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Sporting News, The, Dec 6, 2004 by Pete Wickham

Bobby Hamilton found a comfort zone this season--and in the process became a champion.

In his second season driving full time in the Craftsman Truck Series, Hamilton, 47, had a career year, earning acclaim with a 46-point triumph over Dennis Setzer.

"Dodge has always been doing the kinds of things you need to do, but it's tougher to succeed now, much tougher," Hamilton, who gave Dodge its first drivers championship, told reporters. "Toyota came in strong, and it made Chevy and Ford step up.... If you finished in the top 18 this year, it was as good as a top 10 finish in the past."

Indeed, 13 drivers scored victories in 25 races--one shy of the series record--and nine of those drivers won more than one race. Dodge, which had 11 victories in 2004, won its third manufacturers championship in four years.

Hamilton won lour races, equaling his career total in Cup racing and his victory total in 49 previous CTS starts, dating to 1996.

Hamilton was a short-hop specialist, winning at tracks no farther than 300 miles from his suburban Nashville base. But in the end, he had to survive a serious points challenge from Setzer, who finished second for the second straight year.

Setzer stayed close to Hamilton in midseason, then took a 1-point lead after the fall race at Martinsville. Hamilton regained the lead one race later, then took command of the standings with a second-place finish at Darlington--though it left him near tears when he put his son, Bobby Hamilton Jr., into the wall after Junior missed a shift. Setzer, caught in a wreck in that race, fell 70 points back. Despite finishing 10th at Homestead, he couldn't make up ground--in part because Hamilton opted to do something he hates: race for points.

"We heard a lot of strange noises in the truck," Hamilton told reporters after finishing 16th at Homestead. "I just decided not to listen to that anymore and stay focused on winning the championship. Man, that was tough.... I chickened out, fell to the rear and did what we had to do."

Setzer, who was second to Travis Kvapil last year by nine points, says his team had a great season, especially after moving from Oklahoma to North Carolina to get more competitive. "Going into next year, we won't have that transition to worry about," he says.

Other highlights:

* Toyota made its presence felt in a hurry. Kvapil was the runner-up at Daytona, and despite a year of backstage drama with his new Bang Racing team, he gave Toyota its first two victories. Then Todd Bodine won back-to-back races, making the debut of the Germain-Arnold Toyota team a hit.

* After shuttling in seven drivers, Jim Smith's No. 2 Dodge hit it big with Nextel Cup drivers Jamie McMurray, who won at Martinsville, and Kasey Kahne, who won at Darlington and Homestead. Kahne became the first driver to win his first two CTS starts.

Smith has 35 career owners wins, one behind all-time leader Jack Roush.

Craftsman Truck Series
2004 winners

Date            Site             Winner

February 13     Daytona          Carl Edwards
March 13        Atlanta          Bobby Hamilton
April 17        Martinsville     Rick Crawford
May 16          Mansfield        Jack Sprague
May 21          Charlotte        Dennis Setzer
June 4          Dover            Chad Chaffin
June 11         Texas            Dennis Setzer
June 19         Memphis          Bobby Hamilton
June 25         Milwaukee        Ted Musgrave
July 3          Kansas           Carl Edwards
July 10         Kentucky         Bobby Hamilton
July 17         Gateway          David Starr
July 31         Michigan         Travis Kvapil
August 6        IRP              Chad Chaffin
August 14       Nashville        Bobby Hamilton
August 25       Bristol          Carl Edwards
September 9     Richmond         Ted Musgrave
September 18    New Hampshire    Travis Kvapil
September 25    Las Vegas        Shane Hmiel
October 2       Fontana          Todd Bodine
October 16      Texas            Todd Bodine
October 23      Martinsville     Jamie McMurray
November 5      Phoenix          David Starr
November 13     Darlington       Kasey Kahne
November 19     Homestead        Kasey Kahne

TSN's TRUCK
POLL [FINAL]
                           Truck
Driver                 Series points

 (1) Bobby Hamilton       3,624
 (2) Dennis Setzer        3,578
 (3) Ted Musgrave         3,554
 (4) Carl Edwards         3,493
 (5) Matt Crafton         3,379
 (6) David Starr          3,298
 (7) Jack Sprague         3,167
 (8) Travis Kvapil        3,152
 (9) Steve Park           3,138
(10) Chad Chaffin         3,122

Get a complete TSN Power Poll rundown and points system explanation at msn.foxsports, com/name/public/NASCAR/ Truck/PowerPoll.

Lee Spencer's 2005 Craftsman Truck Series Power Poll

1. Ted Musgrave

2. Ricky Craven

3. Todd Bodine

4. Dennis Setzer

5. Bobby Hamilton

6. David Starr

7. Jack Sprague

8. Mike Skinner

9. Ron Hornaday

10. David Reutimann

2004 Ad

Sporting News, The, Dec 6, 2004 by Pete Wickham

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