Bobby Hamilton Jr. in the No. 18 Fastenal Dodge at Atlanta. (High Sierra Photo)

The Fastenal Racing Team worked on Bobby Hamilton Jr.'s No. 18 Fastenal Dodge in the early stages of the EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway and it paid off when the Tennessee native surged to the front of the field taking the lead with only a few laps left in the race. As Hamilton muscled his way through the field he used up his tires which caused him to fall back a few positions in the end but he still managed to finish the event in the ninth position, his fifth top 10 of the season.

No. 18 Fastenal Dodge Atlanta Race Recap

• Hamilton Jr. qualified his Fastenal Dodge in the 17th position on Saturday afternoon before the event.
• At the very start of the event, Hamilton radioed under caution to his Crew Chief that his Dodge Ram was, "Wicked Loose." The team pitted on lap five to lower the track bar and sent Hamilton back out in the 32nd spot.
• On lap 13, still battling an extremely loose race truck, the team used extra time under caution to put a rubber in the right front of the truck.
• By the third caution Hamilton was still fighting a loose race truck. He radioed again, "I'm all over the place out here. I've wrecked 17 times and not hit anything." The team removed a rubber from the right rear and opened up the right front shock to aid the condition.
• Hamilton restarted the race and started to work his way up through the field. He was just outside the top 10 when the next caution came out on lap 77. The team pitted for four fresh tires and fuel making yet another adjustment to the track bar and air pressures. Hamilton Jr. restarted in the 12 position.
• Only a few laps later he had worked his way into the top 10. Crew Chief Danny Gill encouraged his driver by telling him his lap times, which were ½ of a second faster than the rest of the field. By lap 100 Hamilton maneuvered his way into the top five.
• The Fastenal Dodge driver worked his way on the high groove even going three wide at times in the turns. Only four short laps later Hamilton Jr. was labeled as the leader.
• He continued to fight off trucks as much as he could but the tire wear started to make his Dodge slide around in the final laps. He slid into the third position on lap 114 and in then fight with competitors to finish the event in the ninth position, his fifth top 10 of the season.
• Mike Bliss won the EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200. Terry Cook, Erik Darnell, David Reutimann and Rick Crawford rounded out the top five finishers.