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NASCAR Nationwide Series
NNS: Hamilton Jr. Buys Hometown Track
Bobby Hamilton Jr. adds track owner to his resume...
Larry Woody  | http://www.RacinToday.com  |  Posted December 05, 2009   Charlotte, NC

Bobby Hamilton Jr. finished 53rd in the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series points standings. (Photo: Lat Photographic)

Bobby Hamilton Jr. has bought Highland Rim Speedway, a quarter-mile asphalt track located in Ridgetop, Tenn., 20 miles north of Nashville, and said the purchase is partly from the heart and partly from the head.

“It’s a little bit sentimental in addition to being a business move,” he said of his decision to acquire the 46-year-old track.

“The first race I ever saw was at Highland Rim, where my dad started racing,” said Hamilton, 31, whose late father got his start at the little track and went on to NASCAR stardom.

“That track has always meant a lot to our family. In fact a few years ago my dad and I thought about buying it but the timing wasn’t right.”

One of the main factors that made Hamilton decide that the timing is better now is the closure of historical Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville. This was the track’s final season according to the mayor, who plans to develop the property.

Earlier in the week former Fairgrounds drivers Darrell Waltrip and Sterling Marlin met with city representatives to plead for the track to remain open, but apparently to no avail.

The closure of Fairgrounds Speedway will leave hundreds of area drivers and thousands of race fans with no place to go.

“There’s no question that the drivers and the fans are out there,” Hamilton said. “It’s up to us to give them a good track to race on, in a family-friendly environment. I believe I can make it work.”

Highland Rim, which opened in 1964, has hosted such notable drivers as Waltrip, Bobby and Donnie Allison, and Red Farmer, and helped launch the careers of both Hamiltons, Jeremy Mayfield, Chad Chaffin, Jeff Green and Casey Atwood all of whom went on to race in NASCAR.


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Larry Woody

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