Hornaday Battles Back for Top-10 Finish
Hornaday matches career-best finish of seventh at Michigan
BROOKLYN, Mich. (June 13, 2009)
--- Call Ron Hornaday the comeback kid at Michigan
International Speedway (MIS), as he and the No. 33 Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) Turtle Wax Chevrolet Silverado team
survived three spins over the course of the weekend at the
two-mile oval. The No. 33 team made numerous changes and
multiple pit stops during the race to match Hornaday’s
career-best finish of seventh at MIS.
"We had a really good Turtle Wax truck,” said Hornaday. “For
some reason, after that first run something happened to the
truck and I felt my right-front tire going down. We had to
make an unscheduled pit stop, but my guys hustled and we got
back on the lead lap. Then [Chad] McCumbee and I got
together, which was as much my fault as it was his and we went
spinning. The No. 33 guys worked their tails off to get this
truck back together. I thought we might come back and get a
top-five finish out of it but my tires were pretty used up at
the end. I'm really proud of this team for all of their
efforts. We’ve had several weeks of bad luck and each time
they never get down, they just battle back."
The No. 33 was quick during the first practice session at MIS
Friday afternoon. However, the team’s weekend woes began with
a spin during the final practice session, a result of a flat
left-rear tire. The truck sustained no damage and was able to
finish the session.
Hornaday started the 100-lap race from the fifth position and
as the race got underway Hornaday moved into the third
position before the completion of lap one. On lap seven,
Hornaday took the lead from Kyle Busch to record five valuable
championship points. The caution waved for the first time on
lap eight. The No. 33 team came down pit road on lap 10 for
fuel. Returning to the track in the second position, the team
quickly realized they had an issue as Hornaday slipped from
second to 12th by lap 20. On lap 22, Hornaday radioed the
crew that he had a flat right-front tire. The team was forced
to make an unscheduled pit stop and fell one lap down to the
leaders.
Six laps later, Hornaday made contact with Chad McCumbee and
Stacy Compton, spinning through turn four onto the apron. The
team made multiple pit stops to repair right-front and
rear-end damage. On the restart at lap 32, Hornaday was
scored the first truck one lap down in 21st position. The
tide would turn for the No. 33 team one lap later as the
caution waved, making them the recipient of the “lucky dog”
award, placing them back on the lead lap. Hornaday restarted
the race on lap 36 in the 16th position. By the half-way
mark, Hornaday had slowly begun to work his way back toward
the front of the field. By lap 54, Hornaday had climbed into
the 11th spot. A caution at lap 57 for debris saw the No. 33
return to pit road for their fifth stop of the day. The team
changed four tires and packed the truck with fuel to make a
run to the end. Hornaday restarted in the 13th position. With
38 laps remaining, Hornaday had battled his way to the fifth
position. By the end of the race Hornaday had used up most of
what his truck had as he tried to hold off Mike Skinner and
rookie Taylor Malsam. Hornaday crossed the finish line in the
seventh position, equaling his career-best finish at MIS.
Colin Braun became a first-time winner at Michigan
International Speedway, followed by Kyle Busch, Brain Ickler,
Matt Crafton and Mike Skinner.
