Miami twice: Hamilton Jr. pulls double duty
By Tim Packman, Turner Sports Interactive
November 9, 2001
6:11 PM EST (2311 GMT)
HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- A year ago, Bobby Hamilton Jr. had double duty, driving his regular Busch Series ride and making his Winston Cup debut.
It's the same thing for the son of Winston Cup regular Bobby Hamilton this weekend.
On Friday, Hamilton qualified seventh in the No. 26 Dr Pepper Chevrolet for Saturday's GNC Live Well 300. A few hours later, he rolled out in the car Mike Skinner will drive in 2002 and wound up 27th on the grid for Sunday's Pennzoil Freedom 400.
But what's different this time around is the pressure, Hamilton admitted.
“Last year, we tried to qualify for the Cup race in my dad’s car,” he said. “So if we didn’t make it, we didn’t make it. This year, I’m driving for Larry McClure in his No. 4 car with a big sponsor like Kodak on board.
“That adds to it more than last year’s deal. We’re under the gun here because we have no provisionals and we were 36th fastest in practice. The pressure is on and it’s pretty nerve-racking.”
Last year, Hamilton earned the Bud Pole Award and set a Busch Series track record of 157.490 mph.
“I do feel more at home this year than I did last time here,” Hamilton said. “I’ve had some time to race against these guys race on the Cup side. With Larry, we just are doing this one race at time and then moving on to the next one.”
Speaking of moving on, although he wouldn’t discuss his plans for next year, he does have two deals in the works. One thing is certain, he will not be returning to the No. 26 in 2002.
“One deal is for a Busch ride and the other is for a Cup ride,” he said. “It’s pretty much a done deal. It just depends on who we get it done with first. I really hate to leave the Dr Pepper car, but I think it will be better for both of us."
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