|
Ron
Hornaday holds the Truck Series record for most career wins
with 45 over Jack Sprague’s 28. Of those 45 wins, 10 of them
have come in inaugural events. Hornaday won six races during
the Truck Series inaugural year in 1995 recording victories at
Tucson (Ariz.) Raceway Park, Mesa Marin, Evergreen (Wash.)
Speedway, Heartland Park Topeka (Kan.), Flemington (N.J.)
Speedway and Infineon (Calf.) Raceway. In 1996, the series
added Watkins Glen and Loudon to the Truck Series schedule;
Hornaday took control and added those venues to his win record
on his way to his first Truck Series championship. Two years
later, in 1998 he would win two more inaugural races at Pikes
Peak and Memphis in route to his second series title.
Of the races left in 2009 Hornaday has recorded wins at five
out of the nine tracks; two of those nine races will be
inaugural events including this weekend at Chicagoland
Speedway and next week at Iowa Speedway
QUALIFIER: Hornaday has not qualified outside
the top 10 in 26 races, dating all the way back to Nashville
(Tenn.) Superspeedway in 2008, when he started from the 12th
position.
2007 VS. 2009: Hornaday currently leads Matt
Crafton by 211 points in the championship hunt. Compared to
his 2007 championship season after 15 races Hornaday appears
to be right on target:
Notes from the Professor: Quotes from Ron Hornaday:
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON RACING AT CHICAGO FOR THE FIRST
TIME?
“I’m really excited to go to Chicago. We tested there some
last year and I really liked the track. We have run pretty
well at the 1.5-mile tracks this season. I know Rick Ren (crew
chief) has been pouring over notes from all of the tracks we
have run this year and test notes from last year. I’m
confident we will have a good set-up when we unload, but it
will take a few laps to find out where the grip is and what
line my truck wants to run in.”
CAN YOU COMPARE CHICAGO TO ANOTHER TRACK?
“It’s hard to make a comparison because each track has its own
unique characteristics, but I guess the closest one is Kansas
Speedway. The track is still pretty smooth. It’s going to take
us running a race though for me to be able to put it in its
own category. I’m interested to see what everyone fights, I
think we will be tight, but I’m not sure just yet. ”
CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 33 Turtle Wax team
will take chassis No. 034 to Chicagoland Speedway. Chassis 034
is a brand-new chassis that has not completed a single lap on
track. The last two times the No. 33 team has debuted a new
chassis, they have gone to victory lane. The team brought
chassis No. 029 to Kentucky Speedway, going to victory lane
for the fourth time in 2009, the following week the team
debuted chassis No. 033 at O’Reilly Raceway Park at
Indianapolis, making Truck Series history winning four
consecutive races.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Last week at Bristol
(Tenn.) Motor Speedway, Hornaday and the No. 33 team ended
their five-race winning streak after finishing third. However,
the team was pleased with their 10th top-five finish of 2009.
Hornaday made his only pit stop of the night on lap 36. The
team brought the No. 33 truck back to pit road the following
lap for fuel, however Hornaday did not remain on pit road,
instead he made another lap on the track before returning to
pit road, miring him deep in the field. Methodically, he
worked his way back up through the pack, but ran out of time
to catch eventual winner Kyle Busch. Hornaday continues to
lead the championship point standings by 211 makers over Matt
Crafton.
ABOUT TURTLE WAX:
Turtle Wax® is the number one selling brand of car care
products in the world with sales in 90 countries. Founded more
than 60 years ago in Chicago, the company is recognized for
manufacturing environmentally-friendly appearance and
performance car care products for the retail consumer market
and the commercial car care and professional detailing
industries. |
