Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corporation

Race team moves to area

Jan 15, 2008
By BULLETIN STAFF REPORTS. A new partnership between Arrington Manufacturing Inc. and Bobby Hamilton Racing has brought the late NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver’s team to Martinsville.

Amanda Jones, public relations account manager for Bobby Hamilton Racing (BHR), said the company began its local operations Jan. 1 in space rented from Arrington Manufacturing (AMI).

The Dodge team was founded by Bobby Hamilton Sr., who died last year after a battle with cancer, according to the company’s Web site. It was based in Nashville before the move.

Lori Hamilton, Bobby Hamilton’s widow, will handle day-to-day operations with a management group made up of Arrington President Joey Arrington, Martinsville Speedway President Clay Campbell, Mac Bailey, Mark Melling and Stacy Compton, Jones said.

“This is a step in the right direction for BHR and AMI,” Arrington said in a news release. “It is our goal to get Dodge Motorsports back on top of its game in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. We will learn more, grow bigger and continue to carry on Bobby’s goals together.”

About eight of the company’s 30 BHR-Nashville employees made the move to Martinsville, Jones said, adding that the remainder had “deep roots” in Tennessee and declined to relocate.

The team now has 25 employees, most of the rest of whom were hired locally, she said.

“I feel we’ll add employees as the season goes on,” she said. She was unsure of how many.

Campbell said Monday that the jobs offer competitive wages and are in variety of areas.

“We are excited to bring BHR from Nashville to Martinsville,” he said. The team assembled consists of “high achievers and successful people,” and it is “going to translate into success on the racetrack for everybody involved.”

Lori Hamilton said Bobby Hamilton Racing made the decision to relocate after Joey Arrington approached the team about a partnership between the two companies. Although the team was successful in Nashville, Hamilton said the move came at the right time.

“Last year when we lost Bobby, we needed to fill a void,” she said. “Bobby wore a lot of hats and ran this company extremely well.”

The new partners involved “bring so much to Bobby Hamilton Racing that we see it as a tremendous growth opportunity,” Lori Hamilton said.

Some key people transferred from Tennessee, such as the team’s crew chief, truck chief and head fabricator, and others were hired locally, she said. They hope the company will continue to expand.

“Look for it to grow into more truck teams,” Hamilton said.

Currently, there are two Craftsman Truck Series events held at the Martinsville Speedway.

With the addition of Bobby Hamilton Racing, there now are three locally based NASCAR Craftsman truck teams, Campbell pointed out.

Hamilton fields two. They are Dennis Setzer in the No. 18 Dodge and Compton in the No. 4 Dodge. The HT Motorsports team, which fields the No. 59 Toyota, also is located in Martinsville.

“This is in its infancy stages, and I think it’s going to keep growing,” Campbell said.

Mark Heath, president and CEO of the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corp., could not comment about the team’s move to Martinsville because of continued discussions with the company.

During its 10-year existence, Bobby Hamilton Racing has had 19 race wins, 22 poles, 85 top-five finishes and garnered the 2004 truck series championship, according to the release.