," Purvis said. "[Schrader] had just left Bobby's shop and came from there to my house.

"[Hamilton] was kind of what racing was supposed to be about. He was a racer's racer. You could talk to him about chassis. He understood racing and the racecars, the event. He really understood racing itself."

Nextel Cup driver Sterling Marlin, a fellow Tennessee native, said a lot of people didn't know Hamilton well even though he was generous enough to give someone the shirt off his back.

"He always had a good vision," Marlin said in Daytona where testing begins Monday. "He always wanted to do things his own way, so he became his own boss, got into the trucks, and it worked out well for him."

Though he made his Cup debut in 1989 -- a one-race deal at Phoenix on Nov. 5 -- Hamilton probably is best known for the unusual way he broke into NASCAR's top series. He served as a stunt driver for the 1990 movie Days of Thunder, performing so well that he was soon hired to run the Cup Series full-time. He went on become rookie of the year in 1991.

His big break, however, came in 1995 when Hamilton was hired to drive the No. 43 of Petty Enterprises. He resurrected the ailing team with 10 top-10 finishes in 1995, and in '96, he won at Phoenix, which helped him finish a career-best ninth in points.

After winning at Rockingham in 1997, Hamilton moved to Morgan-McClure Motorsports for the 1998-2000 seasons. His only win during that time came in '98 at Martinsville.

"He was a good driver and a good businessman," McClure said. "We spent three years with him and it was great. He got us our last win. It was probably the last time the team was competitive, and he kept getting better and better."

Hamilton wrapped up his Cup career with a two-year stint driving for Andy Petree. Hamilton won at Talladega in 2001 -- a thrilling race that went green the entire way -- for Petree's first victory as a car owner, and Petree celebrated by diving across the hood as Hamilton drove into Victory Lane.

"He definitely raced hard," Gaughan said of Hamilton. "I remember that race when he won at Talladega when everyone was falling out of the seat [from the oppressive heat]. That was a testament to how tough he was."

Allison, the widow of former NASCAR star Davey Allison, said, "The thing I loved about Bobby Sr. so much is that he treated everybody the same. It didn't matter if you were one of the drivers he competed against or a fan he'd never laid eyes on before.

"He didn't have a pretentious bone in his body. I think that's why people were drawn to him. He was just very real and had a way of relating to everyone."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.  A Letter from Darrell Waltrip


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. I 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. 
Bobby Hamilton, longtime NASCAR driver, dies of cancer
By TERESA M. WALKER, AP Sports Writer


NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Bobby Hamilton paid his early bills driving a wrecker, got his NASCAR break driving a car used in "Days of Thunder'' and won the 2004 Craftsman Truck championship in his own truck.

Following his death Sunday of cancer at the age of 49, Hamilton was remembered for his love of the sport, kindness and blue-collar persona.

Nextel Cup driver Sterling Marlin, a fellow Tennessee native, said Sunday night that a lot of people didn't get to know Hamilton well, but that the driver who started with nothing and never had the best equipment would be missed.

"He would give you the shirt off his back, and he helped me out a lot through the years,'' Marlin said.

Born in Nashville in 1957, Hamilton got his start on local tracks and qualified fifth in his first Cup race at Phoenix in 1989 with a car used in the movie "Days of Thunder.'' He drove in all of NASCAR's top three divisions, making 371 Cup starts and winning four races in what is now the Nextel Cup series, including the 2001 Talladega 500.
 
The death was shocking to people who had not seen him recently. His racing team announced only last month that Ken Schrader would drive its truck this season.

"NASCAR is saddened by the passing of Bobby Hamilton,'' said Jim Hunter, NASCAR's vice president of communications. "Bobby was a great competitor, dedicated team owner and friend. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of the Hamilton family.''

Hamilton won 10 times in the truck series, including four victories in 2004 when he became the first owner-driver to win a NASCAR series title since the late Alan Kulwicki won the Winston Cup championship in 1992.

"I think at the end of the Cup deal, he was burnt out on the system. But he always had a good vision,'' Marlin said. "He always wanted to do things his own way, so he became his own boss, got into trucks, and it worked out well for him.''

