Bobby Hamilton: "The main thing I can do right now is keep my consistent finishes." Credit: Autostock

Hamilton aiming to tame Texas, increase lead

CONCORD, N.C. -- Things are going according to plan for Bobby Hamilton.

Well, almost.

Hamilton is where he wants to be with five races left in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season: atop the points standings. But he's not as far ahead as he wants.

2004 CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES •   Results •   Standings •   Schedule •   Best 25 Over Last Six Races •   Best Starts •   Best Finishes

Instead of being around 100 points ahead of the field, Hamilton leads Dennis Setzer by 56 points as the NCTS heads to Texas Motor Speedway for the Silverado 350.

"I've been telling the media and fans this whole year that with five races left in the season, I would start points racing," Hamilton said. "I wanted a bigger cushion that what I have at this point, so I'm still going to be out for the wins.

"The Craftsman Truck Series is so competitive this year that at any point in these last few events, you can't count another driver out. You never know what the last five races will bring. I don't think you can count any of the competitors out that are mathematically in the chase."

Hamilton cited Ted Musgrave, who is fourth, 150 points behind, as one guy who is running especially well. And Hamilton said Setzer won't quit, and third-place Carl Edwards can easily make up 146 points.

"The main thing I can do right now is keep my consistent finishes," Hamilton said. "I have to keep my nose clean and all of our parts have to work. One slip and it can be washed away. No one ever said winning a championship is easy. That is the great thing about our sport."

Hamilton has kept his nose clean for most of 2004, winning four times. He's led the Craftsman Truck Series standings for seven consecutive races, taking over with a third-place finish at Indianapolis Raceway Park.

He maintained the lead despite a three-race stretch with finishes of 12th or worse. But Hamilton bounced back with a pair of fifth-place finishes.

Now comes the hard part.

Bobby Hamilton Credit: Autostock

Texas hasn't been Hamilton's best track in recent years, as he's finished seventh, seventh and 10th in the last three races. He did win the pole there last year, but Hamilton still considers it his "weakest link."

"We have planned a test before the Texas race at Texas World racetrack," Hamilton said. "I think one of the tracks that we are lacking performance on is Texas Motor Speedway. It has been our weakest link so far. We finished seventh there earlier this year, and I would take that again and just skip this race.

"Every team has a track they are stout at, and a track they are not so good. Our track that we struggle on happens to be Texas, but we will work on getting our program up to speed before we get there."

That might seem odd, for Hamilton is good on some other 1.5-mile tracks like Kentucky or Atlanta.

"That is because it is just a different beast," Hamilton said. "It is not the same as the others, even if they were intended to be the same configuration. So the best we can do is test and try to figure something out. If not we will just try to stay out of trouble and get the best finish we can there.

"If we can get that one under our belt, we'll be pretty strong the rest of the year, barring nothing happening."

That's the plan.