Ron Hornaday and the ACDelco Chevrolet return to Nashville Superspeedway looking to rebound from the midseason crash that ended their chances at victory back in April.  Hornaday was running fifth during the spring race in Nashville when Robby Gordon got into the left rear of the ACDelco Monte Carlo in turn three.  Hornaday spun and made contact with several cars including eventual winner Michael Waltrip.  The damage was enough to send the team behind the wall for repairs.  The “Real Car Guys” on the ACDelco team managed to get Hornaday back in the race to pick up valuable championship points.  He finished 31^st.

The summer edition of Nashville Superspeedway features a night race and a new Goodyear tire.  Goodyear will bring the tire they had at Rockingham and Darlington to correct marbling issues it had in the spring race.  What does all that mean to ACDelco crew chief Butch Hylton?  A lot!  “I think the new tire is going to be the biggest thing that is different this time at Nashville,” said Hylton.  “The tire we had in April just created a lot of problems on the track.  It really marbled up and forced us to one groove.  The wear was fine.  It just was something nobody could have expected.”  As far as the evening start, Hylton wasn’t as concerned.  “The track will be more consistent at night.  It will probably get a little tighter as the night goes on and it might even get faster.  It’s not anything we really worry about.  The setup will change mostly because of the new tire combination.”

The ACDelco transporter will unload chassis No. 29.  It is the same car that Hornaday raced at Nashville back in April.  The car was very fast in traffic and the ACDelco team feels like they have fixed the problem that hurt the car in qualifying.  Since Nashville, Hornaday has raced chassis No. 29 at Gateway International Raceway (2nd) and Nazareth Speedway (11th).

Ron Hornaday on Nashville Superspeedway

What did you learn in the spring race at Nashville Superspeedway?

“I learned to watch out for Robby (Gordon).  We had a really good race car in the spring. We just made a big mistake in qualifying.  We have fixed that and so I think we should have a shot at the Busch Pole.  To come from 28^th to fifth in just like 50 laps or so, shows how fast the car was.  We just got taken out and that happens sometimes.  In fact it happened last week at Dover.  It’s an unfortunate part of racing.”

Are you concerned about the tire Goodyear is bringing?

“I am proud of Goodyear.  They made the tire we asked for in the spring.  It just didn’t react the way we all thought it would.  Our tire wear was really good.  The problem was that the tire created big marbles as it wore and those marbles settled in the second groove.  That gave us a one groove track and made it hard to pass.  If you washed up the track a little it was like ice.  You had no control over your car.  Nobody expected that.  It just happened.  I applaud Goodyear for looking at the situation and bringing the tire we had at Darlington.  It held up well and I think we will put on a better show this time.  Actually, the finish in April was pretty crazy.  It will be a better race.  A better show will be tough!”

How hard was it to sit in the garage with a crashed car in Dover last week?

“It was really tough.  We had a car that could have won the race.  It was by far the best car I had ever had at Dover and we were coming off three straight top-10 finishes at that track.  The crash upset me.  But what really hurts is when you think about the points.  The championship is the only goal at RCR.  We dug a huge hole last week.  That’s what hurts the most.  If this was the Nextel Cup deal, I wouldn’t be as concerned.  But we don’t reset with 10 races to go.  We have to turn it around now.  I know we can get back on track and at least make a run at the championship.”