Hamilton was diagnosed in February with head and neck cancer. A malignant growth was found when swelling from dental surgery did not go down.

He raced in the first three truck races of the season, with a best finish of 14th at Atlanta Motor Speedway, before turning over the wheel to his son, Bobby Hamilton Jr. The senior Hamilton then started chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

Liz Allison, widow of former NASCAR star Davey Allison, co-hosted a local radio show with Hamilton that started in January 2006.

"The thing I loved about Bobby Sr. so much is that he treated everybody the same. It didn't matter if you were one of the drivers he competed against or a fan he'd never laid eyes on before,'' Allison said.

"He didn't have a pretentious bone in his body. I think that's why people were drawn to him. He was just very real and had a way of relating to everyone.''

His son also replaced him on the radio show to fulfill his obligation.

By August, he returned to work at Bobby Hamilton Racing in Mount Juliet, about 20 miles east of Nashville. It was his fourth race shop, a facility lacking for nothing and built to prove he could stay in Tennessee and compete in a place he kept so clean he often walked around barefoot.

Doctors indicated his CAT scans looked good. But microscopic cancer cells remained on the right side of his neck.

"Cancer is an ongoing battle, and once you are diagnosed you always live with the thought of the disease in your body,'' Hamilton said in an article posted on NASCAR's Web site last month. "It is the worst thing you could ever imagine.''

That was about as much as Hamilton shared with anyone outside his family and close friends.

"I love what I do; I love this business,'' he said in March 2006 when disclosing he had cancer. "NASCAR has been good to me, and I just don't feel comfortable when I am not around it.''

Hamilton's Nextel Cup wins, in addition to Talladega, came at Phoenix, Rockingham and Martinsville. His best season was in 1996 when he finished ninth in the season standings. He won his first Cup race that year, at Phoenix.

Hamilton drove in the top-level NASCAR series from 1989-05, earning $14.3 million and racing to 20 top-five finishes.

He became a full-time driver-owner in the truck series in 2003.

Another NASCAR favorite, 1973 Winston Cup champion Benny Parsons, was diagnosed with cancer in his left lung in July. He was checked into intensive care last week at a North Carolina hospital.

In addition to Bobby Jr., Hamilton is survived by wife Lori and a granddaughter.

AP Auto Racing Writer Jenna Fryer contributed to this report.
Remembering a champion
By Jerry Bonkowski, Yahoo! Sports

 
There oftentimes is an irony in the way you remember someone who has passed away.

As you try to put their lives, careers and accomplishments in perspective, something that is far removed from the way you normally saw them becomes your favorite or most telling memory of who that person truly was.

Such is my recollection of Bobby Hamilton, who died Sunday, less than a year after shocking the NASCAR world with the announcement that he had head and neck cancer. Hamilton bravely vowed to beat that despicable disease, but it was a race that he could not win, ultimately leaving this earth at the far-too-young age of 49.

It was December 2004 in New York City and I was seated next to Bobby and his wife during a dinner honoring NASCAR's non-Nextel Cup level champions of that season. I had interviewed Bobby several times over the years, but that particular night I saw him in a light that will forever leave a smile on my face whenever I think of him.

After nearly 20 years of racing on the Nextel Cup, Busch and Craftsman Trucks circuits, Bobby was finally at peace with himself, NASCAR and his world, displaying a humble satisfaction that belied his oftentimes cocky and cantankerous persona. He had achieved the shining moment of his career, winning the Craftsman Truck Series championship.

It may not have been the Nextel Cup title he so greatly coveted, but knowing he was the best of the best in the trucks left Hamilton at ease and in perhaps the funniest and most personable state I've ever seen him in.

He was both relaxed and charming, telling humorous stories, spouting off great one-liners and just soaking in the atmosphere. History would finally be able to call him what many already considered him to be even before he won the truck title: a true champion.

He was doing everything he could do to enjoy the moment, but in typical fashion, Bobby was also quick to realize how fragile that achievement could be.

