(Dover, DE)  Ron Hornaday and the ACDelco Chevrolet fought off some bad luck late in the MBNA Armed Forces Family 200, to score a top-10 finish at Dover International Speedway.  Hornaday’s 10th place finish was his sixth top-10 of 2003.

The ACDelco team continued their awesome qualifying efforts with an eighth place run on Friday.  It was the team’s sixth consecutive top-10 start.  Joe Nemechek won the pole. 

Hornaday’s momentum continued into the evening as the No. 2 ACDelco Monte Carlo was consistently fast during happy hour.  Hornaday climbed from the car at the end of the final practice of the day and said “We are so close to being perfect, but the car is pretty good right now.” 

The weather forecast for race day was dismal.  The entire state of Delaware was predicted to have heavy rain and thunderstorms.  In fact, rain fell on the track on Saturday morning, putting the start of the race in jeopardy.  But unlike earlier in the year when the NASCAR Busch Series could not catch a break as far as weather was concerned, the rain stopped and the race started right on time.

The green flag dropped to start the race and Hornaday used the high side of the track to his advantage.  The "“blue deuce” passed two cars and settled into the sixth position.  On lap seven, Donnie Neuenberger spun his Ford off of turn four bringing out the day’s first caution.  Hornaday radioed to the crew that the car was a little tight, but that he could compensate for it by driving a low line and hooking the left side tires.

The race returned to green on lap 15 and the ACDelco Chevy loosened up.  By lap 34, Hornaday was passed by Bobby Hamilton, Jr. and David Green.  Three laps later, youngsters Brian Vickers and Kevin Grubb made the pass and Hornaday settled into 10^th position.  “I’m really loose,” said Hornaday.  Richard Childress, the owner of the ACDelco Chevy came on the radio and told Hornaday to back up the corner.  “Easy in and you will drive away from them,” said Childress.  Hornaday changed his approach to the corners and sure enough began to pull away from Kasey Kahne in 11^th.

The yellow flag waved again on lap 48, as Kevin Grubb blew a right front tire and hit the outside wall.  The caution gave the No. 2 Chevrolet its first chance to hit pit road for adjustments.  The “Magnificent seven” over-the-wall crew went to work on the ACDelco Monte Carlo.  They changed all four tires and went one round down on the track bar in an attempt to tighten the car.  The stop wasn’t the crew’s best, but it was good enough to help Hornaday pick up two positions.  He restarted eighth.

The middle of the race saw Matt Kenseth pull away from the pack and dominate.  Hornaday settled into ninth position and began to make up ground on the field on the long green flag run.  On lap 142, Hornaday made his green flag pit stop and the crew changed four tires and sent him back in the race.  The caution flag waved just after the stop, but Hornaday stayed on the lead lap and was back in the hunt.

But a chance at the win went out the window on the restart.  Kenseth, who was leading the field at the drop of the green flag, missed a shift and stacked up the entire field behind him.  As the front cars checked up, the cars in the back ran into them and the big wreck was on.  Hornaday got caught up in the crash and damaged the front of his ACDelco Chevrolet.  Luckily, the radiator was not damaged and while he would no longer be a threat for a top-five finish, Hornaday would stay on the lead lap and finish the race.

The real drama at Dover was the race for the win.  On lap 178 of 200, Kenseth got loose off of turn two and spun.  That allowed Nemechek to take over the lead, which he did not relinquish.  A red flag for a crash involving Martin Truex, Jr. stopped the race at lap 195 and set up a five lap dash for the cash.  Scott Riggs tried to make a move on Nemechek on the restart, but it was not to be and Nemechek took the win.  Hornaday brought his wounded ACDelco Monte Carlo to the checkered flag for a 10^th place finish.

The NASCAR Busch Series point’s battle changed only slightly as Todd Bodine remained the leader.  Riggs moved into second place, while Green fell back to third.  Mike Bliss remained fourth and Hornaday fifth; just 150 points out of first place.

The next race for the ACDelco Chevrolet Monte Carlo is Saturday, June 6 at Nashville (TN) Superspeedway.  It is the second race in 2003 at the tri-oval track.  Back in April, Hornaday started 14^th and finished 16^th in Nashville.