The weekend events in the Sandhills of North

Carolina got off to a stormy start…literally.  The first practice for the NASCAR Busch Series was shortened after a rain shower blew over the track just 30 minutes into the day.  This caused a great concern for the No. 2 ACDelco team, as the Rockingham race marked the debut of the new 2003 Chevrolet Monte Carlo.  With a new body style and virtually no practice, the team would have to roll the dice on a qualifying setup.

The rain cleared away just before qualifying and the cars took to a green track with a handful of hope.  For Richard Childress Racing and the No. 2 machine, they had made the right calls.  Hornaday qualified seventh at a speed of 152.888 mph.  It was the ACDelco team’s second straight top-10 qualifying effort.  David Green took the pole in the Timber Wolf Pontiac at a speed of 154.429 mph.

The final practice of the day for the Busch Series was cancelled due to darkness, so the teams would once again have to “guess” at a race setup for Saturday morning.  But just as Friday saw rain showers, Saturday’s race was greeted by storms.   A nasty storm blew in from the gulf region of the U.S. and with it came high winds and heavy rain.  The race was cancelled until Monday morning. 

Monday saw a clear sky, but cool and windy conditions.  The stands looked like a testing session as only around 2,500 fans were able to stay over for the event.  But the fans that stayed were witness to another good race at “The Rock.”  Hornaday started the race fifth on the inside of the third row, as Scott Riggs made an engine change and went to the back of the pack.  At the drop of the green, Hornaday- “The master of the restart”, made his famous high side pass and took over the fourth position.  As the field dove into turn one to for the second lap of the event, several cars found each other and the wall, including Joe Buford, Robby Benton, Larry Gunselman and Hank Parker, Jr.  It was the first of the nine yellows that slowed the race.

Hornaday and the ACDelco Chevy hung in the top-10 for the first half of the race.  The car was tight and wouldn’t rotate through the corners.  Rick Viers, the crew chief of the blue deuce, kept working on the car during pit stops in an effort to make the car turn better.  But it just didn’t want to turn.  Still, the ACDelco Monte Carlo raced in the lead pack behind, Jaime McMurray, David Green, Michael Waltrip and Todd Bodine.

On lap 55 the yellow flag flew for an accident in turn three involving Hank Parker, Jr. and Jason Schuler.  Hornaday radioed in to the crew that the car was “tight everywhere” and that it “shoves the nose real bad when I pick up the throttle.”  Team owner Richard Childress told Hornaday that he could see it in the corners and told him to drive it where it feels comfortable and that the team would get it fixed.

Each pit stop the team was able to help the car get a little better, but a pit stop was the turning point of the race for Hornaday.  On lap 108, Hornaday and the ACDelco crew went to work changing four tires and making adjustments.  When the crew moved over for left side service, the jack broke and would not lift the car off the ground.  The crew scrambled to find a working jack, but they lost valuable time and Hornaday fell back into the pack in 19^th- the last car on the lead lap.  Hornaday told the crew “just relax, we have a long way to go…we’ll be alright.”

On lap 117 the red flag halted the race as the cleanup crew went to work on turn one where Shane Hmiel and Mike Wallace hit the wall.  Fuel from Hmiel’s car caused a fire and that stopped the race for 15 minutes.  When pit lane opened the ACDelco crew decided to make a big change to the chassis by raising the trackbar one and half rounds and dropping the left rear air pressure.  When Hornaday restarted the race, the car was wicked loose and nearly put him in the wall in turn three.  Hornaday rode out the loose condition for another 57 laps before another caution.  On lap 164 the team put the car back to the way it was…tight.

Hornaday battled the car the rest of the race and finished a respectable 12^th.  Jamie McMurray lead all but five laps in taking the victory.  Green, Bodine and Randy LaJoie rounded out the top-five.  RCR driver Kevin Harvick finished 10^th in the Payday Chevrolet.  The ACDelco team left Rockingham disappointed in the fact that they had what looked to be a top-five car, but managed to finish outside the top-10.  On the bright side, Hornaday moved into 10^th in the points standings, just 98 points behind the leader, McMurray.

Next up for Ron Hornaday and Team ACDelco…Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  Ron Hornaday returns to the site of his two NASCAR Truck Series championships and numerous top-five runs in the Busch Series.