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Ron Hornaday has raced at Atlanta Motor Speedway before,
but that in no way prepared him for Thursday's test in
his No. 6 GM Goodwrench Chevy Silverado.
"I had heard that you could run flat-out here, but I
didn't believe it until today," Hornaday said. "I'm not
surprised -- I'm shocked. I can't believe you can run
these trucks like that. It's great. I held my breath for
the first lap and then I got comfortable."
Hornaday was at Atlanta preparing for next Friday's
World Financial Group 200, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck
race that will kick off an action-packed weekend of
racing. The March 18-20 Golden Corral 500 weekend will
be the first time all three of NASCAR's national touring
series -- Craftsman Truck, Busch and NEXTEL Cup -- will
compete in Atlanta on the same weekend.
With a handful of NEXTEL Cup and Busch Series races
under his belt at Atlanta, plus one previous Craftsman
Truck test many years ago, Hornaday said he thought he
had the fast track figured out. Now, he's glad he spent
the day testing.
"We're fast," he said with a gleam in his eye. "We've
got the track to ourselves, and there were a lot of
trucks testing the last couple days that laid down a lot
of rubber. The weather is perfect, and we're going to
test both day and night, so I think we're going to have
a very good feel for what we'll need next weekend."
Hornaday's fastest lap of the day session was 31.25
seconds (177.408 mph); he was expected to continue
testing until 10 p.m.
"With all the banking here and the new rules NASCAR has
made, this will be a good show," Hornaday said. "Fans
thought last year's racing was good, wait until this
year."
Tickets are still available for the March 18 World
Financial Group 200, which will take the green flag at
the conclusion of Georgia Power Qualifying Night, and
the rest of the Golden Corral 500 weekend. Tickets start
at $30, or a limited number of three-day weekend
packages remain for just $65. For more information call
the Atlanta Motor Speedway ticket office at (877)
9-AMS-TIX (877-926-7849) or
www.AtlantaMotorSpeedway.com |
Buckle Up !