Persistence pays off for Hornaday at The Milwaukee Mile

The weather did not lend itself to racing early in the weekend, but then again, for the Busch Series, what else is new? 

Rain forced the field for the GNC Live Well 250 to be set by NBS owner’s points.  While Hornaday sat in fourth in NBS driver’s points, the team stood sixth, due to several teams alternating drivers.  While sixth would be a good starting spot for most teams, the ACDelco crew was disappointed at not having a shot at the pole position.

The skies managed to clear late Saturday afternoon, and the No. 2 ACDelco Chevrolet took to the track for the only practice of the weekend.  A one-hour final practice saw Hornaday as one of the fastest cars.  The team nailed the setup right off the transporter and used most of its track time to fine-tune the car.  When practice time expired, Hornaday was third overall.  But what was most impressive was the lack of drop-off in the lap times - the key to a successful race on Sunday.

When Sunday rolled around, weather was not a problem.  The skies were sunny and the temperatures were warm.  The green flag waved to start the race and in traditional Hornaday fashion, the ACDelco Monte Carlo driver wasted little time in charging to the front. After just one lap, the No. 2 Chevy was fourth.  By lap four, he was third and one lap later he was running second, just behind Scott Riggs.  It was a classic start for the “master of the restart.”

The first caution of the day occurred on lap 21 when Chad Blunt lost control of his No. 66 Miller High Life Dodge in turn four.  Hornaday radioed the crew that the car was “a tick loose” and that he felt like Riggs might have a little more gear than he did.  On the restart at lap 23, Hornaday again showed why he is the best in the business at getting a jump and by the time the field came back around, he was the leader.  Once in the lead, Hornaday held the top spot for the next 50 laps.  It wasn’t until lap 74, when Brian Vickers got by, that Hornaday relinquished the lead.

On lap 78, the fuel window opened and some of the field headed down pit road for their first pit stop of the day.  For the No. 2 ACDelco Chevrolet, that first stop took place on lap 84.  The “magnificent seven” went to work changing all four Goodyear tires and Hornaday was down and away, without losing a position.  The crew made a small air pressure adjustment in the right rear to help the loose condition, but soon realized that the adjustment hurt the car.  On lap 96, Hornaday was passed by Riggs, and ten laps later, he was passed by Randy LaJoie.  “I’m really loose now,” complained Hornaday.  It was another 60 laps before the team got another caution.

On lap 153, Dana White blew the motor on his car and the yellow flag waved for the second time.  Hornaday brought the blue deuce down pit road and to the service of his pit crew.  The over-the-wall boys did not let him down.  In 15.74 seconds, they changed all four tires, went back up on the air pressure, and filled the 2003 Monte Carlo full of fuel.  It was a great stop and Hornaday vaulted from the fourth to the second position.

On the restart, you guessed it, Hornaday made quick work of Riggs and returned to the lead.  But this time, only for one lap.  Riggs quickly made a move back inside the No. 2 Chevy and took back the lead.  At this stage of the race, Hornaday was content to ride in second and let Riggs battle the lapped traffic.  But that strategy turned out to be a bad move.  Riggs tried an outside move on the No. 48 of Shane Hmiel and the two cars made contact.  Riggs was able to gather his car, but Hmiel spun and clipped the front of the ACDelco Chevrolet.  The damage was not race threatening, but it was enough to force the No. 2 to pit road.  Once on pit lane, the ACDelco crew made repairs to the right front fender, pulling it away from the tire, and sent Hornaday back out on the track.  He was in 15^th position.

With 80 laps to go, ACDelco crew chief Rick Viers knew there was plenty of time to get back up front.  The only question was how much damage had been done to the front end.  When the race went green, Hornaday immediately told the crew that the front end was damaged.  The car did not get into the corners like it had before, and it was also very loose.  There was nothing the crew, nor Hornaday could do at that point but ride it out and hope for a break.  In the end, they got their break.

On lap 231, just 19 laps from the finish, Joey Clanton spun his Pontiac off turn four bringing out the caution.  Hornaday was running 15^th at the time and was the last car on the lead lap.  While the leaders had no choice but to stay out, Hornaday had nothing to lose.  He brought the No. 2 down pit road and took four fresh tires.  The crew also put a round of wedge into the car to help tighten it up for the run to the finish.  And what a run it turned out to be!

The restart took place on lap 235.  Hornaday was 13^th when the green flag waved.  With fresh tires, he attacked the field.  He worked his way into the top-10 with just 10 laps to go.  But he wasn’t content with a top-10.  The ACDelco Chevrolet mounted a furious charge and soon found the top-five with five laps to go.  He passed David Reutimann for fourth and closed quickly on David Stremme and Vickers.  That’s where the buck stopped, as Mike Bliss slammed the outside wall with four to go, forcing the race to end under caution.  For Hornaday it was a day of showing just how strong this team was.  They had overcome the Hmiel contact and rallied to a top-five finish.  It marked the second straight top-five for the team and Hornaday’s 10^th consecutive top-10 finish at Milwaukee.  The fourth-place finish kept Hornaday in the fourth position in the driver points standings.  The strong comeback closed the gap to just 88 points.

The next race for Ron Hornaday and the ACDelco Chevrolet Monte Carlo is Friday night, July 4^th, at Daytona International Speedway.