Credit: Autostock

Hamilton surprises with front-row qualifying effort

HAMPTON, Ga. -- PPI Racing has given Bobby Hamilton Jr. four new cars for four races this season, and this particular Chevrolet appears to be the best one yet.

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Hamilton qualified a surprising second for Sunday's Golden Corral 500, turning a lap of 193.785 mph. He was one of only three cars to even exceed 193 mph on Atlanta's 1.54-mile oval.

It is Hamilton Jr.'s first career top 10 start, and PPI's first since Loudon last summer.

Hamilton finished a dismal 35th at Daytona, continuing a disappointing run for PPI, which hasn't had a top-10 finish since the fall event at Talladega in 2003.

	Bobby Hamilton Jr. Last Five Races Race Start Finish Mountain Dew Southern 500 35 31 Ford 400 29 21 Daytona 500 22 35 Auto Club 500 26 20 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 16 11

But the team is slowly starting to come around with the new chassis. Hamilton has been a lead-lap car in each of the last two events, including a strong 11th-place run at Las Vegas last week.

Still, Hamilton's lap on Friday night at Atlanta was a surprise, especially since the car was in true race trim.

"I don't know where that lap came from. I just ran it wide open," Hamilton said. "I was going to lift when it pushed, but it never pushed."

He says he and crew chief Harold Holly are starting to get a handle on the softer Goodyear tire.

"We are starting to figure things out," Hamilton said. "Tire pressure stuff, it's so sensitive. (A) half a pound will make you or break you."

Hamilton didn't test this car at Atlanta last week, instead choosing to bring the untested car here.

"(We) just showed up from notes we had, and from the past race. We learned a lot of stuff from last week," he said. "Tire pressure and spring stuff, getting into the ballpark.

"When you get into the ballpark with these guys, you can actually run with them."