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 The addition of crew chief Danny Gill has been a major boost for Morgan-McClure. Since his arrival six weeks ago, the team has been a top-15 car each week, only to see a late-race failure sportsactionpicks eliminate them from contention. "No doubt that Danny Gill has made a difference," Hamilton said. "If it had laid right sportsactionpicks at Pocono, we would have had a top-10 finish. Michigan, we had broken a shock and finished 14th. We had run in the top-10 all day. "At Bristol, I was trying to get a lap back and ran over Jeremy (Mayfield). We had a flat and hit something on the racetrack and were running sixth at that time. It''s not hard to swallow now because we know we''re competitive. We''re unloading pretty good. "We''re getting our race setups almost perfect now and the motor program has really come along. I think when all the ingredients finally meet in the middle, it''ll mold into one and we''ll be there. You''ve just got to be patient with it. It took us a long time to get in this shape, and in this sport, as competitive as it is, you don''t overcome it overnight." Midway through the 1999 campaign, rumors began to swirl that Morgan-McClure was planning to add a second team to their one-car stable. Earles was dedicated to creating wonderful memories for the fans and providing the best facility for watching a race. Scott was dedicated to being a great driver and mechanic. Robertson was dedicated to promoting the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Martinsville Speedway President W. Clay Campbell, who is H. Clay Earles'' grandson, knew Robertson well and came to know Scott as he grew up at the track and traveled with his grandfather promoting races. "I think Wendell and my grandfather had a lot in common. Both of them went up against the odds and both of them persevered and made it. We are in the position we are today because of perseverance," Campbell said. "T. Wayne, Wendell and my grandfather were all determined to succeed and racing is a better sport because they were a part of it." Earles, one of the pioneers of racing, opened Martinsville in 1947, the year before NASCAR was formed, and became partners at Martinsville with the late Big Bill France, who founded NASCAR. The track began with a seating capacity of 750 and now seats 86,000. Martinsville was one of the first tracks to have permanent concession stands, attended restrooms, first-aid stations and air-conditioned scoring stands and press boxes. Four years ago, Morgan-McClure Motorsports was a weekly contender in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Sterling Marlin had finished among the top-10 in points for a second consecutive season, and the Kodak Chevrolet team showed no signs of slowing. However, that''s precisely what has happened, and no one is exactly sure why. Marlin departed to Team SABCO following the 1997 campaign after dropping from eighth to 25th in the championship point standings. In came . Bobby Hamilton, who had spent the past three seasons at Petty Enterprises. During that time, he''d finished as high as ninth in the points. On paper it was a perfect fit: small-town driver joins small-town sportsactionpicks team. In his first season behind the wheel of the No. 4 Chevrolet, Hamilton sportsactionpicks recorded three top-5s, including a trip to Victory Lane at Martinsville, and eight top-10s en route to a 10th-place finish in the points. The Morgan-McClure steamroller appeared to be chugging once again. They''ve had just one top-5 finish since. "Me and Larry (McClure, team owner) were talking one day and we feel like it took us a year and a half to dig this big hole we''re in, so we''re still trying to dig out," Hamilton said. "We''re not going to dig back out in a week or two." Odds and stats for betting on sports.
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