Ron Hornaday will make his 10th consecutive start at The Milwaukee Mile on Saturday night.  Hornaday made his Milwaukee Mile debut in 1995 driving the No. 16 Chevy truck for Dale Earnhardt, Inc.  He finished third that afternoon.  Hornaday scored a win at The Milwaukee Mile in 1997 in the Truck Series.  He made his NASCAR Busch Series qualifying debut in 1999 when he drove the No. 3 ACDelco Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. after “Little E” crashed in practice.  Earnhardt, Jr. was checked and released at the hospital, then cleared to race.  Hornaday qualified 15^th for that event, despite never practicing the No. 3 Monte Carlo.

When you look at track statistics, one track stands out among the rest for Hornaday.  The Milwaukee Mile has been one of the most consistent tracks for the driver of the ACDelco Chevrolet.  Since his first start at the one-mile oval in 1995, Hornaday has never finished outside the top-10 in any series or any race.  No other active driver in any series can make that claim.  He has one win and six top-five finishes in a decade of racing at Milwaukee.  With an average finish of fourth, Hornaday will surely be one of the favorites to win in Milwaukee.

The ACDelco transporter will unload chassis No.36.  It is the same drop-snout car that Hornaday ran at Richmond International Raceway (12th).  It is one of the few “drop-snout” cars in the RCR stable.  The car was the second “drop” car built last year at the special request of Hornaday.  After winning the race at Nazareth Speedway with “drop snout” No. 031, RCR built the second car (.036) for Hornaday. Last year, Hornaday finished seventh at RIR and fourth at Memphis Motorsports Park with chassis No.36.

Ron Hornaday on The Milwaukee Mile

The Milwaukee Mile has been one of your most consistent tracks throughout your career.  Why do you think you have done so well there?

“I think because it reminds me so much of a big Saugus (CA.) Speedway where I started my racing career.  I have always respected all the history of The Milwaukee Mile.  I just think of all the greats that have raced and won there.  The track means so much to American auto racing.  I think I have always felt if you can win on The Milwaukee Mile, you can win anywhere.”

Describe a perfect lap at The Milwaukee Mile.

“I use all of the RCR power I have down the front stretch and drive into turn one using enough brake to set the nose.  You can run right on the bottom getting in.  You let the car role through the middle.  You usually slide up the track half a groove to get a run off the corner.  I get back in the gas just after the middle and drag race down the backstretch.  Again, hard on the brakes and let the car roll in the middle.  If the car will role all day long without having to get in the brakes again or wait for it to set, we can have a great day.”

What advantage does the drop-snout car give you here at The Milwaukee Mile?

“I just like the way it feels.  It feels like it turns better and rolls all day.  That’s because the roll center is lower and the front geometry is different.  Not everybody likes a ‘drop car’, including RCR.  But I think you have to have it at Milwaukee to be successful.  I have pretty good notes from my previous races there, so I don’t think we will have the set-up problems we had at Richmond with this car.  I expect us to be good right off the ACDelco transporter.”