Mike Bliss took the No. 16 to victory at Atlanta, one of five wins for Chevrolet in 2006. Credit: Autostock

Truck '06: Top Stories

Chevy opts for technical support role

General Motors officials said on Oct. 27 that the company would end its sponsorship of teams in the Truck Series. Chevrolet will continue to support the series' Silverado with technical and parts support so the brand will remain established in the 11-year series.

Chevrolet backed two teams this year -- Morgan-Dollar's Nos. 85 and 46 and the Xpress Motorsports' No. 16.

"Things are tough in Detroit and there is some cost containment in place, obviously," GM Racing's program manager for the Truck series, Dayne Pierantoni, told The Charlotte Observer. "We are going to have some changes in the way we are going to support our teams next year.

"We've been up-front with our teams that we have some specific marketing objectives with [primary] sponsorships and we feel those objectives have been met."

One year earlier, when Xpress dumped Jack Sprague as its driver, Pierantoni had said: "Chevrolet is racing trucks to win races and win championships." However, GM lost $115 million in the third quarter of 2006, although the loss was significantly smaller than the $1.7 billion the automaker lost in the same year-ago quarter.

Chevrolet drivers won the first five Truck Series championships -- and eight of nine -- but Dodge (2004-05) and Toyota (2006) drivers have won the past three titles.

Hamilton: I have cancer

Bobby Hamilton has never been one to wear his emotions on his sleeve, but even he had a hard time holding back tears when he announced on March 19 that he had been diagnosed with neck cancer.

Bobby Hamilton won four races en route to the 2004 Truck Series championship. Credit: Autostock

Hamilton, the 2004 series champion, began radiation and chemotherapy treatment at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. He had a tumor removed from his neck on Feb. 8, and then nine days later finished 21st in the season opener at Daytona.

He made two more starts -- finishing 23rd at California and 14th at Atlanta -- before turning the truck over to his son, Bobby Hamilton Jr.

"The cancer word really puts everything in perspective," Hamilton Jr. said. "I know any time he asks me, 'Do you want to do this or do you want me to get somebody else to do it?' I'm like, 'Hell no, I'm gonna do it.'

"He's built this for me in the long run, and I'm trying to run it as best I can. It could be worse. We have our days we get emotional, but like my wife told me, 'Hey, you've got to be strong for him.' That's exactly what we're going to do."

Despite the grim diagnosis, Hamilton was defiant, labeling himself as a "survivor, not a victim," and he said that he would do everything possible to show up at the track as a truck owner.

"I will be back. I am not quitting. I am not that damn weak," he said.

Ultra Motorsports closes shop

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It was over before it began for 2005 championship team Ultra Motorsports, which closed its doors on Jan. 6.

Citing a shortfall in expected sponsorship, team owner Jim Smith "reluctantly decided not to race this year," leaving defending Truck Series champion Ted Musgrave without a ride mere days before Preseason Thunder testing began at Daytona.

Smith was one of a group of owners that approached NASCAR in the mid-1990s about starting a racing series for pickup trucks. Since the series' inception in 1995, Ultra had fielded at least one -- and sometimes as many as four -- trucks in each event.

Musgrave signed with Germain Racing a few days later and eventually finished sixth in the point standings to teammate Todd Bodine.

Other notable headlines
• Mark Martin wins series' inaugural Talladega race
• Ex-ballplayer Mike Greenwell debuts at Mansfield
• Todd Bodine wins racing family's first championship
• Four-year victory droughts end: Terry Cook | Mike Bliss
• Cook sets record with 211th consecutive start at Memphis
• 2003 champion Travis Kvapil will return to series with Roush