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BRISTOL,
TN.
(March
23,
2002)
-
A
severed
oil
line
proved
to
be
the
downfall
of
Ron
Hornaday,
Jr.
and
Team
GMAC
as
the
problem
relegated
them
to
a
38th-place
finish
in
the
NASCAR
Busch
Series
Channellock
250
at
Bristol
Motor
Speedway.
"This
team
gave
me
a
great
|
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| racecar,"
said
Hornaday,
who
started
11th
in
the
event.
"We
worked
up
to
seventh-place
pretty
quickly
and
then
the
car
started
filling
up
with
oil
smoke.
We
had
to
bring
it
behind
the
wall
and
the
guys
went
to
work
and
got
us
back
out
on
the
racetrack
as
fast
as
they
could,
but
we
were
down
about
50
laps
when
we
got
back
out.
We
stayed
out
and
gained
as
many
spots
as
we
could
and
then
parked
it
early.
There's
no
point
in
tearing
up
a
racecar
if
you
don't
have
to.
We
just
wanted
more
today."
Hornaday
posted
a
solid
qualifying
effort
of
15.522
seconds
(123.618
miles
per
hour)
on
the
.533-mile
high-banked
Bristol
oval.
According
to
the
veteran
driver,
the
team
expected
to
be
closer
to
the
front
of
the
field
at
the
drop
of
the
green
flag.
"We
actually
were
disappointed
with
qualifying,"
said
Hornaday.
"The
car
was
better
than
11th.
The
car
was
little
tight
for
qualifying
and
the
track
freed
up.
We
weren't
quite
ready
for
it,
but
we
took
it
into
Happy
Hour
and
didn't
have
to
change
much
for
the
race."
Hornaday's
hope
for
another
Bristol
victory
came
to
a
smoky
halt
on
the
44th-circuit
when
the
car
began
filling
with
smoke.
The
crew
brought
the
ailing
red-white
and
blue
GMAC
Chevy
behind
the
wall
to
discover
a
slashed
oil
return
line
and
worked
quickly
to
replace
it.
With
hopes
of
victory
dashed,
Hornaday
returned
to
pick
up
several
spot
before
calling
it
a
day
short
of
the
finish.
He
stayed
out
of
the
leaders
path
and
joked
to
lift
the
team's
spirits
before
an
early
end
to
an
unfortunate
race.
"You
have
to
take
days
like
this
and
figure
out
a
way
to
smile
about
it,"
said
Hornaday.
"These
guys
built
a
great
racecar
and
we
proved
that
on
the
track,
we
just
didn't
get
to
prove
it
in
the
finishing
order.
I
couldn't
be
more
proud
to
be
a
part
of
this
Hendrick
Motorsports
team."
Hornaday
will
take
a
third
turn
in
the
Team
GMAC
Chevy
when
they
roll
off
in
the
O'Reilly
300
at
Texas
Motor
Speedway,
Saturday,
April
6
at
1
p.m.
Eastern
Standard
Time.
The
event
will
be
the
sixth
of
34
NASCAR
Busch
Series
races
this
season
and
will
be
telecast
live
on
FOX
and
PRN
Radio.
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