Notebook: Late-race spin costs Hamilton positions

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- With 10 laps remaining in Saturday's Kroger 250, Craftsman Truck Series point leader Bobby Hamilton was sitting 10th and did not have a care in the world. That changed at the exit of Turn 4 when Robert Huffman applied the chrome horn and sent Hamilton spinning.

Bobby Hamilton Credit: Nate Mecha/HSP

Hamilton looped his Dodge in front of the field and stepped hard on the gas to keep it off the wall, only to bash in the nose of his truck instead.

He fell all the way to 20th, and allowed Ricky Craven to take a big chunk out of his point lead. Hamilton entered the race with a 65-point advantage over Ted Musgrave. He leaves with a slim 19-point bulge over Craven.

In typical Bobby Hamilton fashion, the defending series champion put it in perspective.

"I finished 30th here in both races last year," he said. "I was just trying to get a top-20 today, and I think we were running 10th with 10 to go and then boom. Stuff like that happens at Martinsville. I don't know about the points, but who cares right now anyway?"

Top finishersBodine, Craven, Hornaday on their Martinsville performances Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

Hamilton isn't sure what exactly seems to hang over him at the flat half-mile Martinsville track, but he thought he had put the bad luck behind him Saturday.

"We finished 1-2-3 before this," Hamilton said. "We were headed for a top-10 on a bad day here but I got run over from behind. We're going to be just fine. We were tight today, and we weren't going to finish any better than seventh or eighth, but we didn't have a scratch on the truck until that last deal."

Craven finishes second on flat tire

Craven beat and banged with Ron Hornaday over the final seven laps to wind up second, despite having a left rear tire going flat on the final lap.

Ricky Craven Credit: Autostock

"We came in on the rim," Craven said. "The left rear was flat, so that took away any chance with a lap to go."

Craven said Hamilton's late-race problem wouldn't have any immediate effect.

"Bobby is still the guy we're going to have to beat this year," he said. "I don't know what happened to him today, but he's still the guy to beat."

Musgrave, Spencer sound off on Hmiel

Ted Musgrave finished seventh, losing second place to Craven by eight points. He also had a post-race run-in with Shane Hmiel that saw Musgrave put the younger driver into the grass in Turn 1.

"I guess I forgot to send him a Christmas card or something last year," Musgrave said. "I wanted to make sure I had the right post office to send it to. We were just racing hard, but the last couple of laps I was on the outside racing clean.

Ted Musgrave Credit: Autostock

"I never touched him. I jumped to the outside trying to make a pass, and we ran about a lap like that, and it looked like I was going to get him, but coming off Turn 2 he acted like I wasn't even there. He just drove his truck up into the whole groove."

Musgrave said he did everything he could do to avoid contact.

"If I hadn't hit the brakes, I'd have been up into the wall," Musgrave said. "I jumped back outside of him and he tried to do it again, but I forced him to give me room. Afterward, I just wanted to let him know that whether it's the first lap or the last lap, if somebody is on the outside of you, completely on the outside of you, he's got the right to race you.

"In years to come, if he's still racing, he'll learn. Maybe I don't have much time left either. He'll probably say I'm old, too. We'll show him the old guys can still get the job done.

"It gets down to the last lap and you try to protect yourself, but you can't wreck the other guy to keep your position."

Jimmy Spencer, who wound up eighth, had a similar experience.

"Every time I tried to pass Shane Hmiel, he'd turn into me," Spencer said.

Spencer also had some words for Hornaday after getting bumped on the final lap.

"That's OK," Spencer said. "I see what they want to do. I'll just have to race that way next time."