Bobby Hamilton drove in three races before beginning radiation and chemotherapy for head and neck cancer. Credit: Autostock

Trucks '06: Top Moments

Australian Ambrose wins pole at Kentucky

Marcos Ambrose was one of Australia's top road-course racers, winning a pair of touring car championships, before deciding to make a major career change.

Major -- as in competing in the all-oval Craftsman Truck Series.

Inside the Numbers Marcos Ambrose's 2006 stats Race Start Finish Status Martinsville 20 33 running Gateway 19 34 crash Charlotte 3 36 crash Mansfield 28 23 running Dover 12 26 running Texas 21 27 running Michigan 2 26 running Milwaukee 9 18 running Kansas 4 3 running Kentucky 1 19 running Memphis 14 34 running ORP 19 22 running Nashville 11 3 running Bristol 9 26 running Loudon 14 23 running Las Vegas 6 7 running Talladega 30 17 running Martinsville 4 25 running Atlanta 12 16 running Texas 18 10 running Phoenix 7 15 running Homestead 17 27 running Average 12.7 21.4

Ten races later, the 29-year-old native of Tasmania was leading the field to the green flag in the Built Ford Tough 225 at Kentucky Speedway after winning his first pole.

"It's very hard to adapt," Ambrose said. "I've never driven on ovals. I've never driven stock cars. I've come from a road-race background, so it's been a very difficult transition and wasn't one we expected to be easy.

"The move from Australia, I was kind of a big fish in a pretty small pond and now I'm small fish in a huge ocean over here."

Ambrose made his series debut at Martinsville in the season's fourth race, and got a quick lesson in how much he needed to learn to be competitive. He wound up 33rd there, 34th at Gateway and last at Lowe's, crashing out of the final two races.

But Ambrose began to find his comfort level. He qualified on the front row at Michigan, started fourth and finished third at Kansas and then earned the pole at Kentucky. Ambrose went on to lead 49 laps of the Built Ford Tough 225.

"I feel more comfortable with the trucks, I feel more comfortable with the people that I'm driving with," Ambrose said. "We're not going to be in the top three every week. We're aiming for a top-10 if we can, and anything above that is a bonus this year."

Two more top-10s followed at Las Vegas and Texas, which impressed crew chief Gary Cogswell.

"It's amazing just how fast Marcos has caught on to what these trucks need to be fast," Cogswell said. "He's always done a great job giving us information so we can make the truck better, and he's been doing that while he's trying to get used to all these new tracks."

Ambrose plans to run the No. 59 Ford for the Wood Brothers in the Busch Series in 2007.

Bobby Hamilton's battle with cancer

At Atlanta, Bobby Hamilton revealed that he was to begin radiation and chemotherapy after having a cancerous tumor removed from his neck.

HAMILTON TIMELINE •   March: Hamilton announces he has cancer •   April: Hamilton a profile in courage •   May: Hamilton appears at cancer benefit •   August: Hamilton's charity event raises $66,000 •   10 Questions: Bobby Hamilton

"I don't mind telling you -- there aren't many nights that I'm not scared," he said. "It's not scared like being in a haunted house or something. Just little things become important.

"Suddenly things flash in front of your eyes, and seeing your granddaughter raised up means more. Making sure you tell your son you love him means more. Making sure you let the people know around you that you care, and letting your guard down to let other people tell you that they care.

"I never was that type. I was always very stern. Not necessarily a hard ass, but I've been burned by so many people -- and this business will do it -- that I'd walk around with a huge armor and never let anybody in."

Hamilton, the 2004 Craftsman Truck Series champion, drove in the first three races of the season, finishing 21st at Daytona, 23rd at California and 14th at Atlanta.

"I have always been sort of a survivor," Hamilton said. "I was on the street when I was 13, 14 years old, ending up doing what I did and got a chance to race with the best racecar drivers in the world."

In May, Hamilton missed attending a race for the first time since he formed his own team.

"I am not going to lie and say the last few weeks have been easy," Hamilton said. "It has been the hardest battle I have ever had to fight."

As of November, Hamilton had regained much of the weight he had lost during the treatment phase and his voice, affected by the radiation aimed at the cancer, is returning to normal. His focus now is returning his race team to its previous level of success.

He still hopes for a return to the driver's seat.

Trucks tackle Talladega's high banks

The Craftsman Truck Series made its debut at NASCAR's biggest superspeedway in October.

	John Deere 250 Results Pos. Driver Make 1. Mark Martin Ford 2. Mike Skinner Toyota 3. Ted Musgrave Toyota 4. Todd Bodine Toyota 5. A.J. Allmendinger Toyota 6. David Reutimann Toyota 7. David Ragan Ford 8. Chad Chaffin Toyota 9. Johnny Benson Toyota 10. Ron Hornaday Chevy • Complete results, click here • Driver standings, click here

Fears over excessive speeds on the newly repaved 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway proved unfounded, at least for the trucks -- as Mark Martin's pole-winning speed was 182.32 mph, about 1 mph faster than Todd Bodine's lap at Atlanta earlier in the season.

The John Deere 250 provided three- and four-wide racing throughout the day, but proved to be hard on engines -- as no fewer than five truck retired with power-plant related problems.

Martin ended up losing a lap early on when he pitted to take care of an overheating problem, but regained it during one of seven cautions.

Todd Bodine was penalized for passing Martin illegally for the lead with nine laps to go, a controversial decision that directly led to Martin's victory.

"From where I was, it was a clean pass," Bodine said. "That's the problem with having a rule that's an interpretation of a rule. I didn't start to pass below the yellow line. I was forced below the line.

"That's supposed to be the rule that if you're forced down there, it's not a penalty. That's what happened."

Martin's opinion differed greatly from Bodine's.

"NASCAR has that rule and the leader is not going to give up that inside position," Martin said. "I wasn't going to give it up. He pressed the issue and I kind of gave it up. He went below me and, I guess, got a little too low. He's the points leader. He's got to think about things like that."

Final lapsMark Martin gets to the checkered flag under caution Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

Martin was in the lead when Mike Skinner and Mike Wallace triggered a multi-truck accident on the white-flag lap.

"I just want everybody to know that that thing was my fault," Skinner said. "There was a lot of bouncing around going on, and I was trying to draft off Mike's truck. And I just hit him.

"It was an accident, but it was completely my fault. I wasn't going to win that race and I wouldn't wreck my buddy's truck for one spot. For the win, maybe. But I feel horrible about what happened."

It took nearly 30 minutes for NASCAR officials to sort out the eventual finishing order. Still, Martin felt it was a great debut for the trucks at Talladega.

"They did a great job out there," Martin said. "Nobody got over their heads, got too big out there. Nobody got too aggressive. Everybody should be proud of that."