"You have to enjoy it now because you never know if you're ever going to get another chance to be a champion again in your life," I recall him telling me that night. "Some guys never win a championship, so you have to enjoy what you've achieved, take pride in it and hope it isn't going to be the only one you'll ever get."

Unfortunately, cancer ultimately would see to it that one championship would be the only one Hamilton would win in NASCAR.

The way Hamilton was that night, enjoying the accolades for a job well done and a payoff for all the hard work and effort he had put in to win the trucks title was in direct contrast to the way many people perceived him: the grizzled veteran with a reputation of being more like the ornery Dale Earnhardt than the smiling, nice-guy Carl Edwards type.

There's no question Hamilton was an acquired taste for some. He'd oftentimes be more crabby and cranky than congenial and conciliatory, much like his long-time friend Earnhardt. Sometimes you'd swear the late Intimidator and the silver-haired Nashville native were cut from the same hot and cold personality mold.

But that all was part of their charm as both competitors and human beings.

Hamilton, Earnhardt and others of their ilk simply were who they were: old-school racers who were taught from an early age to never take crap from nor easily give in to opponents on a race track.

You could be friends and drinking buddies away from places like Daytona or Talladega, but when you were on a track, there was no love for your fellow driver.

"When you put on that helmet and climb behind the wheel of that race car, no one is your friend out there on the track," Hamilton once told me.

Why, even in those few instances he competed in the same race with son Bobby Hamilton Jr., there was no father-son congeniality. It was every man for himself, blood relations or not.

Hamilton, who would have turned 50 on May 29, lived life gregariously and by his own rules, even if doing so occasionally put him at odds with NASCAR and his fellow competitors. But ultimately, Hamilton respected NASCAR and his peers, and they respected him right back.

The racing world is much better off today because it had Hamilton in it for as long as it did. But that same world is now a bit smaller and less colorful without Hamilton.

As time goes on, NASCAR will continue to lose even more of those old-school drivers who helped make it what it is today, hard-edged guys like Buddy Baker, Cale Yarborough, Junior Johnson, David Pearson, Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip, among others, leaving us with even fewer links to the sport's colorful past.

That past is something NASCAR, its fans and anyone associated should never forget, nor should they ever forget Hamilton for his achievements and contributions.

He may have been a bit rough at times, but deep down he was a good person, a champion, that did not deserve to take his final ride at such a young age.

Veteran motorsports writer Jerry Bonkowski is Yahoo! Sports' NASCAR columnist.
By the Numbers: Bobby Hamilton (1957-2007)
By Josh Pate, NASCAR.COM


Bobby Hamilton spent significant time in all three of NASCAR's top series, although his most recent time at the racetrack was spent in the Truck Series as a driver and as an owner.

He ran races in 11 different seasons, but Hamilton ran three full-time seasons in the Truck Series: 2003-2005. During that span, and in his experience in Cup and Busch, Hamilton became a short-track specialist with Cup victories at Martinsville and Phoenix (although he did win at Talladega).

His lone Busch victory was at Richmond, another short track.

In the Truck Series, Hamilton kept his short-track prowess, but expanded to tackle bigger tracks like Atlanta, Kentucky, Homestead and even Daytona. However no track was better to him than when he danced with the Lady in Black.

What you didn't know

1.3 -- Average finish for Bobby Hamilton in his three Truck Series races at Darlington. Hamilton won in his first two starts (2001 and 2003) and finished second in 2004.
 
Key Dates

Nov. 5, 1989 -- Bobby Hamilton's first start in the Cup Series, which came at the Autoworks 500 at Phoenix. Hamilton started fifth in Hendrick Motorsports' No. 51 Chevrolet and led five laps before his engine blew, relegating him to a 32nd-place finish.
Oct. 27, 1996 -- Bobby Hamilton's first career victory in the Cup Series, which came at the Dura Lube 500 at Phoenix. Driving the No. 43 Pontiac for Petty Enterprises, Hamilton beat Mark Martin by more than a second to the finish line.
July 27, 1997 -- Bobby Hamilton's first career start in the Truck Series while driving for his own team. Hamilton, who had two prior truck starts, went to the Heartland Park Topeka road course and finished sixth.
April 10, 2000 -- Bobby Hamilton's first Truck Series victory, which came at the NAPA 250 at Martinsville. Hamilton led 179 laps. He only competed in five races that season.
May 5, 2005 -- Bobby Hamilton's final Truck Series victory, which came at the UAW-GM Ohio 250 at Mansfield. It was Hamilton's second victory in the first six races of the season.
March 17, 2006 -- Bobby Hamilton's final start in the Truck Series, which came at the John Deere 200 at Atlanta. Hamilton announced he had neck cancer earlier in the weekend but decided the Atlanta race would be his last before concentrating on battling the disease. He finished 14th.
 
