During the '03 and '04 seasons Hamilton also served as mentor for Joe Hamilton III, an African-American teenaged racer from Franklin who was part of another diversity program. Hamilton built the Late Model cars that Henderson raced at the Fairgrounds.
"Bobby has a lot of knowledge, and he is a great teacher," Henderson says. "He let me hang around the shop and work on the cars, and when his schedule permitted, he'd go to the track with me and watch me race. Whatever I'm able to do in my career, Bobby will have been a big part of it."
By the start of the '03 season Hamilton felt that all the pieces were in place to make a serious run for the championship.
"I'd been able to put some good people in place at BHR, and things were running smoothly from the standpoint of the overall operation," he says. "I was able to really focus on my driving. I knew going into the season that Dodge had given us good equipment. I knew I had a good team around me, and I knew I could still drive competitively. There wasn't any reason I shouldn't run up front consistently and be in a position to win every race I entered. If you can do that, you'll be in a position to win a championship. That's the way I approached it-concentrate on each individual race, with the big picture always in the back of my mind."
Hamilton built a lead in the standings, lost it, and got it back. Going into the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, all Hamilton had to do was finish 12th or better and the title was his. He came in 16th, but points runner-up Dennis Setzer finished 10th and failed to generate enough points to overtake Hamilton. When he pulled into the pits, the champagne shower was underway.
"To walk up there and accept that championship trophy from Mike Helton-it was a pretty amazing moment," Hamilton says. "This is a good, tough series-personally, I think the racing is better in the trucks than in Cup or Busch, and if you can win a championship here it's something to be proud of. A lot of sweat from a lot of people have gone into this."
Hamilton wants to race for two more years. He then plans to hang up his helmet and devote himself full time to overseeing his expanding truck racing operation.
He believes he can mould Montgomery into a top driver, and he added Deborah Renshaw to the BHR fold for this season. Hamilton says he has been impressed by Renshaw's toughness and tenacity and likes the challenge of developing a promising female racer.
"I figure I've got a couple more good seasons left as a driver," Hamilton says. "I don't like the word 'retirement' because that sounds like I'll just be sitting around on my butt all day. That'll never happen. I see myself involved in racing for a lot of years after I quit driving."
In addition to his own racing duties, Hamilton also closely follows the development of his son, Bobby Jr., who in 2004 will run the full Nextel Cup schedule.
"I'm really proud of Little Bobby and how he's been able to build his career," Hamilton says. "He's taken his time and he's done it right, and he's got a bright future ahead of him. I think I get a bigger kick out of watching him do well on the track than I get from winning one of these things myself."
That pride is mutual. "It's hard to express how proud I am of my father," says Bobby Jr. "I know how long and how hard he has worked to build what he's built. To see it all finally come together and to see him win the championship-well, I just don't have the words to explain how I feel about it. I get a little choked up when I try."
There has been a Hamilton on a racetrack for a span of seven decades. Preacher Hamilton started it back with his '40s duels on little local bullrings. Bud continued it and passed the mantle to Bobby. Bobby Jr. will continue that four-generation run. The Hamilton racing legacy is secure for years to come. Somewhere Preacher Hamilton is smiling.
"It's pretty amazing when you think about it," Hamilton says. "Four generations . . . that's a whole lot of running in circles, ain't it?"