Sterling Marlin first met Bobby Hamilton at the old Nashsville Fairgrounds. Credit: Autostock

Hamilton more than a friend, recalls Marlin

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Early in 2006, with his season going nowhere fast, Sterling Marlin walked about his property outside Columbia, Tenn., wondering how to solve his mounting problems.

Marlin had started the season with a new team, MB2 Motorsports, but the year had quickly soured. The car simply wouldn't handle. With four consecutive finishes of 30th or worse to start the season, Marlin knew he had to do something, so he called the best chassis man he knew.

MESSAGE BOARD •   Send your condolences to Bobby Hamilton's family. HAMILTON DIES AT 49 Bobby Hamilton, the 2004 Truck Series champion, died Jan. 7 after a battle with neck cancer.  •   Complete story, click here BY THE NUMBERS Bobby Hamilton found Victory Lane in all three of NASCAR's top series, but when he went to the Lady in Black in a truck, he found his way to the front.  •   Hamilton: By the Numbers PHOTO GALLERY From driving the 43 car for Petty Enterprises to winning a Truck Series championship with his own team, Bobby Hamilton's career was multi-faceted.  • Hamilton: In Photos 2004 FLASHBACK The 2004 season was Bobby Hamilton's crowning moment in the Truck Series, but even in his championship year nothing was handed to the owner/driver.  •   Complete story, click here Reflecting on a titleBobby Hamilton looks back on his 2004 truck championship Lifting the trophyBobby Hamilton clinches the 2004 Truck Series championship '05: Victory at MansfieldBobby Hamilton celebrates his UAW-GM Ohio 250 victory '04: Happy papaBobby Hamilton wins the Toyota 200 and celebrates with his son Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

Bobby Hamilton.

Marlin made the hour trip from Columbia to Mt. Juliet, where Hamilton's sprawling Craftsman Truck Series operation is based. He knew Hamilton, a close friend of his for a decade, would be willing to help.

The trip paid dividends. Marlin began to run better, and said the impact of Hamilton's pro bono consulting job is hard to underestimate.

"I rode up to see him and he threw the book out," Marlin said. "He said, 'If you need anything, come back.' If you needed something, [he'd let you] come get it or come borrow it."

Hamilton, who died Sunday at 49, was known as a man who would give you the shirt off his back. And if someone had helped him along the way, he'd go even further.

Hamilton likely never forgot that Marlin had helped him back in the late 1980s, when Hamilton was a struggling Late Model driver at the old Nashville Fairgrounds.

Marlin was established at the Cup level at the time, but still retained a lot of his old contacts and friends in Middle Tennessee, and he owed one of them a favor.

The man -- Marlin forgets his name -- happened to be Hamilton's Late Model car owner. Marlin had the car owner bring Hamilton's Late Model down to Columbia, where Marlin worked on it.

"I was pretty good at putting ductwork and crush panels, so I put the ductwork and crush panels in the car and he won a lot of races," Marlin said. "I owed a friend some favors. They went to Nashville and won about every race that they run."

Marlin had initially met Hamilton late one night at the Fairgrounds.

"Back then at Nashville, after all the races were over, you could drive a street car in a race," Marlin said. "I had a 1964 Chevelle, and he had some kind of old car. That was the first time I seen him."

Their friendship grew over time. By the time Hamilton finally made it to the Cup Series -- nearly 15 years after Marlin -- the two began sharing plane rides. When Marlin left longtime employer Morgan-McClure Motorsports in 1998, it was Hamilton who replaced him.

"He was a hard racer and a very good racecar driver," Marlin said. "He was really smart. He was a real clean racer."

Before hearing of his friend's death, Marlin suspected Hamilton wasn't doing well. Hamilton made several appearances at the racetrack throughout the course of the 2006 season, but those stopped as the year came to a close.

"I heard about a month ago that he had some lymph nodes taken out, and I figured that wasn't any good," Marlin said.