Bizzare NASCAR History: The Unkillable Truck Series ‘Freak’

Imagine personifying an automobile machine. In NASCAR, we have glorified several personalities who were all humans. Ranging from Dale Earnhardt Sr’s ‘intimidating’ nature and aggressive tactics in the NASCAR Cup Series to Richard ‘The King’ Petty’s 200 star-studded victories, we have seen many legends immortalize the sport. Similarly, however, a particular Craftsman Truck machine has also achieved such a hallowed status.

Bobby Hamilton Sr. was a 4-time NASCAR national series winner and an automotive genius. For instance, he qualified a movie car, supposedly uncompetitive, in 5th position for a 1989 Phoenix race. It was due to his passion for cars that an extraordinarily resilient Truck came to life.

The sturdiest of NASCAR’s cars

In motorsport, a particular race car’s chassis gets used only a few times before being scrapped. However, Bobby Hamilton Racing introduced a range of Dodge Trucks in 1998 that included one special machine. Among a slew of unique names like Hulk, Scarface, and Rambo, we could find one Truck named ‘Freak’ – and this turned out to be the mother of all Trucks. Running for two decades, Freak had one of the longest life spans of any NASCAR vehicle. 8 drivers raced the Truck for three manufacturers – Dodge Ram, Toyota Tundra, and Chevrolet Silverado. Sporting 9 numbers, it won 3 times and led 137 laps.

After its debut in 1998, Hamilton did not use Freak for more than twice a year. In 2001, NASCAR’s monster truck was unbeatable – Joe Ruttman won the pole and then the race at Daytona International Speedway. The same victorious streak continued to 2002 when Robert Pressley drove Freak to a Daytona victory. Then in 2005, Bobby Hamilton won in this machine in a confusing finish. Broadcasters scratched their head as to who crossed the yellow light first – but eventually, Freak claimed the win. “Well here comes Bobby Hamilton out of this race truck they call the chassis ‘Freak’!”

That marked the last time Freak visited Victory Lane, though. Hamilton won the championship in 2004 after winning four races but was diagnosed with head and neck cancer in 2006. He passed away in January 2007 – along with the owner’s demise, Freak’s value also diminished in his team. However, it continued to survive in other people’s hands. Bobby Hamilton Racing shut down in 2008, following which James Harris acquired the Dodge. After a spectacular 3rd-place finish in Daytona again in 2009, the Truck landed in Chris Fontaine’s hands. Its spark was hardly over as Freak continued to make jaws drop for nearly a decade after that.

However, even the strongest spectacles have an end.

The long-overdue expiry date

After Freak left Bobby Hamilton’s care, it also left its victorious streak. However, that did not deprive the Truck of a long and sturdy career. The first time Chris Fontaine used the Truck was in a 2010 Talladega race. After qualifying 6th, Fontaine led 15 laps before surrendering the lead with 6 laps to go. But what stood out was the fair share of wrecks Fontaine endured inside Freak. In 2011 at Daytona, Kyle Busch‘s push turned haywire as both Busch and Fontaine wrecked a lap later. At Talladega, Freak crashed again towards the end of the race – with 10 laps left. In a 2012 Daytona race, Fontaine again got caught in a wreck with 2 laps left – but recovered to finish 7th, a true sign of Freak’s resilience.

However, 2018 was Freak’s year to finally give in. It marked the time that a third different manufacturer, Chevrolet, remodeled the car but kept the same old chassis. Electrical problems in Daytona landed the Truck in a 29th-place finish. After that, the October Talladega race was the final event. Fontaine qualified 19th and by halfway he was charging to the front of the field. On lap 59 though, Justin Haley turned around Freak when it was running 2nd. The famed Truck could not survive the wreck, and after 20 years finally saw its end.

Yet everything said and done, Freak established a sturdy legacy in NASCAR. Have you heard of any other race vehicles that stood the test of time? Feel free to let us know!