Numerology

Bobby Hamilton has victories in all three of NASCAR's top series, with four wins in the Cup Series, one in the Busch Series and 10 in the Truck Series.

• 1 -- Victory for Bobby Hamilton in the Busch Series, which came Sept. 9, 1989, at Richmond. It was the first of only two seasons in which Hamilton ran the entire Busch schedule.
• 2 -- Truck Series starts for Bobby Hamilton in his 102-race career in which he did not drive for his own team. His first two starts in the series in 1996 were in the No. 48 Chevrolet with owner C. Spicer.
• 2 -- DNFs for Bobby Hamilton in the Truck Series from 2003-2005, a span of 75 races. His overall average finish in those three seasons was 12.2.
• 3 -- Starts for Bobby Hamilton as a Cup Series team owner. His son, Bobby Hamilton Jr., made one start at Homestead in 2000, and Hamilton ran two races for himself in 2005, at Indianapolis and Atlanta.
• 4 -- Truck Series victories for Bobby Hamilton during the 2004 season in which Hamilton won the series championship. Hamilton beat Dennis Setzer by 46 points. Hamilton had 12 top-fives and 16 top-10s.
• 4 -- Cup Series victories for Bobby Hamilton, the last one coming April 22, 2001, at Talladega when he beat Tony Stewart by .163 seconds.
• 9 -- Ranking of Bobby Hamilton in the standings at the end of the 1996 Cup Series season, the best finish of his career. He had a victory, three top-fives and 11 top-10s driving the famous No. 43 Pontiac for Petty Enterprises.
• 10 -- Career victories for Bobby Hamilton in his Truck Series career. Hamilton raced only three full-time seasons, finishing sixth in 2003, winning the title in '04 and again finishing sixth in '05.
• 11 -- Seasons that Bobby Hamilton competed full time in the Cup Series.
• 31 -- Top-five finishes in the Truck Series for Bobby Hamilton, ranking him 12th on the all-time list.
• 54 -- Top-10 finishes in the Truck Series for Bobby Hamilton, tying him for 15th on the all-time list with Greg Biffle and Mike Wallace. Hamilton finished in the top 10 in 52.9 percent of his races.
• 559 -- Career starts for Bobby Hamilton in NASCAR's top three series. He made 371 Cup starts, 86 Busch starts and 102 Truck starts.
• 1,676 -- Laps led by Bobby Hamilton in his Truck Series career, ranking him eighth on the all-time list. He is one of only 10 NCTS drivers to have led more than 1,000 laps in their career.

 

Bobby Hamilton's career statistics

Cup Series

Year Starts Wins Top-5 Top-10 Rank Start Finish 1989 1 0 0 0 89 5.0 32.0 1990 3 0 0 0 66 17.7 35.7 1991 28 0 0 4 22 22.4 19.9 1992 29 0 0 2 25 24.1 22.3 1993 15 0 0 1 37 24.1 24.4 1994 30 0 0 1 23 26.9 24.0 1995 31 0 4 10 14 16.6 16.8 1996 31 1 3 11 9 19.9 16.5 1997 32 1 6 8 16 23.2 19.6 1998 33 1 3 8 10 26.7 17.0 1999 34 0 1 10 13 23.9 19.8 2000 34 0 0 2 30 27.9 28.0 2001 36 1 3 7 18 22.3 21.8 2002 31 0 0 3 32 26.6 24.1 2005 3 0 0 0 60 32.7 32.0 Total 371 4 20 67   23.7 21.3

