(Daytona Beach, Fla.) – Ron Hornaday and the ACDelco Chevrolet scored their fourth straight top-10 finish in the NASCAR Busch Series 2004 season, with a ninth place run under the lights at Daytona International Speedway.  It was Hornaday’s fifth straight career top-10 on a restrictor plate track.

It was a near perfect weekend for the ACDelco Monte Carlo.  With new a schedule that called for the cars to be impounded after qualifying, all the team’s focus was directed towards finding the best race setup.  And right off the transporter, the “Real Car Guys” hit their marks.  Hornaday was fourth fastest in practice and felt he had a car that could run fast both by itself and with a drafting partner. 

Qualifying went well for the ACDelco team, as Hornaday clocked the fifth fastest time of the day.  Hornaday’s teammate Kevin Harvick was third fastest and that put the two Richard Childress Racing entries nose-to-tail for the start of the Winn-Dixie 250.  With the July race at Daytona being 50 miles shorter than the February edition, having a drafting partner early was essential.  Mike Bliss won the Busch pole in the Rockwell Automation Chevrolet.

Despite rain showers in the Daytona Beach area prior to the start, the green flag waved right on time.  Hornaday drove right to the back bumper of Harvick’s Reese’s Chevy and the two RCR cars followed Bliss, making a three car single file breakaway.  The trio ran up-front until lap five, when Hornaday’s car pushed up the track opening the inside lane.  The ACDelco colors finally got back in line in the seventh position.  But he wouldn’t stay there for long.  Hornaday immediately showed his muscle and by lap 10, he was fourth.

On lap 24, the caution flag waved for the first time when Stacy Compton blew a right front tire and smacked the wall in turn two.  Hornaday used this caution to make adjustments to the “blue deuce” as the car was lacking grip all around the race track.  The “Real Car Guys” crew went to work and changed all four tires and put one round of wedge into the car to help with the grip.  Some cars elected not to pit and Hornaday restarted the race in eighth

Once again it did not take long for the ACDelco Chevy to work its way back into contention.  By lap 37, he was fifth and on the next lap raced into third position.  On lap 42, the caution lights blinked for the second time for a wreck on the backstretch.  Despite only 13 laps on his tires, Hornaday made his way down pit road for two tires and another adjustment.  Most of the leaders pitted as well and Hornaday left pit road in the same position he entered, third, behind Martin Truex, Jr. and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

The one thing every driver worries about at a track like Daytona is the big wreck.  And on lap 53, their fears were realized.  12 cars were involved in a crash off of turn two bringing out the third caution of the night.  Hornaday abandoned the leaders and headed down pit road for his final pit stop.  The ACDelco crew changed all four tires and put a half round into the right rear for grip and 14.76-seconds later, the “blue deuce” left pit road in the 17^th position.

The name of the game for Hornaday was racing back to the front without damaging the car in the process.    On lap 60, he again hooked up with his teammate Harvick and drafted into 10^th position.  The yellow flag waved for debris just four laps later and when the leaders hit pit road, Hornaday was fourth.  On the restart Hornaday kept his Monte Carlo glued to the inside of the track.  But now the outside lane with Earnhardt, Jr. leading the way made its surge.  The group raced side-by-side for the next 14 laps, trading positions nearly every circuit.  Hornaday found that the low groove was best for him and eventually cycled back into fifth.

On lap 87, the yellow waved for debris, setting up a final nine lap sprint to the finish.  Hornaday told the crew that the car was really loose and that he was doing the best he could to “hold on.”   On the restart, Robby Gordon led the field into turn one.  Hornaday told the crew that “Robby has a flat tire” and sure enough, Gordon pulled out of the groove on the backstretch ending his chance at victory.  Hornaday, now receiving help from Harvick, drove into second position past Mike Wallace and was right on the bumper of Earnhardt, Jr.    He tried to get a run on the leader, but the car was just too loose.  Hornaday hung onto the second position until lap 98, when the drafting combination of Michael Waltrip and Jason Leffler took over second and third.  Leffler pushed Waltrip into the lead and then on the final lap, pushed him into a spin on the backstretch.  Waltrip slid through the grass and made contact with the inside wall, but there was no caution.  NASCAR let the field race back for the win.  In turn three, Earnhardt, Jr. made a move on the high side of Leffler for the lead.  But Leffler drove up the track to block, sending “Junior” into the wall.  That opened the inside lane for Wallace who raced by and took the checkered flag for his first win since 1994.  Leffler was second and Greg Biffle third.  Hornaday did the best he could in the ciaos and finished 10^th.

After the race, NASCAR penalized Leffler one-second for “reckless driving”.  That penalty moved him from second to 13^th.  Hornaday was officially scored in ninth.  With the top-10 finish, the ACDelco Chevrolet moved into fourth position in the NASCAR Busch Series point’s standings, behind Truex, Jr., Kyle Busch and David Green.  Just three weeks ago, Hornaday was 10^th in points.  Way to go “blue crew”!

The next race for the NASCAR Busch Series is next Saturday, July 10 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill.