PERSONAL PROFILE
	Spouse: Debbie Kids: Bobby Jr Hometown: Nashville, TN Birthdate: May 29, 1957

Bobby Hamilton has a chance in 2001 to revitalize a career that got off track a bit in 2000, his final tour in a three-year stint with Morgan-McClure Motorsports.

Hamilton had, for him and the team, a disappointing season that saw him end up 30th in the Winston Cup point standings, with only two top-10 finishes in 34 starts. Hamilton won more than $1.6 million in his ninth full season in Winston Cup racing but DNFs -- a circuit-high total of 11 -- punctuated his season. He finished seventh at Darlington in the spring but didn't have another top-10 until Rockingham near the end of the season.

While Hamilton's Winston Cup fortunes flagged a bit in 2000, other aspects of his motorsports regime flourished. His Craftsman Truck Series team with Joe Ruttman led the series in poles and, with the owner's chipping in a pole and race win in "guest rides," Bobby Hamilton Racing scored nine poles and four wins in the truck series. Bobby Hamilton Jr. also made his Winston Cup debut at Homestead in a car from his father's shops outside Nashville, Tenn.

In 2001, Hamilton moves to Andy Petree Racing's two-car team to drive the No. 55 Square D Chevrolet as a teammate to Joe Nemechek. His hope is that he can recapture the strength he had with Petty Enterprises, where he scored his career best ninth place in the point standings in 1996, then followed up with a 10th place effort for MMM in 1998.

2000 was the second straight season in which Hamilton was winless, after he scored single victories in each of the three previous seasons. He did manage to lead eight times in four races.

Hamilton is a former Nashville Speedway USA track champion. His big break came when he beat Darrell Waltrip, Sterling Marlin and Bill Elliott in a special four-car "Superstar Showdown" event at Nashville in 1988.

When Rick Hendrick was seeking a driver for the "movie cars" for the Paramount film "Days of Thunder" with Tom Cruise, Waltrip recommended Hamilton. He qualified fifth at Phoenix in a movie car and ran in the top-10 in the race.

His first full season at the Winston Cup level was 1991, when he edged Ted Musgrave for the NWCS Rookie of the Year title.