The Square D Racing Team did not give up hope when driver Bobby Hamilton was a victim in two accidents during the Florida Dodge Dealers 250. The crew members worked overtime to keep Hamilton’s No. 4 Square D Dodge on the lead lap and finish the season opener in 11th position.

“That truck was a rocket ship. I am happy with that. I started 10th and was the leader by the time the first lap was complete,” Hamilton said of the Friday, February the 13th night race. “When you have equipment like that, it makes you excited to get to the next race.”

Nine laps into the event, Hamilton was cruising around in ninth position, and Steve Park was spun hitting the Square D Dodge causing damage to the left side. Quickly the crew members pulled out their Lufkin Tape Measures and other Cooper Tools to fix it. Hamilton came into the pits three times so the team could fix the tow, change the tires and pull the fenders out so Hamilton could race competitively again.

When the restart happened on lap 14, Hamilton told Crew Chief Danny Rollins that he would ride around in the back of the pack until the next caution to take care of his truck. On lap 25, the team got its wish for a caution. Hamilton pitted four more times and the Square D Racing Team worked as fast as they could to fix the towing problem without losing a lap to the leaders. By the fourth caution on lap 36, the Square D Racing Team had Hamilton’s tow fixed within 1/16th of an inch.

Then on lap 51, the big wreck plagued over 10 trucks in the Craftsman Truck Series field. Hamilton was spun and hit before he rolled to a stop on the grass. After refiring his Dodge, he came onto pit road to so his team could assess the damage. The team brought Hamilton in lap after lap and worked together to get his truck was fixed before the restart on lap 61.


The next caution came out on lap 73 and Hamilton complained the truck was driving really rough. Rollins called him into the pits so they could work on the truck again. Before the restart, Hamilton was granted the lucky dog position and so he restarted the race on the tail end of the longest line on the lead lap. The seventh and last caution came out on lap 82. The Square D Racing Team changed Hamilton’s tires for the final 12-lap shootout. Hamilton restarted the race in 16th and worked his way up five spots to finish in 11th position.

“The big wreck is what really hurt us,” Hamilton said. “I’m really proud of the Square D crew for working so hard tonight. The truck was actually wrecked too badly to race. It was towed out at one time almost two inches, which is a totaled truck. They kept messing with it and beating on stuff to get it back to where it needed to be. I think we were running 18th with five laps to go, and finished 11th.

“I have a ton of confidence in my crew chief and everything he is doing,” Hamilton said. “We had a lot of good teamwork tonight. That is how you win championships, so we will build on this and take off.”

Carl Edwards won the Florida Dodge Dealers 250. Travis Kvapil, Mike Wallace, Rick Crawford and Terry Cook round out the top five.