Busch Series

Year Starts Wins Top-5 Top-10 Rank Start Finish 1988 2 0 0 0 100 32.5 17.0 1989 28 1 4 6 11 21.3 17.8 1990 31 0 7 14 11 17.4 16.4 1991 1 0 0 0 96 20.0 25.0 1992 1 0 0 0 110 11.0 25.0 1993 7 0 0 1 47 24.0 26.1 1995 4 0 0 0 57 20.0 27.2 1996 1 0 0 0 88 32.0 24.0 1999 3 0 0 0 80 27.0 23.7 2001 2 0 0 0 93 19.5 31.0 2004 1 0 0 0 111 14.0 16.0 2005 5 0 0 1 63 26.0 16.8 Totals 86 1 11 22   20.7 19.1

Truck Series

Race Starts Wins Top-5 Top-10 Rank Start Finish 1996 2 0 0 0 86 9.0 28.0 1997 2 0 1 2 61 15.0 5.5 1998 3 0 0 0 69 24.0 33.7 1999 5 0 1 1 36 13.2 20.0 2000 5 1 1 2 42 7.6 18.0 2001 5 1 2 3 38 5.4 10.4 2002 2 0 0 0 66 8.5 22.0 2003 25 2 10 18 6 8.2 8.6 2004 25 4 12 16 1 9.8 9.4 2005 25 2 6 12 6 18.7 13.9 2006 3 0 0 0 49 26.7 19.3 Totals 102 10 33 54   12.4 12.9

Daytona Through The Decades

FIRST IN A FIVE-PART SERIES ON FEBRUARY RACING AT DAYTONA BEACH

By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea...

That's where Cotton Owens, his fellow drivers and the crews of NASCAR's foremost circuit, then known as the Grand National Series, were gathered in mid-February of 1957.

They were back in Florida to race once again on the storied Beach and Road Course a few miles south of Daytona Beach.  The layout measured 3.2 miles, split evenly between the hard-packed oceanside sand and the straight-as-an-arrow asphalt of U.S. A-1A.  Short, hairpin turns in the sand connected the two long straightaways, giving the "track" the appearance of an elongated paper clip. 

Racing on what was popularly known as "the Beach Course" had begun in 1936, was discontinued 1942-45 because of World War II, and resumed in '46.

In 1957 NASCAR founder/president Big Bill France was in the process of building a high-banked, 2.5-mile superspeedway just west of Daytona Beach, so competitors and fans alike were aware that beach racing soon would pass into history.  It might even happen as soon as 1958, depending on the progress of the trioval track's construction.

"Everyone wanted to be the last driver to win on the beach, so the situation was especially intense," the late superstar, Tim Flock, once recalled.

Flock was the winner of a NASCAR Convertible Division race on Feb. 16, and he was widely favored to win again 24 hours later in the main event.

However, the handsome Georgian was outqualified by several rivals, including Banjo Matthews, who won the pole at a 134.328 mph as a teammate of Owens in a Pontiac Chieftan fielded by Ray Nichels.  Matthews was followed in time trials by Jack Smith, Owens,  Fonty Flock and Tiny Lund.

The qualifying runs of Matthews and Owens earned a lot of attention because they were driving two of only five Pontiacs in the field of 57 cars.

With a crowd estimated at 35,000 roaring over the sound of the surf, Owens immediately showed he deserved the respect, surging into the lead on the first lap with a hard-charging Paul Goldsmith trailing slightly in second place in a '57 Chevrolet.

Owens, a native of Union, S.C., who was then 32, led the first 10 of the 39 laps in the 159.9-mile race.  Goldsmith led Lap 11; Owens led Laps 12-23; Goldsmith led Laps 24-31; and then Owens Laps 32-39.

Goldsmith appeared headed to victory, holding a 25-second lead when smoke started trailing from his car.  He went to his pit, where car owner/crew chief Smokey Yunick diagnosed the trouble as a burned piston.

"This beach course, especially the turns, which become rutted, is very hard on equipment," said Goldsmith.

"I was gaining rapidly on Paul.  I think I might could have run him down," remembers Owens.

