"Darrell was my hero," Hamilton says. "He had this cocky attitude, but he could back it up on the track. He was incredibly gifted. He could make a race car do things I'd never seen done before."
Hamilton was not aware of it, but he had likewise caught Waltrip's eye. A decade or so later Waltrip would play a vital role in advancing Hamilton's career. It was literally something out of a Hollywood script.
"In 1989 they were making the Days of Thunder movie starring Tom Cruise, and they wanted somebody to drive a car in a race at Phoenix to get some special footage," Hamilton says. "Darrell, who was a big star at the time, recommended me."
Hamilton did such a masterful job driving the "movie car'' that he began to receive offers from some Winston Cup team owners. His career had taken off.
Waltrip recalls: "I'd known Bobby for a lot of years, watching him race at Nashville, and I'd always been impressed by his knowledge and ability. He once set up a Busch car for me, and it was the best-handling car I'd ever driven. He had the ability not just to race cars but to work on them and set them up. He was also a smart driver. He knew how to get around a track without tearing a lot of stuff up."
"I guess when you have to fix it yourself, you learn to be a little more careful with it," Hamilton says. "Back in those days I didn't have any money. I'd take what I won on Saturday night and use it to race on the next Saturday."
Hamilton won the Fairgrounds track championship in 1987 and 1988, but there wasn't much money in it. It was strictly hand-to-mouth racing. At one point Hamilton was so broke that he couldn't afford a set of tires. He had to ask his mother for a loan.
"So many people helped me . . . my mom, Darrell, friends back home that you've never even heard of. Every time I'd get down, somebody would be there to help me get back on my feet. Today, I try to help kids starting out because I remember back when I was in their shoes. If people hadn't helped me I'd never have made it . . . maybe I can do the same for somebody else."
One of the youngsters Hamilton took under his wing was Casey Atwood. Atwood, like Hamilton, began racing at Highland Rim, then moved to Nashville. At the age of 19 he landed a Cup ride with Evernham Motorsports.
"Bobby was the person who made it happen," Atwood says. "Nobody in my family raced. My folks supported me and encouraged me, but I had no connections in the sport, nobody to give me advice. Bobby became that person. He was my 'insider' who was always there to answer questions and introduce me to people."
The King's ManHamilton spent 13 years in NASCAR's premier Winston Cup (now Nextel Cup) Series and captured four wins. His first Cup victory came at Phoenix in 1996, a win that gave Richard Petty his first triumph as a team owner. He finished Ninth in the championship standings that season, his career best. His last Cup victory came at Talladega in 2001.
"That first Cup win was very special in a lot of ways," Hamilton says. "Your first win is always big, and to do it driving Richard Petty's car-well, it all seemed like a dream. As a kid I'd always been a big Richard Petty fan. He represented everything there was about NASCAR. He was the king, and he had this great style about him. Everybody in the world knew and admired Richard Petty, and there I was, driving his car to victory. It was a pretty awesome deal. It still kinda gives me goosebumps when I think about it."
Hamilton would go on to drive for various other teams over the years, with mixed results. He earned a reputation on the circuit as a quiet, serious racer who never made waves and squeezed the most out of what was often less than first-rate equipment.