Josh Hamner may have grown up in Chelsea, Alabama, but his home away from home has always been Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida. The 2008 Blizzard Series Champion will chase that championship again at Five Flags, along with the Gulf Coast Series Championship - this time for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Hamner will run 10 races, half at Five Flags Speedway and the other half that make up the Miller Lite Championship Series at Mobile International Speedway (AL), for the KBM team.
"This has been a very exciting time and I can't wait to get down to Pensacola and get the ball rolling on the new season," said Hamner. "We have had a lot of success at Five Flags and now we are going to be with best team possible. We can't wait to get started and hopefully we can
win both track titles and the overall title as well."
Hamner has won races at both tracks and will now run for arguably the best Super Late Model team in short track racing. KBM has won the Winchester 400, the Snowball Derby and SpeedFest at Lanier in the last six months. The operation is headed up by Bond Suss and newly appointed crew chief Chris Gabehart, who is a former All American 400 winner. They field cars for Sprint Cup Series star Kyle Busch who spends his time away from NASCAR racing on the short tracks all across the county.
"Kyle Busch Motorsports is a first class operation," said Hamner. "They have some great people working with them including Bond Suss and Chris Gabehart. It's a dream team for short track racing. To get in there and drive is simply unbelievable. I don't think things have set in yet of how cool this deal is and what a great break it is."
Hamner spent the 2009 season running what is now known the Sunoco National Tour, which didn't give him much opportunity to race the Hamner spec motor that was developed by his dad Jeff Hamner at Hamner Racing Engines in Alabama. This new situation will give the opportunity for Josh to race the family built equipment on several occasions with KBM.
"Right now if you don't have a Hamner Spec engine then you are not winning," added Hamner. "I didn't run them a lot in 2009, but KBM uses them at almost all their races so I have confidence in both my team and
my Dad's engines, so it's a good combination."
Hamner will also race family owned cars at Montgomery Speedway in the "Show Me The Money" Pro Late Model Series. Other events could be added
as well later in the season.
