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Had those ambitions come to fruition, McClure feels the state of his race team may be a bit different. "I may have had the problems, but I think I could have got things going in the right direction a lot quicker (with a second team) because with more testing and input from two different drivers and race teams, I think we golf could have got through this a lot quicker," McClure said. Hamilton currently ranks 30th in the standings. He''s never finished worse that 23rd in any full season in his career. It''s time to turn things around, and the change is on, starting this weekend at Darlington Raceway, where Hamilton has three consecutive seventh-place finishes. "Everybody loves Darlington. I think it''s one of our favorite race tracks," McClure said. "We were lucky enough to win a race there with Sterling, I think back in ''95. We''re looking forward to it, and I think we''re going to be ready for it." Hamilton added, "Just staying off the fence shoe (is the key to success at Darlington), and that''s hard to do there. Several guys have won that race and have had the recognized Darlington stripe. It depends on who hits it the lightest. "Every lap you go around there there''s one groove that works and then two laps later that groove doesn''t work any more. We''ve been pretty fortunate the last three or four races. We''ve been able to run there and not get in any crashes and not even get a stripe on the car. All that means is we''re way overdue for manufacturers it." After the struggles they''ve faced the past few seasons, Hamilton and the Morgan-McClure contingent are well overdue.

In 1986 he won the American Speed Association Rookie of the Year title before moving up to the NASCAR Busch Series Grand National Division full-time in 1989. Another rookie of the year title was added in 1989 and since then, Wallace has notched eight wins and eight Bud Poles as well as two Most Popular Driver awards in the NASCAR Busch Series. Since becoming a full-time NASCAR Winston Cup Series regular in 1996, Wallace has scored two Bud Poles and accumulated three top-5 and 16 top-10 finishes. The St. Louis golf native plans to improve upon those numbers with Eel River Racing. "I''m 37 years old and I feel a certain urgency to do more with the time I have left as a Winston Cup driver," Wallace said. "Eel River Racing is the best place for me to do what I want to do in Winston Cup -- and shoe that''s win races." "Between Barry Dodson, my dad and myself, we''ve worked extremely hard at building our race team into a winning organization," said Devin Birmingham, vice president of Eel River Racing. "Having a driver the caliber of Kenny Wallace join our team is big feather in our cap. He''s going to be a key partner in our program, and we''re looking to do great things together."

"That was a great race up to the final lap," Martin said. "I had a great time racing Jeff and Matt, and it got pretty intense there in the end. I was determined to keep my lead. That car was one of my favorites, which is why we''re bringing it back this weekend." Martin also leads all drivers in career series wins. He earned his 44th victory at Texas in April, and still has five races remaining on his schedule manufacturers this year. "We''re going to try to win them all," Martin said. "I''m sure the Busch guys golf and shoe will be glad when I''m gone next manufacturers year. I''ve worked hard for a lot of years in the Busch Series and won a few races and lost a lot of them." You can bet Burton, Kenseth and a number of series regulars will give Martin all he can handle this weekend. Series points leader Jeff Green has never won at Darlington, but has notched four top-10s and got his first top-5 ever last spring. He''s due for sure. "Darlington is just one of those places I''ve never been able to get a hold of," Green said. "In the spring, I posted golf my first top-5 finish there in my entire career, which is hard to believe since I''ve raced there 10 times now.