HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (October 6, 2004) – Ron Hornaday and the ACDelco Chevrolet head to Kansas Speedway, sixth in points and invigorated, after a much enjoyed weekend off.  The bye week was the last free weekend for the NASCAR Busch Series as they now prepare for the final seven-race run to the championship.

The extra time off allowed the “Real Car Guys” to catch up on getting cars ready for the stretch run, as well as giving their Kansas Speedway chassis a little extra attention.  “Anytime you get a weekend off, it helps a ton,” said ACDelco crew chief Butch Hylton.  “It gives the guys a chance to rest and it helps us get back on track as far as getting cars ready.  You would be surprised how easy it is to fall behind when you are gone four to five days a week.”

Despite leaving the team at the end of 2004, Hornaday is committed to getting the team into the top-five in points.  “I know that we can still win races this year and get back in the point’s battle.  There have been no sore feelings at all.  Business is business.  Our job is to win races and that is what we plan on trying to do,” said Hornaday. 

Hornaday will have his favorite car in the RCR stable with him at Kansas Speedway.  Chassis No. 19, which the team ran recently at California Speedway and Dover Downs International Speedway, will be Hornaday’s ride for the Mr. Goodcents 300.  “I really like this car,” said Hornaday.  “It just feels right everywhere we take it.  It responds to changes the way you expect it to.  I think we can probably race this car at every track the rest of the season if we can keep it in one piece.”

Who’s the new guy?  Richard Childress Racing will announce the new driver of the No. 2 ACDelco Chevrolet at a press conference on Friday, October 8 at 11:30 a.m.  The announcement will take place at the Kansas Speedway media center and is open to all credentialed media.  Photo opportunities will also be available.  Additional information will be posted on the RCR website at www.rcrracing.com.

Kansas Track Stat…ACDelco driver Ron Hornaday has two starts at the 1.5-mile d-shaped Kansas Speedway.  He has posted top-10 starts in both qualifying attempts and has a best finish of 14th (2003). 

Record Breaker… Hornaday extended his NASCAR Busch Series record for consecutive races without a DNF.  The ACDelco Chevrolet has been running at the end of 66 straight races.  The last DNF for Hornaday was an engine failure at Kansas Speedway in 2002.

Last year at Kansas....Hornaday battled a loose car most of the afternoon during the Mr. Goodcents 300.  In fact, Hornaday actually spun the car off turn two in the middle stages of the race (something you rarely see from the two-time NASCAR Truck Series champion).  Despite the spin, Hornaday continued on with no visible damage.  On the final restart of the day, Bobby Hamilton failed to come up to speed causing a big crash in turn one.  Hornaday missed the wreck and finished 12th at the line.  However, 30 minutes after the race, NASCAR changed the finishing order based on their newly initiated “freezing the field” rule.  Hornaday was pushed back to 14th in the official standings.

What ya’ Haulin’…The ACDelco transporter will unload chassis No. 019 at Kansas Speedway.  It is the same car that Hornaday raced to a seventh place finish at Dover Downs International Speedway two weeks ago.   

Green-White-Hornaday...Ron Hornaday scored seven of his NASCAR Truck Series record 26 wins via green-white-checkered (G-W-C) finishes.  He has the most wins of any driver in NASCAR under this finishing format.  He won 70% of all G-W-C finishes he was involved in.

Ron Hornaday on Kansas Speedway…

What are your thoughts on this weekend’s race at Kansas Speedway?

“I am really excited to be honest.  Butch Hylton (crew chief) and I hit on some things that worked real well at Dover and we’re bringing the same car to Kansas, so I think we should be pretty good.  I know we got some good notes from Clint Bowyer’s test here last week, so I’m just ready to go out there and try to win.  Despite the changes going on for next year, this team is still hungry to go out and get wins and try to keep moving up in the point’s.”

How has the announcement that you are not returning to the No. 2 ACDelco car affected you emotionally?

“I was certainly disappointed when I was told, because we had all thought that this year would be better than it has turned out to be.  But the guys on this team have been very supportive.  We all know that we win and lose as a team and so everybody was disappointed that we didn’t meet some of the goals that were set back in January.  Instead of getting down or giving up, we have kept working our tails off

ACDelco crew chief Butch Hylton on Kansas Speedway…

What are your thoughts about racing at Kansas this weekend?

“I am really excited for this race in Kansas.  We are bringing back the same car that Ron ran at California Speedway and at Dover a couple weeks ago.  It is his favorite car and I think we can have a great run on Saturday.  Despite the chances for this team to get distracted by the change, we have stayed focused and are more determined than ever to get back into victory lane.”