Bobby Hamilton topped the speed charts Tuesday as the Truck Series teams tested at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in preparation for the inaugural Hardee’s 200 on May 16. Heavy afternoon rain cut the Truck Series test session to just three hours. It was shortly after 7:00pm/et before the 32 truck teams took to the 1.5-mile superspeedway in the first test session for the Hardee’s 200 and it was immediately evident Hamilton’s vast Winston Cup experience would pay dividends. Driving his #4 Dodge, Hamilton recorded a lap of 31.403 seconds, 171.958 mph, on the unofficial watches in the truck series’ first official activity at the track. Another veteran, Ken Schrader was second fastest at 170.875 mph in the #52 Chevrolet while young Jon Wood was third at 169.795 in the #50 Ford. Brendan Gaughan (169.758) and Rick Crawford (169.412) rounded out the top five. Two minor incidents interrupted the truck session. The first came when Bill Lester blew an engine and the other was to remove Tina Gordon’s stalled truck from the track apron. With rain limiting track time for both divisions, the remaining schedule now calls for the Busch Series cars and Craftsman Truck Series machines to run alternating sessions on Wednesday from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. The trucks are then slated to continue testing until 10 p.m. The main grandstand will be open free to the public. Tickets for all May events at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, including the May 16 Hardee’s 200 and the May 24 CARQUEST Auto Parts 300, are available by calling 1-800-455-FANS or online at www.lowesmotorspeedway.com.
The unofficial top-10 speeds, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series:
#4-Bobby Hamilton, 171.958
#52-Ken Schrader, 170.875
#50-Jon Wood, 169.795
#62-Brendan Gaughan, 169.758
#14-Rick Crawford, 169.412
#1-Ted Musgrave, 169.380
#6-Kevin Harvick, 169.263
#16-Travis Kvapil, 169.173
#2-Jason Leffler, 169.078
#46-Dennis Setzer, 168.676.(LMS PR)(5-7-2003)
