Ron Hornaday and the No. 2 ACDelco Chevrolet Monte Carlo come into Dover, Del. feeling like their program has turned the corner.  During the month of May, Hornaday recorded an average finish of 7.3.  In addition, Hornaday has stepped up his qualifying efforts.  Over the same stretch in May, Hornaday posted an average starting position of 10th.  “We have really put the entire package together lately,” said ACDelco crew chief Butch Hylton.  “We haven’t had any luck this year at all, but we still manage to stay up front.  That’s a tribute to how hard this team works.  I think we are as good as anybody out there right now.”  Hornaday’s recent success has moved him from 13^th to seventh in the NASCAR Busch Series point’s standings.

Dover International Speedway has turned into one of Hornaday’s favorite tracks.  Over his last three starts at The Monster Mile, the ACDelco Chevrolet driver has finished in the top-10 in every event, including a 10^th place finish in the spring race last year and a sixth place finish in the fall event. 

The ACDelco transporter will unload chassis No.027.  It is the same intermediate car that Hornaday has raced several times this year, including Lowes Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Darlington Raceway and North Carolina Motor Speedway. 

RON HORNADAY NBS DOVER SPRING RACE STATISTICS

Totals: Average start- 16th            Average finish- 11th

Ron Hornaday on Dover International Speedway

Dover International Speedway has become one of your better tracks, with three straight top-10s at The Monster Mile.  What is your key to success at Dover?

“I think it has been how I approach the track.  I have learned when you attack the corners and when you don’t.  Dover is an easy track to go out hard and wear your stuff out early in the run.  But it is also a track where if you wait a while saving your car, you can fall behind.  I think I have learned the balance between the two and that has been the key to our success.”

A lot of people say Dover is just a big Bristol.  Do you see it that way?

“Yes and no.  You are in the corners a lot at both tracks and they both have a lot of banking.  But Dover is different because of the banking on the straights.  That changes how you get in and off the corners.  At Dover you feel like you are driving into and then out of a hole.  It’s very uphill and downhill in the corners.  Bristol doesn’t have that dramatic of transitions.  I know from a setup standpoint, they are completely different.”

You had a good month of May, climbing from 13th to seventh in the NBS point’s standings.  Can you back up that success with the races in June?

“I feel like we had a decent month in May.  If it had been good, we would have won a race or two.  But we got close a couple of times and we got back to running consistently in the top-10 and top-five.  I feel like our qualifying package is a lot better today than when we started last month.  Our finishes haven’t showed how much better this team is.  We have had more than our share of bad luck.  But racing has factors like that and everybody can play the “what if” game.  I’m real proud of this team and I think a win is in our immediate future.”