Justin’s first Quincy win comes at the final race of the season. He builds his own racing website, inspiring a site for the entire team.
HAMELTON RACING / THROUGH THE YEARS
It didn’t start with the 77K.
From drag racing to dirt tracks, from the 77 and 28 to the next generation. We’ve kept what we could—and we’re still finding more.
THE EARLY YEARS
The cars changed.
The name stayed.
Drag racing came first. The family later raced modifieds and stock cars on dirt, with Jim Hamelton Sr. and Justin Hamelton behind the wheel.
Jim’s 77 and Justin’s 28 appear together in a 2002 results page. Justin later raced the 24J in Hobby Stocks. Jim retired in 2008; Justin is retired as well.
Kyle carried on in the 77K stock cars and a watermelon-themed 77K Predator kart. Michael raced the 47H Predator kart, and Kandice took the 7K into Figure 8 racing. Kyle, Jim and Terry Hamelton Jr. also raced liquid-fuel RC cars.
A few dates worth keeping.
Justin’s season recap reports 11 feature wins and second in Macomb points. Jim and Justin appear together in the preserved results.
Jim retires from driving. The family keeps his 77, his race results and the old team stories in the archive.
Kyle races Sport Compact, Sport Mod and Hobby Stock, as well as a watermelon-themed 77K Predator kart. Michael races the 47H Predator kart; Kandice races Figure 8 in the 7K. Kyle, Jim and Terry Hamelton Jr. also race liquid-fuel RC cars.
The family is taking a break. Kyle’s building a Crown Vic for Crown Vic racing. A 2027 return is possible.
ONE MUSTANG / TWO TRACK NUMBERS
77 one night.
79 the next.
Jim’s main number was 77. At Quincy Raceway, another driver had already registered it, so Jim ran 79 there.
He made magnets that closed a 7 into a 9. Put a magnet on the second digit and 77 became 79; take it off for the next track and it was 77 again. That is why the 9 has its unusual shape. The same trick could have made 97 by changing the first digit, but Jim never needed to use it.
Later, Justin borrowed this same Mustang and taped his 28 over the 77. He flipped it onto the wall. The rollover photo and the damaged car back on its trailer are preserved in the family album.
Recalled and identified by the Hamelton family. The Facebook photos were shared in June 2010; that is not a confirmed race date.
The Mustang and the rollover in the album
OUR OLD HAUNTS
Both sides of the river.
Lee County Speedway
Donnellson, Iowa
Quincy Raceways
Quincy, Illinois
Macomb Speedway
Macomb, Illinois
Scotland County Speedway
Memphis, Missouri
The tracks the family remembers racing. These are historical connections, not a current schedule.
FROM THE OLD RESULT SHEETS
The record book.
Surviving race reports, the family’s own website and a few season notes. These records cover only part of the team’s racing.
10 recovered records
| DATE | DRIVER | TRACK / CLASS | RESULT | SOURCE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 season finale | Justin / 28 | Quincy RacewaysFirst win | 1st | Team-reportedThe original photo caption identifies the final Quincy race of 2001 as Justin’s first win. The 2008 team history names the car as a 1987 Chevrolet Spectrum. Exact event date and class have not been recovered. Read the source |
| Apr 19, 2002 | Justin / 28 | Track not specifiedResults listing | 7th | Team-reportedThe preserved results list Justin Hamelton, Hamilton IL, seventh among 17 entries. Track and class are not explicitly given in this result block. Read the source |
| Apr 19, 2002 | Jim Sr. / 77 | Track not specifiedResults listing | 13th | Team-reportedListed as James Hamelton, Keokuk IA, thirteenth among 17 entries. The family identifies Jim / James Hamelton as Jim Hamelton Sr. Read the source |
| May 3, 2002 | Jim Sr. / 77 | Lee County SpeedwayRiver City Motors Wildthings | 8th | Later recollectionA February 2008 team retrospective recalls Jim eighth in an 18-car Wildthings feature. It says the results were found through the Memphis Democrat; that underlying report has not yet been recovered. Read the source |
| May 3, 2002 | Justin / 28 | Lee County SpeedwayRiver City Motors Wildthings | 10th | Later recollectionThe same retrospective recalls Justin tenth, with Richard Bank second and Robert Bank fourth. The four results were celebrated together by the team. Read the source |
| 2002 season | Justin | Season recap / Macomb points11 feature wins; 2nd in points | Season note | Team-reportedJustin’s homepage reports 11 feature wins and second place in Macomb points. The recap does not explicitly assign all 11 wins to a single track. No full-season ledger has yet been recovered. Read the source |
| Apr 30, 2005 | Justin / 24J | Scotland County SpeedwayUSRA Hobby Stocks | 3rd | Published reportSecond in heat 1; third in the 23-car feature. The report describes Justin leading early and returning to the lead before Chris Wibbell took over on lap 5. Original hometown field says Hamilton, MO; see source note. Read the source |
| Aug 4, 2007 | Justin / 24J | Scotland County SpeedwayOutlaw Hobby Stocks | 10th | Published reportEd Sheckler Memorial: seventh in heat 1 of 10 and tenth in the 19-car feature. Source identifies Hamilton, Illinois. Read the source |
| 2013 / through Aug 23 | Kyle / 77K | Lee County SpeedwayIMCA points sheet | 243 points | IMCA points sheetThe 2013 IMCA track points sheet lists Kyle Hamelton, Keokuk, with 243 points through August 23. This is a dated points snapshot, not a final career total. Read the source |
| 2016 season finale | Kyle / 77K | Bloomfield SpeedwayHobby Stocks | 13th | Published reportThe published Hobby Stock results list 77K Kyle Hamelton, Keokuk, thirteenth in the feature and seventh in heat 2. Read the source |
Team recollections are labeled separately from contemporary reports. Uncertain track names and dates are left unassigned. The 2005 report prints Justin’s hometown as Hamilton, MO; the family and later records identify Hamilton, Illinois.
THE ORIGINAL FAMILY LOGOTHE OLD WEB, SAVED
Justin built it.
We kept it.
Justin’s 50megs site was his own project. It inspired the websites for the whole team. It’s still online, but now there’s a copy here too—with every original gallery photo.
The browsing copy has the host’s ads and sign-in prompts removed. The preservation download includes the untouched files, web archive and checksums.
IN LOVING MEMORY / OUR ALLIED RACING FAMILY
Remembering Doug Bergheger.
Our cousin. The blue 29. Bergheger-Pohren Racing. A place in the pits, and a lasting place in our family.
Visit Doug’s memorial