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HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (September 7, 2004) – Richmond,
VA., You wanted the best…you got the best! KISS
makes their NASCAR Busch Series debut on the No. 2
ACDelco Chevrolet for Friday night’s Richmond
250. The greatest Rock band in the world will be
in attendance for the race and is a big fan of
ACDelco driver Ron Hornaday. And the race team is
equally fanatic about KISS.
ACDelco crew chief Butch Hylton is a card carrying
member of the KISS Army, the fan club for the
band. He has every album (yes, album) the band
has ever released including several rare imports.
“This is one of the highlights of my racing
career,” said Hylton. “Growing up, KISS was my
band. I joined the KISS Army and bought all of
the collectables, from action figures to lunch
boxes. To have them on the side of our car and to
meet them and see how big of racing fans they are
is super cool. It’s hard to put into words the
excitement they have given to this race.”
Hylton is not the only KISS fanatic on the team.
Chief engineer Paul Flurry has been a fan of the
band since his youth and says that their music
hits home with his entire family. “I have a
cousin that dresses up like Gene Simmons every
time he goes to a big concert, no matter what band
is actually playing,” said Flurry. “He has the
whole outfit complete with the platform boots and
everything. He went to a Styx concert a while
back and Tommy Shaw (Styx guitarist) saw him
dressed like Gene in the front row and actually
gave him a pick and held the guitar down for my
cousin to play. He was the hit of the show!”
While some may say that the band seems a little
edgy for the veteran Hornaday, he says don’t let
age fool you. “KISS and I have a lot in common,”
said Hornaday. “We are both labeled as aging
stars, but there is nobody in rock music that
gives the fans all they have for an entire concert
like KISS. They put on a show that has so much
energy; it blows away all these new bands. They
rock just as hard on their first song as they do
on their last. I like to think that I race that
same way.”
Points
of Interest…
RIR
Track Stat…Ron
Hornaday’s best NBS finish at Richmond
International Raceway is seventh (Spring 2004).
He has one pole (1997) in the NASCAR Truck Series
at the .750-mile D-shaped oval. He has completed
94% of the laps and has one DNF (2000).
Last race at RIR....The
spring race at RCR was very disappointing for the
ACDelco Monte Carlo. Hornaday qualified 24th
and battled a tight race car all weekend long. It
was obvious that the “drop-snout” chassis the team
had unloaded was the wrong car for the weekend.
Despite the cars bad push, Hornaday raced his way
into the top-10 in the early stages. A cut left
front tire while running ninth sent the “blue
deuce” to the back of the pack. Hornaday charged
his way into the top-10 once again only to get
caught up in a crash involving Michael Waltrip and
J.J. Yeley. The “Real Car Guys” crew fixed the
damage and the ACDelco Chevy came home 12th.
You
have to first finish…At
Bristol Motor Speedway last Saturday; Hornaday
extended his NASCAR Busch Series record for
consecutive races without a DNF. The ACDelco
Chevrolet has been running at the end of 64
straight races. The last DNF for Hornaday was an
engine failure at Kansas Speedway in 2002.
What ya’ Haulin’…The
ACDelco transporter will unload chassis No. 033R
at RIR. It is a brand new car that has never been
raced. ACDelco crew chief Butch Hylton told
Hornaday of the new car, “You wanted the best, you
got the best!”
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 Richmond International Raceway…
You have KISS
on the car this weekend. Does that add to the
excitement of this race?
“Are you kidding? This is awesome. Everyone in
the shop is excited for this race. KISS brings
amazing energy to the stage and we hope that same
energy will be in our ACDelco Chevrolet. I can
assure you the fans are going to love this car and
I plan on racing it as hard as KISS rocks it.”
What is so
special about night racing?
“Everything. It’s what every driver did rising
through the ranks. The night brings out the
sparks and you can see flames from the fuel
burn-off when we get off the gas. The fans love
it and to be honest it is easier on the driver
too. The conditions are cooler even on a hot
night. Plus you have had all day to think about
the race. So you are extra pumped up just because
you have that long anticipation. I wish nearly
every race was a night.”
We always
hear about paybacks when we get to the short
tracks. Do you expect rough racing this weekend?
“You have rough racing at Richmond, whether it’s
nighttime or not. Short track racing is up on the
wheel, in your face racing. You have to rout and
gouge. You have to use the chrome horn. It’s
part of that style of racing. But as close as the
points are, I don’t think you will see any
paybacks or deliberate contact among the top-10
drivers. Maybe somebody back in the points with
nothing to lose may do something like that. But
for the contenders, you can’t afford to be playing
those kind of games. I’m sure everybody has been
roughed up this year at one time or another, but I
think it’s too late for paybacks now. It’s not
worth it.”
ACDelco crew chief
Butch Hylton on Richmond International Raceway…
What are your thoughts about racing
at RIR this weekend?
“We are bringing a brand new car, so I hope we can
turn things around. Our finishes lately are not
an indicator of how well we have been running.
Hopefully having KISS on the car will change our
luck. But this is Richmond and anything can
happen.” |