Owner(s) | Bobby Hamilton, Lori Hamilton, Mac Bailey, Mark Melling, Clay Campbell, Stacy Compton, Joey Arrington |
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Base |
Mt. Juliet, Tennessee (1996–2007) Martinsville, Virginia (2008) |
Series | Sprint Cup, Craftsman Truck Series) |
Car numbers | 04, 05, 4, 8, 18, 57 |
Race drivers | Bobby Hamilton, Joe Ruttman, Deborah Renshaw, Robert Pressley, Bill Lester, Dennis Setzer, Stacy Compton |
Sponsors | Dana, Square D |
Manufacturer | Dodge |
Opened | 1996 |
Closed | 2008 |
Career | |
Drivers' Championships | 1 (2004 Trucks) |
Race victories | 20 |
Bobby Hamilton Racing-Virginia was a former NASCAR racing team. It was owned by four-time NEXTEL Cup winner and 2004 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Bobby Hamilton until his death on January 7, 2007. Bobby Hamilton, Jr. was given ownership after the death of his father, but the younger Hamilton disavowed his relationship with the company. The company was last run by Bobby Hamilton, Sr's widow, Lori Hamilton.
The company, formerly based in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee made plans to move to Martinsville, Virginia after announcing a partnership with Arrington Manufacturing in December 2007 as its new owners were based in the Virginia area, with Mac Bailey, Stacy Compton, Clay Campbell, and Joey Arrington all being Virginians.
BHR was originally started by Hamilton and a friend in 1996 in the fledging Truck Series as an after hours project for Hamilton as well as to serve as development program for Bobby Hamilton, Jr.. The elder Hamilton debuted the team in 1997 at Heartland Park Topeka, as the No. 1 Chevrolet sponsored by Southern Pride Trucking. He qualified sixteenth and finished sixth. He ran another race that year at Martinsville Speedway, as the No. 51. He finished fifth in that race. Hamilton ran three races the next year, but suffered mechanical failures in each of them. Meanwhile, Bobby Hamilton Jr., whom the team was originally designed for, was building up a successful career in the ARCA series, then signed on to drive for Sadler Brothers Racing in the Busch Series.
The team made its first start in the Cup Series at the 2000 Pennzoil 400 as the No. 57 Chevrolet. Bobby Hamilton, Jr. started thirtieth and finished thirty-third, six laps down. BHR did not run the Cup Series again until 2005, when the No. 04 Dodge ran for two races. Hamilton Sr. had a best finish of 27th at the Allstate 400.