Bobby Hamilton dies at 49 (NASCAR driver)

[MaineDem]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Bobby Hamilton, the longtime NASCAR driver who won the 2001 Talladega 500 and was the 2004 Craftsman Truck Series champion, died Sunday of cancer, said Liz Allison, a family friend who co-hosted a radio show with Hamilton. He was 49.

Hamilton was at home with his family when he died, said Allison, the widow of former NASCAR star Davey Allison.

"The thing I loved about Bobby Sr. so much is that he treated everybody the same," Allison said. "It didn't matter if you were one of the drivers he competed against or a fan he'd never laid eyes on before.

"He didn't have a pretentious bone in his body. I think that's why people were drawn to him. He was just very real and had a way of relating to everyone."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/racing/01/07/hamilton.death.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

[frylock]

1. that's too bad..

I didn't even know he was ill. Best wishes to his family and friends.