NASCAR Veteran Shares Wise Words From Former Richard Petty Star & Truck Champ on the Legends 16th Death Anniversary

Through the years, many decorated stars have graced the NASCAR Truck Series. However, they don’t make drivers like Bobby Hamilton anymore. As the racing community prays for rest to his soul on his 17th death anniversary, former NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace has chimed into the conversation with another personal anecdote.

As he won the 2004 Truck Series championship, Bobby Hamilton was immortalized in NASCAR’s history. Not only that, but he is also among the winningest drivers in the third tier of NASCAR racing. Hamilton also influenced younger drivers in his time, like Kenny Wallace. Reminiscing a quote from the NASCAR legend, ‘Herman’ paid a heartfelt tribute to one of the people he admired.

Kenny Wallace recollects an iconic quote from the legendary Bobby Hamilton

The NASCAR community lost Bobby Hamilton to cancer at the young age of 49 in 2007. However, newer drivers like Kenny Wallace were lucky to have witnessed him at the peak of his powers. The Nashville native had made a name for himself during his Cup Series tenure. Having represented Richard Petty Enterprises in the STP-sponsored #43 Pontiac, Hamilton became a household name in no time.

Kenny Wallace revealed one of his favorite phrases from Bobby Hamilton as he tweeted, “Bobby Hamilton taught me this phrase “Herman, I am comfortable in my own shoes” As he drove his own motorhome into the Talladega RV lot while he was a NASCAR CUP driver. Driving for Richard Petty”

Following his move to Richard Petty‘s team in 1995, Bobby Hamilton earned his first win in the following year at Phoenix. More importantly, the win was Richard Petty Enterprises’ first since 1983. In his two-year stint with ‘The King’, Hamilton recorded another victory at Rockingham in 1997 but eventually departed from the team after a 16th-place finish in the same year.

His affair with team ownership came in between that period in the Craftsman Truck Series. While Bobby Hamilton started as a part-time driver in the competition, it eventually turned out to be the best time of his racing career as he won the 2004 Truck Series championship with four wins in the season.

After a shoulder injury in 2002, Bobby Hamilton was forced to miss numerous races. Combined with the dire financial condition of Petree Racing, he began racing in the #4 Dana Dodge Ram for his own team in the Truck Series.

Notably, in 2000, Hamilton also became one of the first drivers to win a race in all NASCAR’s national competitions after a Truck Series win at Martinsville. However, his most recalled moment remains his win at the 2001 Talladega 500, which restored a sense of security among NASCAR drivers.

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An unusual weekend at the 2001 Talladega 500

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The Talladega Superspeedway is known for testing the survival instincts of a NASCAR driver. More often than not, Talladega races are filled with chaos, with the drivers to avoid the damage being the leading contenders to win it. However, in 2001, the Talladega 500 was NASCAR’s first visit to a superspeedway after Dale Earnhardt’s death in the Daytona 500.

Surprisingly, there were no significant crashes, caution flags, or retirements from the race. Bobby Hamilton, driving the #55 for Andy Petree, crossed the checkered line ahead of everyone else with 28 other drivers competing for the win in the final laps. What surprised the community even more was the quiet nature of the race, considering that NASCAR had lost its biggest superstar only months before the race at Talladega.

In some ways, the community needed the silent and undramatic win on its most violent and fastest superspeedway. While Bobby Hamilton won, all 43 drivers on the grid walked away safely without any injuries. 29 drivers were running for the win on the lead lap.

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The last time a Talladega race witnessed 500 miles of NASCAR racing without a caution flag or major crash was in 1997. To everyone’s shock, history repeated itself in 2002. The 2001 Talladega 500 was the final of Bobby Hamilton’s four top-flight wins, marking his transition to the Craftsman Truck Series.

Hamilton might not have been the most standout performer in NASCAR history, but he had his moments and involvement in some of the most incredible periods of NASCAR.