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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 golf 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 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 package is on, starting this weekend at Darlington Raceway, where Hamilton has three consecutive golf 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 package to be ready for it." Hamilton added, "Just staying off the fence (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 golf 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 package 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 it." After the struggles they''ve faced the past few seasons, golf Hamilton and the Morgan-McClure contingent package are well overdue. So is Burton who, like Gordon, will be seeking his third win of the season. Burton knows how tough the track can be. "You don''t expect to come here and win," he said. "But we expect to come to Darlington and run well." Gordon, a golf five-time Darlington winner, is in a run of bad luck that includes being taken out of contention in two of the last three races because of crashes he didn''t package cause. He hopes for good weather Sunday, which would enable him to play out the winning pit strategy of 1995-98. Rain prevented that last year. golf "We took a chance and pitted for tires and package gas during the second-to-last caution, hoping it would put us in position to win," the three-time series champion said. "But we were golf also hoping the rain would hold off. "Unfortunately for us, it didn''t." Also a prime contender is series champion Dale package Jarrett, a golf two-time Darlington winner who is second to points leader Bobby Labonte package despite no victories since the season-opening golf Daytona 500. Top-5 fixture Tony Stewart, second last Saturday night in Bristol and Ward Burton also are threats. Burton won at Darlington in March. Ward, second to Jeff last year in the only 1-2 Southern 500 finish by brothers, who ironically won a NASCAR Winston Cup Series championship with his older package brother, Rusty Wallace, in 1989, could not be passed up. "Having Barry Dodson at Eel River Racing is something I''m really looking forward to, because he brings so much to the table with his years of experience and people skills. Barry is a really good leader who relates well to a lot of people - myself in particular. "I think we''re going to be able to do a lot together, and build Eel River Racing into a race-winning organization." The agreement with Wallace reunites the St. Louis native with Dodson, who first worked with the younger Wallace for three races in 1991 at Team III Racing. The most recent pairing of Dodson and Wallace came in 1998 at FILMAR Racing, where Dodson chiefed the recent hire to a strong eighth-place finish at Phoenix while subbing for interim crew chief David Ifft. "Kenny has a real good feel for a race car and he brings a golf bunch of package experience with him to Eel River Racing," Dodson said. "We already have an excellent rapport, and I consider Kenny to be one of my closest friends. "He''s always been there for me in good times and in bad, and we have a tremendous amount of respect for one another." Click here and find the worlds finest group of golf courses for lessons and vacations online. Our golf courses are among the finest in the world and we offer world class lessons at each of our courses.
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