Gaerte, Hamilton part ways

GAERTE, HAMILTON SPLIT AFTER RED RIVER VALLEY EVENT WEST FARGO, ND (July 10) - Al Hamilton was looking for a new driver and Joe Gaerte for a ride following the World of Outlaws' feature racing program at Red River Valley Speedway Saturday. "Both parties agreed that things weren't working out," Hamilton said Monday. "The split was on good terms. We're interviewing drivers but, beyond that, we're not sure what we're going to do." Hamilton hired Gaerte, the World of Outlaws' 1989 Rookie of the Year, to drive his #77 Cornwell Tools J&J a month before the 1995 season started. Joe ranked eighth in the Skoal Outlaw Series point standings, 106 points behind ex-Two Winners Racing teammate Greg Hodnett, at the time of the split. "I really thought we'd run the whole season before making a decision," Gaerte said. "You can't build a team over night. But they've got to do what they've got to do, so I'm going to move on and do something else. "I don't have anything arranged yet, but I'm looking. It would be hard to start my own team this late in the year, but we've talked about it. If we did anything like that, it would be for next year." Gaerte qualified for the "A" Feature in all 38 events in which he raced for Hamilton, but recorded only 16 top-10 finishes. He had two fourth-place runs, the second at Rocky Mountain Speedway in his next- to-last race with the team. WoO*eot