The ACDelco team and driver Ron Hornaday come into Lowes Motor Speedway looking for their luck to change and get them into victory lane.  In the past two weeks, Hornaday has seen strong runs spoiled by what can only be called bad luck.  At Richmond (VA.) International Raceway, Hornaday was running ninth and was one of the fastest cars on the track when he cut down a left front tire under yellow.  After changing the tire and dropping back to 19^th, Hornaday was caught up in a crash just after the race went back to green.  The ACDelco team never gave up and finished a respectable 12^th.

Last week at Nazareth (PA.) Speedway, Hornaday raced his way to second place and was the fastest car on the track.  Again, bad luck struck the No. 2 Monte Carlo under caution.  As Hornaday made his final stop, Jason Keller cut through Hornaday’s pit box and struck John Wallace, the front tire carrier on the ACDelco Chevy.  The contact knocked Wallace to the ground and the tire to the pit wall.  Wallace regained his footing and finished the stop.  A routine 15-second stop took 27-seconds with the “hit and run” and Hornaday dropped from second to ninth and never was able to recover.  He finished 11^th. 

Richard Childress Racing has promoted chassis specialist Phil Gould to the position of car chief for the ACDelco Chevrolet.  Gould replaces Dan Deeringhoff, who left RCR to take over the crew chief duties at ST Motorsports and driver Robert Pressley.

The ACDelco transporter will unload chassis No.027.  Hornaday tested the car two weeks ago at Lowes Motor Speedway.  During the first day of the test, Hornaday struggled with the ACDelco Chevy.  But on day two, the ACDelco “Real Car Guys” went a different direction with the setup on the “blue deuce”.  The changes made the car come to life and Hornaday left the test saying it was the fastest car he had ever had at Lowes Motor Speedway.  Chassis No.027 raced at Rockingham (N.C.), Darlington (S.C.) and Texas.

Ron Hornaday on Lowe’s Motor Speedway

You tested at Lowes Motor Speedway and struggled on day one.  But then you came to life on day two.  What did the ACDelco team find that made the car so much better?

“We just tried something different.  What we wanted to run wasn’t working for us.  So we stopped everything.  We had a meeting in the lounge of the transporter and everyone at the test had a say in what we needed to do.  We took all the ideas and talked them over and decided to try some things and they worked for us.

What is your mindset coming into Charlotte Speedweeks?

“It’s the same as it is every week.  We are expecting to have a strong car and battle for the win.  The last few weeks have been disappointing because we have had bad luck.  But the cars have been good, so that’s all that concerns me.  Our luck will change.  I have been racing a long time and luck comes in cycles.  I think we are due for some good breaks.  I feel more confident than ever coming into Charlotte.”

The race in Charlotte is always one for bragging rights, since most of the teams call Charlotte home.  How important is winning in NASCAR’s backyard?

“This is the hardest race on the schedule to win.  It carries with it a lot of prestige and bragging rights.  All the sponsors are in town and in attendance.  It also means added pressure.  You have to run well in front of the folks paying the bills.  They want to walk out of the track with that winning feeling, so as a driver, you know what’s on the line.  I think winning at Lowes Motor Speedway is the ultimate test for a NASCAR driver.”