(Rockingham, NC.) With the NASCAR Busch Series championship battle down to just two races, Ron Hornaday and the ACDelco Chevrolet hoped for a top-five finish to propel them to the title.  But an unresponsive car to a tight handling condition, left the team looking for answers.

The weekend looked like it might be a good one.  Hornaday was one of the fastest cars in practice and the ACDelco team felt like they had a great shot at a top-five finish.  And they might have had just that.  But on his qualifying lap, Hornaday pushed up high off turn two and hit the wall.  The front tires actually came off the ground, but Hornaday stayed in the gas bringing the car home in 16^th position.  Brian Vickers won his very first Bud Pole of his career.

Happy hour came very late in the afternoon and darkness actually shortened the hour practice to 42 minutes.  Despite being shown in the 20^th position, the ACDelco team was very pleased with how the car ran on the track.  “This is the only track we go to, where the time sheet really doesn’t matter,” said crew chief Rick Viers.  “Tire wear is what is most important here and the car looks good.”

Conditions on race day turned cold and damp.  Rain hit the North Carolina Speedway early in the morning and kept the start of the race in question until around 11:00 a.m.  With the track dry, the NASCAR Busch Series started on time.  At the drop of the green, Hornaday settled into his groove and concentrated on tire conservation.  “Straight in, easy off,” said team owner Richard Childress.  On lap 15, Hornaday radioed the crew that he was just taking it easy.  “I’m just saving my stuff.  No brake, just letting it roll,” said Hornaday.  Up front, Jeremy Mayfield took over the lead with David Stremme second and David Green third.

On lap 37, the caution waved for the first time as Coy Gibbs spun in turn three.  “The car is pretty good,” said Hornaday.  “Maybe just a little tight getting in and through the center.”  The ACDelco crew went to work on their first pit stop of the day.  They changed all four tires and made a chassis adjustment to help the tight condition.  They restarted the race in 17^th.

The tight condition got worse for the ACDelco Monte Carlo during the middle stages of the race.  Hornaday fell back to 21^st and was struggling to stay on the lead lap.  On lap 117, Hornaday went one lap down to leader Jaime McMurray.  The crew made a pit stop on lap 119.  They made an air pressure adjustment and took some wedge out to help the car.  But it didn’t help.  Hornaday lingered around in 20^th for much of the late portions of the race.  The car stayed very tight and the No.2 Chevy fought for every position possible.

On lap 168, the team made their final pit stop of the day.  They again changed all four tires and went two rounds up on the track bar.  The car was a little better but stayed tight.  Hornaday battled to a 17^th place finish.  McMurray won the race, beating Martin Truex, Jr. and Bobby Hamilton, Jr.  Vickers finished sixth and took over the point’s lead with one race to go.  Green scored a tenth place finish and jumped Hornaday into second.  The ACDelco Monte Carlo dropped to third in points just 39 points out. 

The final race of the year is at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida on Saturday, November 15.  The race can be seen on NBC at 12:00 p.m. ET.