Hamilton back in Idaho

Las Vegas resident Davey Hamilton, who qualified for a third-row spot in Sunday's Indy 500, returned to Boise, Idaho Monday to attend the funeral of his grandfather, Leonard Hamilton, who died Saturday at the age of 82.

The elder Hamilton suffered a stroke recently and lapsed into a coma.

"It's a very tough situation," Hamilton said. "We were very close. He was the cowboy of the family and whenever my dad was away racing, I was always with him on a horse or doing something. All the kids loved him."

Hamilton said funeral services will be Wednesday near Boise. He added that he would return to Indianapolis Thursday for Carb Day, the final practice session prior to Sunday's race.

Before leaving Indianapolis for Boise, Hamilton said his Nienhouse Motorsports team was in the middle of negotiations with Reebok to sponsor the car. He said final details were being worked out with the company, with the initial sponsorship to cover the Indianapolis 500.

"Right now, it's just for Indy but we're also working on a long-term deal," Hamilton, who also works in the operations department at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, said. "We have the most laps of anyone here right now. I think everyone is pretty calm and I'm very happy to be up in the first few rows. I just want to let it sort itself out and hang back. Hopefully, we'll be in contention at the end."

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