Hamilton. Jr. fights long odds in Nationwide Series

Bobby Hamilton, Jr. had a compelling story to tell Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway.

In fact, the veteran racer from Nashville felt that all fans, media and NASCAR officials should be concerned about the plight of the Nationwide Series and its drivers.

"I don’t care what some of these other owners think, we need three different division in NASCAR," Hamilton said. "The Sprint Cup, Craftsman Truck and Nationwide series needs to have their own identity and own type of drivers.

"Why would fans want to spend money on a Sunday [Sprint Cup] race when they can see the same drivers Saturday in the Nationwide series. I think that’s one reason why attendance is down at some tracks."

The issue of Sprint Cup drivers or teams competing in Nationwide events has been simmering for years, and seemed to reach a boiling point last season when up to 15 Cup drivers regularly performed double duty.

With the number of independently-owned Nationwide teams shrinking by the year, Hamilton feels the time for action is now.

"[NASCAR] needs to do something," Hamilton said. "For instance, you’ve got some teams spending $15,000-30,000 just on springs. These smaller teams just can’t afford that."

Hamilton, who drives for Team Rensi Motorsports, finished 17th in Saturday’s rain-shortened Sharpie Mini 300 at BMS. The outlook wasn’t as bright for the rest of the independent gang, however. Abingdon’s Eric McClure was 30th in the Front Row Motorsports Chevrolet, while Brad Baker (27th) and Brad Coleman (33rd) struggled for Nashville-based Baker Curb Motorsports.

"We’re fighting tremendous hurdles," said Gary Baker, co-owner of Baker Curb. "I think [NASCAR] is starting to realize there is a serious problem here in our series."

For the independents, the competitive imbalance can be staggering. In an interview Saturday, Baker said his team is competing against organizations which have more engineers than his team has total employees.

"I guarantee that is the case," Hamilton said. "We might have a total of 60 employees at our shop, and there are teams with more engineers than that. How do you beat that?

"...It use to be that the [Nationwide] season came down to the final race with everybody wondering who was going to win the championship. Who gives a hell now when [the championship race] is over when you get to Charlotte."

According to Hamilton, the average fan fails to comprehend the advantage that drivers with Sprint Cup affiliations have in the Nationwide Series. He offered the case of Greg Biffle as an illustration.

"Biffle finished 21st in a Baker Curb car at Atlanta, but the week before he finished second in the No. 16 (Roush Fenway Racing) car at Las Vegas,’’ Hamilton said. "Biffle didn’t forget how to drive in one week. Those two races show the difference between the teams and the money

"Fans just look at the races and think Kyle Busch is the greatest thing since sliced bread or whatever. If you eliminate [Busch] from some of his equipment and engineering help, then he is just an average Joe like the rest of us."

As for the lack of television coverage on the lower-budget teams, Hamilton feels its all about ratings and name recognition.

"It’s because they [the TV networks] have their heroes," Hamilton said. "You need your Tony Stewarts, Jeff Gordons and Jeff Burtons. Gordon is probably one of the greatest drivers in our sport. But if Ken Schrader was driving that No. 24 DuPont car, he would have one four championships by now.

"Every driver that has made it this far can drive and every team member car can work on a race car. It comes down to the equipment you have and money surrounding it."

Hamilton pointed to another example of his struggles while waiting out Saturday’s rain delay at BMS.

"If not for this rain, the Cup drivers would have gotten out of their Cup cars and went right into their Nationwide car for the race," Hamilton said.

"Those guys will know exactly what the track is doing. They get at all kinds practice Friday and Saturday, while we have two hours practice all weekend."

Some Nationwide veterans, such as Jason Keller, feel the opportunity to judge their talents against Sprint Cup stars outweighs the disadvantages. Keller drives for the independent CJM Racing team, which originally planned to compete in just 10 races.

NASCAR officials have promised changes to the Nationwide structure. In addition to differentiating the Sprint Cup and Nationwide cars, possible remedies include limiting the points or starts for Sprint regulars.

"Everything is quiet right now," Hamilton said. "[NASCAR] is looking at every option...they are not just going to go and make a rule change just to make it.

"NASCAR hasn’t been around this long because of luck, it’s been around this long because they are good and they know where they want to be 10 years from now."

And Hamilton feels confident that NASCAR officials will develop a plan to spark a series dubbed the second-most popular form of motorsports in the United States.

"[NASCAR] has a whole different vision," Hamilton said. "It might take a little bumps and might have to weather the storm, but they are trying to fix the problems and fix them right."

Hamilton feels the recent appeal to the core fans of NASCAR is a step in the right direction.

"I think NASCAR is listening," Hamilton said. "They are doing a whole lot in all three divisions to bring back what made our sport so popular.

"One of the coolest things to me was having ZZ Top perform at the California race. That was a change that a lot of these fans, especially the redneck fans."

For now, Hamilton plans to keep fighting the odds. He enters Saturday’s race at Nashville Superspeedway ranked 13th in Nationwide points, but with no top-10 finishes in five races.

"It’s the [Sprint] Cup guys that run in the top five or top 10,’’ Hamilton said. "All you can do is keep digging

"Nobody wants to quit racing or go to a different division. That’s the competitive side of it, you just don’t give up. The minute this stuff gets old or boring, I will leave. Right now, I still have that burning desire to win."

Headlines news of not, the story of the dwindling independent gang in NASCAR continues.

"It’s like a battle within a battle,’’ Hamilton said. "You try to be that number one Nationwide [regular] guy, so you don’t want to help your competition

"At the same time, everybody needs to stand together and kind of say ‘what are you doing to us.’"

Who: Bobby Hamilton, Jr.

What: NASCAR Nationwide Series

Hometown: Nashville, Tenn.

Fast Fact: Hamilton’s late father, who went by the same name, drove for Abingdon-based Morgan-McClure Motorsports from 1998 to 2001.

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