Target House 200 - Bobby Hamilton, Jr. Notes

HAMILTON. JR. CLIMBS ABOARD FOR "DRIVE FOR FIVE"

ROCKINGHAM, NC ---- The hottest driver in NASCAR? It would be hard to argue the choice of NASCAR Busch Series driver Bobby Hamilton, Jr. With two wins in the last three races and a third place finish sandwiched in between, the driver of the Team Marines Ford Taurus has been on fire. With crew chief Harold Holly and the entire Team Marines Racing Team rising to the occasion, Hamilton, Jr. expects to contend for the win every time the # 25 Ford hits the track. With two races remaining in the season, Hamilton, Jr. will have his focus on victory lane. The White House, TN resident will begin the "Drive For Five" in the Target House 200 at North Carolina Speedway on Saturday.

"We are riding a wave of momentum right now, everyone on this team believes we can close out the season with two more wins," Hamilton, Jr. said. "Since the day Harold Holly joined our race team in late May, we have had a chance to win nearly every single race, it's been an awesome feeling to climb into the Team Marines Ford and run up front on a weekly basis."

Standing in sixth place, only 125 points behind Busch Series point's leader Scott Riggs, a Busch Series title isn't completely out of the question.

"Obviously it will take some bad luck on the part of the guys in front of me, but anything can happen," Hamilton, Jr. said. "All we can do is go out and try to lead the most laps and win the last two races. If that happens, we will have done everything possible to win the title for the Team Marines Racing Team. We may not win it this year, but I know we have placed our race team in a position to be considered the early favorite for 2004."

The "Drive For Five" will take place Saturday at 1:00pm EST. TNT and Motor Racing Network will provide live coverage of the event.

PIT NOTES

X Team Marines crew chief Harold Holly has always raced up front at North Carolina Speedway, winning in the fall race in 2000 and recording two runner-up finishes in 1999 (fall) and 2000 (spring) with Jeff Green.

X The Phoenix win was special in more ways that one for Hamilton, Jr. His father captured his first Winston Cup win at the 1-mile oval and crew chief Harold Holly went to Victory Lane for the first time with the late Alan Kulwicki in Phoenix.

X Hamilton, Jr. leads the Busch Series with four wins this season. With 20 top-ten finishes, Hamilton, Jr. is tied with Brian Vickers for the series lead in top-ten finishes. With $1,700,020 in winnings this season, Hamilton, Jr. stands only $9,440 behind leading money winner David Green.

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