(Atlanta, GA.) – Ron Hornaday battled an ill-handling race car for the entire weekend, but stayed the course, and salvaged a 14^th place finish in the Aaron’s 312 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. 

From the time the ACDelco Chevrolet unloaded, things went south.  The car just didn’t respond to Hornaday the way the team had hoped it would.  In fact, it was a struggle for his RCR teammate Clint Bowyer as well.  Both Childress cars were loose and unpredictable throughout the mornings practice.

In qualifying, Hornaday went out with a “blind setup”.  It was his first attempt in qualifying trim after the team worked exclusively in practice on trying to find a race setup for the two-time NASCAR Truck Series champion.  The car slid up the track in turn one and Hornaday crossed the line in 35^th position.  At least it wasn’t a provisional.

The ACDelco Monte Carlo was better in happy hour.  Yet Hornaday still felt like changes were needed.  After finishing the practice 18^th, new crew chief Gil Martin sat down with Hornaday and decided to change several key parts in the chassis, including ball joints and moving the truck arms up on the car.

On race day, the ACDelco Chevrolet tried to stay out of trouble.  On lap two, Mike McLaughlin got into Mike Bliss triggering a five-car crash on the backstretch.  Hornaday narrowly missed the wreck and picked up several spots.  In just two laps, the “master of the restart” moved from 35^th to 24^th.

The race restarted on lap nine and Hornaday began his march to the front.  The car was really good getting into the corner, but was tight off.  At the first pit stop on lap 64, Martin took one pound of air out of the tires and also removed some wedge.  Hornaday was now 20^th.

The changes to the ACDelco Chevy didn’t help.  Hornaday reported to the crew a loose in and loose off condition.  He was lapped by leader Matt Kenseth on lap 83.  The yellow flag waved just 13 laps later for debris and the ACDelco crew went to work trying to tighten Hornaday back up.  The crew went two pounds up on the air pressure all the way around and put the wedge back in the left rear.

No matter what the team did, the car just didn’t respond.  The other RCR Busch cars struggled as well during the mid portion of the race.  Hornaday just couldn’t find the grip he needed to get back in the hunt.  The veteran settled in and search for a line that would help the car.  He avoided the trouble on the track and finished a respectable 14^th.

Hornaday’s teammate Clint Bowyer found a change that worked for his No. 21 Monte Carlo.  Bowyer captured the “lucky dog” late in the race and worked his way into the top-10.  But his good day was not to be. Bowyer got punted by Reed Sorenson and destroyed the rear of his Chevy.  Bowyer was mad, but unhurt.

The race ended with a fan favorite green-white-checkered finish.  Matt Kenseth held off Kyle Busch to score the win.  Kasey Kahne was third.  Robby Gordon fourth and Greg Biffle, fifth.  It was a tough day for both RCR and KHI, as the four cars from those organizations failed to finish in the top-10.

The next race for the Busch Series is next Saturday, October 30 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.  The race can be seen on TNT at 1p.m. ET and heard on PRN Radio or XM 144.