The Buzz: Dec. 20, 2001
December 20, 2001
2:56 PM EST (1956 GMT)
On the heels of an 18th-place finish in the final Winston Cup standings that included a victory in the spring race at Talladega, Bobby Hamilton is gearing up for 2002.
The driver of the No. 55 Square-D Chevrolet spent a day testing at Nashville Superspeedway last week, taking advantage of NASCAR's rule that limits teams to only seven "official" tests a year on tracks that Winston Cup races are run.
Hamilton, a Nashville native, won't be charged for an official test because Nashville Superspeedway is a non-Cup track. In 2001, only the Busch Series and Craftsman Truck Series raced there.
A 1.333-mile oval, Nashville is one of only three concrete tracks on the NASCAR circuit. Bristol Motor Speedway and Dover Downs are the other two. Hamilton finished 20th and 10th at the two races at Dover in 2001, and finished eighth and 23rd at the two Bristol races.
Hamilton enters the 2002 season with a bit of uncertainity surrounding the No. 55 team. In early December, the team lost crew chief Jimmy Elledge, who left to become Dale Jarrett's crew chief in the No. 88 Ford. No eplacement crew chief has been named yet for Elledge.
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