The night started out well for Hornaday.  The ACDelco Chevy qualified fifth and at the drop of the green flag, Hornaday raced his way into second position.  On lap six, the caution flag waved for the first time as Larry Gunselman, Chris Bingham, and Mike Harmon crashed in turn number one.  Hornaday radioed the crew and let them know that the car was tight off the corners, but that it might get better once the air pressures came up.

When the race went back to green, Hornaday and Stacy Compton battled for position for several laps.  Hornaday’s car continued to be tight and the No. 2 ACDelco car fell back to fourth.  As the laps continued to click off, Hornaday fell back in the field.  He was running 10^th when the yellow flag waved for Stanton Barrett’s turn one crash on lap 61.  Hornaday brought the car down pit road for service.  The ACDelco crew changed all four tires and made a chassis adjustment.

The race went green on lap 72, but the yellow came out again on lap 75 for Jay Sauter’s wreck on the front stretch.  “The car is still too tight.  It’s better, but still tight,” said Hornaday to crew chief Rick Viers.  The next 100 laps would be slowed by several cautions.  The biggest happening on lap 87 when points leader Todd Bodine hit the wall in turn two after getting tapped by a lapped car.  Bodine took his car behind the wall for repairs, opening up the race for Hornaday to pick up valuable ground in the championship chase.

On lap 110, the yellow flag waved once again and Hornaday wasted no time in heading for pit road.  While most of the leaders stayed out, Hornaday took four fresh tires and also two rounds up on the track bar in an effort to free the car up off the corner.  He left pit road in 23^rd, but with a better handling car.

The race went green for another 12 laps, before the yellow slowed the race on lap 124 for Dave Blaney’s spin in turn three.  “The car still won’t roll through the center, but it is better off,” said Hornaday.  Most of the leaders hit pit road, but Hornaday stayed out and moved up to third position.

Once again the race went green only for a short time.  On lap 138, Joe Nemechek tried to make a three-wide pass on Coy Gibbs and ran out of room.  The yellow flag came out and Hornaday radioed the crew.  “I don’t know why, but it has gotten better in the middle, but now it is throttle tight off the corner.  If I even touch the gas, it shoves the nose,” said Hornaday. 

The race went green and Hornaday started falling back in the pack.  By lap 166 he was 10^th.  The team needed another caution and they got it on lap 183, when Kevin Grubb, Jason Keller and Mike Bliss got together off turn two.  ACDelco team owner Richard Childress told the team to make a big adjustment to help Hornaday finish the race.  They did.  They went another two rounds up on the track bar and made significant air pressure adjustments.  Hornaday left pit road in 12^th position.

The final 54 laps would see the race halted by five more cautions, two involving Hornaday.  On lap 216, Hornaday got hit in the rear by Stacy Compton, causing Hornaday to veer right into Ashton Lewis, Jr., who spun and hit the wall.  Hornaday immediately told his spotter Jay Shew to tell Lewis’s crew he was sorry.  “I didn’t mean to do that,” Hornaday said.  “I don’t race him like that.  Let them know I got hit by Compton.”  Despite the message, Lewis got out of the car and ran to the ACDelco pit to let Viers know he wasn’t happy.

The race went green again on lap 222 and Hornaday battled side-by-side for eighth position with Compton and Michael Waltrip.  On lap 240, Mike Bliss got turned and hit the wall in turn two and the race was red flagged in order to promote a green flag finish.  In most cases, the “ten to go restarts” cause another big wreck and for Hornaday, he would be that wreck.

On lap 246, just four laps from the finish, Hornaday would get punted by Shane Hmiel coming off turn two.  The ACDelco Chevrolet spun to the inside of the track and collected the inside wall.  The front of the car was smashed in and the radiator had been punctured.  But the car fired back up and Hornaday was able to nurse the car around to the finish, where he came across the line in 15^th.  Hornaday’s RCR teammate Kevin Harvick won the race.  Tempers were high in the Hornaday camp, but team manager Will Lind calmed everyone down.  “There is a time and a place to get mad, but we win as a team and lose as a team and Harvick won.  So everybody go straight to victory lane,” said Lind.

By finishing 15^th, Hornaday fell to fourth in the NASCAR Busch Series point’s standings.  Although he dropped two positions, he actually gained on the leader, as Bodine’s bad luck helped Hornaday close to within 57 points of first place.

The next race for the ACDelco Chevrolet is Saturday, May 10^th at Gateway International Raceway in St. Louis, Mo.  Last year, Hornaday finished 2^nd at the event.