Cotton didn't have do face that challenge.

With Goldsmith sidelined, Owens found himself with a lead of almost a minute over Chevy's Johnny Beauchamp.  Owens held the advantage and took the checkered flag 55 seconds in front.

It was a significant triumph.

Through the years Owens had ranked among NASCAR's top competitors, winning more than 100 feature events in the Modified Division.  But this was his first Grand National victory in 27 starts dating to 1950.  

It also was the first Grand National win for Pontiac. 

Owens averaged 100.541 mph, the first time a Grand National victor had topped 100 mph.   

The popular, soft-spoken Owens beamed almost as bright as the sunshine that bathed the beach that day.  He received heart-felt congratulations all around, including from his rival drivers.

"There's no doubt it's the greatest win I had as a driver," Owens said this week.  "See, except for two seasons, I didn't run all the Grand National races.  I stuck with my modified cars.  I was pretty much a part-time Grand National driver, so winning on the beach was very big for me and I look back to 50 years ago with a lot of pleasure.

"I think people have sort of lost sight of how tough that beach course race really was.  It was difficult getting through those sandy, hairpin turns.  They became deeply rutted and the ruts could pitch a car almost anywhere.  It took every bit of your driving skill and strength to muscle a car through those turns.  We had no power steering in those days, remember.  If there was another car alongside it doubled or even tripled the difficulty.

"I was lucky on the latter count.  Except for just a very few laps, no one was near me when I went into the turns." 

Owens was destined to win eight more times over the next eight seasons, but none of the succeeding victories came close to matching what he accomplished Feb. 17, 1957 on the beach a few miles north of Ponce Inlet.

His best overall season came in 1959, when he won two races, posted 22 top ten finishes in 37 starts and wound up second to champion Lee Petty in the point standings.

Cotton retired as a driver after the '64 tour, concentrating fulltime on  fielding cars for others, which he had started doing in 1960.

As a team owner, Owens amassed 39 victories, including 15 wins in 42 starts by driver David Pearson in a tremendous '66 season when the two paired to take NASCAR's top championship.

Owens captured the Southern 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway in 1970 with Buddy Baker driving Cotton's sleek orange and black No. 6 Dodge, a car that once was displayed in the track's museum, but since has been sold to a collector.

Owens discontinued his racing operation in 1973.

The past five decades have brought honor-upon-honor to Cotton Owens.  Included are memberships in various motorsports halls of fame, the Smokey Yunick LIfetime Achievement Award and The Order Of The Palmetto, South Carolina's highest civilian honor.

NASCAR named him among its 50 greatest drivers in 1998.

Owens is 81 now, but has continued to oversee operation of a busy garage in Spartanburg, S.C., where he has lived most of his life.  Owens said he's now in the process of selling the business.

"I'm still going to work," he hastened to add.  "It'll just be at a different place.  I've already restored and sold a couple of cars my drivers raced--the winged Dodge Buddy Baker drove and a '64 Dodge Polara.  My next project is restoring the '66 Dodge Charger that David Pearson drove to the championship."

Owens has a website that provides a window into the fascinating early days of NASCAR.

Turns out Cotton wasn't the last Beach Course winner.  That honor went to Goldsmith, who triumphed in 1958, edging the legendary Curtis Turner by five car lengths.

Daytona International Speedway opened in 1959.  Lee Petty beat Beauchamp by inches in a finish that wasn't made official for four days.

The Beach Course's colorful days were over.

Almost every year when Speed Weeks roll around at Daytona Beach, Cotton Owens heads to Florida to join friends like Ray Fox and other oldtimers who competed on the sands.  The occasion is The Living Legends of Stock Car Racing organization's annual banquet, an event that usually draws about 1,500 fans.

If Cotton attends this time, he can with justifiable pride and satisfaction, look back 50 years--a half-century--to the special February day he spent in that Pontiac beside the sea.

He should drive out there and ride down the old beach course and A-1A again for old time's sake.
                    **************
NEXT: MARIO ANDRETTI SCORES A SURPRISING VICTORY IN THE 1967 DAYTONA 500.