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MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Bobby Hamilton, electing to maintain track position instead of pitting for fresh tires, outraced three rivals to win the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series NAPA 250 at Martinsville Speedway Monday.
Recalling, perhaps, a strategic error which cost an equally dominant Rusty Wallace a victory in Sunday's NASCAR Winston Cup Series race, Hamilton made his final pit stop about 100 laps from the finish of the 250-lap, 131.5-mile race.
He left the pits in 11th place, but, by lap 200, he had
overtaken pole starter and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series point
leader Mike Wallace to take the lead for good.
Hamilton, winning for the first time in his 14th series start,
then left Wallace, Jack Sprague and Dennis Setzer behind in his
Dodge Ram truck. He beat Wallace's Ford by 4.364 seconds, averaging
71.836 mph.
The race had been scheduled for Saturday but was postponed by
rain.
Hamilton was the season's fourth different winner in this year's
five events.
Sprague finished third in a Chevrolet, followed by the Dodges of
Setzer and Hamilton teammate Joe Ruttman.
Hamilton, who started on the outside front row, led three times
for 179 laps. Early pit stops allowed Terry Cook, Bobby Gill and
Wallace to head the 36-truck field.
Cook dropped out of contention on the 213th lap when his
Chevrolet spun out of control in Turn 4 and was hit by rookie Kurt
Busch. Cook finished 30th after his crew replaced the truck's
radiator.
The victory wasn't without some difficulty. Hamilton's truck
lost third gear on a restart on lap 33 and the transmission made
ominous noises throughout the remainder of the race.
Wallace, who extended his championship lead to 59 points over
11th-place finisher Andy Houston, was pleased.
"Second is fine with us, looking at the big picture (the
championship)," he said.
Although there were nine caution periods which consumed 51 laps,
there were no serious accidents. Thirty-two of the starting drivers
were running at the finish, a record for a NASCAR Craftsman Truck
Series race at the 0.520-mile speedway.
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ALSO SEE
Rain forces trucks to wait until Monday
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Bobby Hamilton finishes ahead of the pack to win at Martinsville.
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RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 A proud Bobby Hamilton is happy with his team's winning effort.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Mike Wallace is happy to leave with a second-place finish.
wav: 93 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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