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 eliminate them golfbags from contention. "No doubt that Danny golfbags Gill has made a difference," Hamilton said. "If it had laid right 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 golfbags ran over Jeremy (Mayfield). We golfbags 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 golfbags 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.

whose four-year run of superiority in the Southern 500 ended in 1999 -- and Jeff Burton, who won both rain-shortened events last season on the Track "Too Tough To Tame." Victory has taught them much about Darlington, but Wallace figures defeat also can be a valuable tutor. He finished 16th in Darlington in March. "We''ve been on the money almost everywhere we''ve been this year with the chassis, but if there''s an exception to that, it has to be the first Darlington race," he said. "We missed it with our shock package, really missed it big time on the right rear. "We''ll get it all nailed down this time around, though."

Had those ambitions come to fruition, McClure feels the state of his race team may be a bit different. "I may have had the 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 is on, starting this weekend at Darlington Raceway, where Hamilton has three consecutive 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 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 golfbags the recognized Darlington stripe. It depends on who hits it the lightest. "Every lap you go around there golfbags 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 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, Hamilton and the Morgan-McClure contingent are well overdue.

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