Kevin Hamlin Busch Advance
Kentucky Speedway
Race: Meijer 300 on Saturday, June 16, 2007
Track: Kentucky Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Location: Sparta, Ky.
Kevin Hamlin and the No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Team Facts:
Hamlin’s Career-First at Kentucky: Kevin Hamlin is heading to Kentucky Speedway this weekend to make his first run at the 1.5-mile Sparta, Ky., track. Hamlin has recorded 17 NASCAR Busch Series starts in his young racing career, with a career best of 14th (Memphis, 2005). This upcoming weekend will mark his third start of the 2007 season.
Coincidental Starts? In addition to making his second start of the 2007 season this past weekend at Nashville Superspeedway, Hamlin also grabbed his second-consecutive 28th-place starting position. It isn’t unusual for a driver to have similar results at certain tracks like Hamlin had this past weekend at Nashville, but it is a bit of a coincidence to think about the fact that both of Hamlin’s starts have been in the No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge that has been carrying a very special paint scheme reminiscent of the late Davey Allison’s No. 28 Texaco/Havoline Ford. Allison was Hamlin’s favorite driver growing up, so will it be 28th again for Hamlin at Kentucky? To be continued …
Meet Hamlin at Kentucky: Hamlin and more than 20 other NASCAR Busch Series drivers will say good night at Kentucky Speedway Friday, June 15, by meeting with area fans and signing autographs during the track’s fan fest festivities. The group autograph session will be conducted in the Kentucky Speedway Busch garage from 8:15 to 9:15 p.m. ET. For more information go to www.kentuckyspeedway.com.
Chassis: The No. 42 Busch team is bringing chassis #654 to race in this weekend’s Meijer 300. The same chassis was entered in a total of six NASCAR Busch races in 2006. The most memorable run was at Chicagoland in July when Casey Mears drove the chassis to his first NASCAR victory. Juan Pablo Montoya also raced the same chassis to a 14th-place finish in the last NASCAR Busch race of the 2006 season at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla. Altogether, chassis #654 collected one win, three top-five and five top-15 finishes last year. It was most recently entered at Dover International Speedway earlier this month, where Montoya and team raced from a 24th-place starting position to a 14th-place finish.
Where They Are Now: Hamlin and the No. 42 team brought home a 23rd-place finish last Saturday at Nashville Superspeedway. The top-25 finish helped them maintain their 12th-place position in the NASCAR Busch Series standings, where they are just 39 points outside the top 10.
