ACDelco Chevrolet scores top-20 finish at Texas

(Ft. Worth, TX.) – Texas Motor Speedway has never been one of ACDelco Chevrolet driver Ron Hornaday’s best tracks. But during Saturday’s O’Reilly 300, Hornaday showed signs that he might just be getting a hang of the 1.5-mile quad oval.

The opening practice of the weekend had everyone on the ACDelco team a little concerned.  Hornaday was only 38^th fastest of 45 cars during the first hour on the track.  The team hoped that a chassis setup they tested at Nashville earlier in the week would work at Texas.  Unfortunately, it did not.  With three Richard Childress Racing cars in the field, ACDelco crew chief Butch Hylton adapted the setup being run by Clint Bowyer in the Reese’s Chevrolet and Hornaday picked right up.  By the end of practice, Hornaday had climbed into the top-25.

During qualifying, Hornaday picked up nearly sixth-tenths of a second on what the team thought he would run.  Hornaday qualified in the 19^th position at 187.084 mph.  It was apparent that each time the No.2 Monte Carlo took to the track, Hornaday got faster.  Kyle Busch won the Bud Pole, knocking off Greg Biffle with a speed of 189.847 mph.

The theory that Hornaday was gaining each and every practice proved to be a fact in happy hour.  The ACDelco Chevy was one of the fastest cars on the track and Hornaday was extremely excited about how well it had improved.  The tight condition that bothered the “blue deuce” in the first practice had disappeared.  The ACDelco Chevy was a tick loose and that condition was what the team was looking for.

The green flag waved to start the O’Reilly 300 and it didn’t take long for the yellow flag to replace it.  On lap three, J.J. Yeley spun his Chevy in turn two and collected Tony Raines and Jason Schuler.  Hornaday had picked up three positions and restarted the race in 16th on lap 8.  Just five laps later, Joe Nemechek got loose off of turn four and spun down through the infield grass bringing out the second caution of the day.  Hornaday picked up another three spots and was now 13th and in the hunt.

The most dramatic move of the day took place on the lap 19 restart.  Hornaday went three wide in turn one and passed five cars on the outside.  When the ACDelco Chevy came back across the line, he was eighth.  From this point on Hornaday worked on hitting his marks and saving the car.  He ran in eighth until lap 30, when Matt Kenseth got by in turn four.  “I’m a tick free into the corner, but really tight off,” said Hornaday.  Just one lap later, Hornaday’s teammate Bowyer saw his NASCAR Busch Series debut momentarily end, when the Reese’s Chevy backed into the turn four wall.

The yellow flag opened pit road and the ACDelco Chevrolet took the opportunity to make some changes.  The team changed all four tires and took a half-pound of air out of the left side Goodyear’s.  The team also took a round of wedge out of the chassis to free it up.  Hornaday entered pit road ninth and left eighth.

On the restart, Hornaday got by Johnny Benson and then two laps later passed Kasey Kahne for sixth.  On lap 41, the yellow waved for a spin involving Billy Parker and Casey Atwood.  Neither car made contact with the wall and were able to continue.

Hornaday again tried his patented “high-side” restart, but when the car got loose off turn two, he got stuck in the high lane and fell back five positions.  As fast as he lost it, Hornaday passed Martin Truex, Jr. and recaptured the tenth position.   He remained in the top-10 over the next 45 laps.  On lap 95, the yellow waved for debris on the backstretch.  The ACDelco Chevy followed the leaders down pit road for service.  The team changed all four tires and made another air pressure adjustment to help the car.  The stop was slower than normal.  Front tire changer Dan Blizzard had an air gun malfunction and the team lost some time on the right front.  Hornaday exited pit road in 14^th position.

The second half of the race was a battle of aerodynamics for the ACDelco team.  Hornaday fought an “aero-tight” condition that made the car push up the track in the turns when he closed in on another car.  Fortunately, the other cars around Hornaday had a similar problem.

On lap 134, Greg Biffle blew a motor and spun in his own oil in turn two, bringing out the caution.  The ACDelco crew made their final changes to the No. 2 Monte Carlo on lap 135.  Hornaday was still tight off the corner, so the crew changed all four tires, dropped the air pressure on the lefts another half-pound and removed another half-round of wedge out of the chassis.  It was a good stop.  However, six cars took only two tires and beat Hornaday off pit road.  The ACDelco Chevy restarted 15^th.

Stuck back in the pack, Hornaday fought the “aero-tight” issue and never charged to the front like in the past.  The ACDelco driver fought to hold his position over the final 60 laps.  On lap 194, Kenseth took over the lead from Bobby Hamilton, Jr. and at the same time, Michael Waltrip spun Tracy Hines to bring out the yellow flag.  Since the leader had not officially completed lap 195, NASCAR red flagged the event, insuring a green flag finish.

On the final restart of the day, Hornaday tried to make a move to get a few positions, but the car just didn’t want to turn when he was behind somebody.  On the last lap, Hornaday found himself in the middle of a three wide battle in turn one.  Hornaday got real loose off of turn two and slammed the outside wall with the right side of the ACDelco Chevy.  He was able to continue, but lost another spot and finished the race 17^th.  It was the third time in four races at Texas Motor Speedway that Hornaday had finished 17^th in the O’Reilly’s 300.  “I thought we had a rocket ship for a car,” said ACDelco Chevy driver Ron Hornaday.  “But every time I caught somebody, the car just got really tight.  It was impossible to turn.  The nose just lifted.  I feel bad for these guys and ACDelco.  We had a much better car than that finish.”  Kenseth held on for the win, while Busch, Robby Gordon, Johnny Benson and Hamilton, Jr. rounded out the top five.  Hornaday remained in 13^th in NASCAR Busch series points, 177 points out of first.  David Green took over the points lead.

The next race for the ACDelco Chevy is next Saturday, April 10 at Nashville Superspeedway in Nashville, TN.