IRWINDALE SPEEDWAY: CLEARLY, HAMILTON HAS DRIVE TO SUCCEED.

Byline: Keith Lair Staff Writer

IRWINDALE - Davey Hamilton has had a race car driver's feast lately. The Las Vegas driver apparently just wants to belly up to the motor-racing schedule and run in them all.

A week after running in four events, Hamilton will be taking part in two more races when he competes in the K & N Classic 100 for USAC Coors Light Silver Bullet series Silver Crown cars Saturday night at Irwindale Speedway. He then will race in the season-opening Western Sprints race.

``This is fun,'' says the only driver to have competed in every Indy Racing Northern Lights series event. ``If I had my choice, I'd be out here doing this all the time.''

Last weekend at the Copper World Classic in Phoenix, Hamilton competed in the season-opening Silver Crown race, placing 10th, with Paul White winning his first Silver Crown event. He then hopped into a Midget car and placed 10th. On Sunday in Phoenix, he won the Supermodified Racing League main event and then jumped into his IRNL car and finished 23rd.

``I'd prefer to run in (a different car) four days a week instead of in two days, but I know that's not going to happen,'' he says.

Hamilton says he can afford to pick a smorgasborg of series to race because his IRNL owner, Sam Schmidt, hasn't secured a sponsor who would prohibit him from racing in various series, including the SRL, which he owns. That series will run on the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Bullring on Saturday.

``Maybe I can get a contract like (NASCAR driver) Tony Stewart's,'' he said. ``It would be nice to have an owner like (Joe Gibbs), who lets him race in other cars.''

That lack of a contractual agreement, though, will let Hamilton - a two- time winner at Irwindale - race a nearly full Silver Crown schedule. He has never competed in the series fulltime, having raced in it just 17 times in the past six years.

``It's been awhile, but we have a good team and it will be fun to race in the series more often,'' said Hamilton.

The series race on the same weekend and at the same track as the IRNL five times this year. The only potential conflicts are on Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends. Silver Crowns compete May 25 at the Indianapolis State Fairgrounds and Indianapolis 500 activities could curtail a Silver Crown appearance. On Labor Day weekend, the IRNL races at Chicago and the Silver Crowns are at DuQuoin, Ill.

Bob Consani built a Silver Crown car for Hamilton this season. Hamilton will also be in Consani's sprint car this season, when he's available. Hamilton won in his only Irwindale sprint appearance last year.

This year's Irwindale race will have a different feel. In its previous trips to the speedway, the series was the next-to-last event of the season and followed a dirt event in Sacramento. Because of the West Coast swing, only teams vying for the series title would attend. But Saturday's race will be the second on the schedule, following last week's Copper World 100-lapper. Fifty cars are pre-entered in the the 100-lap race, which will include qualifying and a 50-lap qualifying race.

White, from Temple, Texas, won last week in only his 28th Silver Crown start. He was the Rookie of the Race in '99, placing ninth. He was also ninth last year.

``I just hope I get a good starting spot and run up front early,'' he said. ``Then, if the power companies don't elect to turn the lights out on us, we should be in the hunt at the end.''

Russ Gamester, who won last year's Irwindale race, defending series champion Kasey Kahne, Dave Darland, Dave Steele, Tracy Hines, Jack Hewitt, Jay Drake, Brad Noffsinger and former World of Outlaws champion Tyler Walker are also entered. Expected to also do double open-wheel duty is Hines, Bud Kaeding and Bobby McMahan.

The night's events will also include the season opener for the track's NASCAR Automobile Club of Southern California Late Model cars. Gates open at 4:30 p.m. There will be an on-the-track Silver Crown autograph session at 6 p.m. and racing is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.