It was a family affair atop the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series testing speed charts July 19 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as the father-son tandem of Bobby Hamilton and Bobby Hamilton Jr. posted the top laps, respectively. NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series regular [and 2004 Truck Series Champ] Bobby Hamilton topped the NEXTEL Cup Series regulars on the final day of testing for the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard on Aug. 7 with a lap of 183.905mph in the #04 Bobby Hamilton Racing Dodge. It was the fastest lap overall over six days of testing the last three weeks at the historic 2.5-mile oval. Bobby Hamilton Jr. was second fastest today at 182.576 in the #32 Tide Chevrolet, which he drives full time in the NEXTEL Cup Series. We were actually up doing some chassis stuff for my truck and ended up running good, Bobby Hamilton said. Obviously, if everything goes right weve got time to paint the car and all. Its an in-house car. We built it ourselves; we bought the chassis from PPI (Motorsports) and then put on our front and rear clips.” The top four today were faster than the previous fastest lap of the month, 181.963, by #16-Greg Biffle on July 11.
Unofficial Speeds, Tuesday, July 19
Rank) Car#-Driver, Speed (mph), Total Laps
1.) #04-Bobby Hamilton, 183.905, 53
2.) #32-Bobby Hamilton Jr., 182.576, 33
3.) #91-Bill Elliott, 182.562, 60
4.) #5-Kyle Busch, 182.450, 73
5.) #1-Martin Truex Jr., 181.668, 73
6.) #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr., 181.494, 67
7.) #6-Mark Martin, 180.760, 78
8.) #23-Mike Skinner, 180.396, 30
9.) #24-Jeff Gordon, 180.303, 65
10.) #40-Sterling Marlin180.083, 84
11.) #9-Kasey Kahne, 179.601, 107
12.) #51-Stuart Kirby, 179.293, 15
13.) #43-Jeff Green, 179.225, 33
14.) #44-Terry Labonte, 178.683, 61
15.) #20-Tony Stewart, 178.385, 82
16.) #88-Dale Jarrett, 178.177, 101
17.) #92-Tony Raines, 178.115, 18
18.) #25-Brian Vickers, 177.502, 90
Tickets: Allstate 400 at the Brickyard activities get underway at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, Aug. 5. with Chevy Day at the Brickyard, a family-friendly event sponsored by Chevrolet, from 9 a.m.-noon (local time) in the east lot of the Speedways Hall of Fame Museum in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway infield. Admission is included in the price of admission to the IMS grounds for the days Allstate 400 at the Brickyard activities, which is $10 per person and free for children ages 5 and younger. Activities will include appearances by Chevrolet-sponsored NASCAR drivers, interactive games, racing simulators, NASCAR race cars and live music. To purchase tickets, camping or parking for the 12th Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, contact the IMS ticket office at (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area, (317) 492-6700 locally or log on to www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com.(IMS PR)(7-20-2005)
