Harrah’s 500
Early race wreck ruins Texas homecoming

Team Conseco will use chassis 1403 this weekend in Texas. This car raced a total of nine times last season including the 2000 Texas event. The car turned in its best performance in July at New Hampshire, where it qualified 11th and finished 12th. 

Chassis 1403 is the sister car to the one Hornaday drove in Las Vegas (1402) where he started 12th and finished ninth, recording his first top-10 finish driving in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.

“I’m ready for Texas. We had a pretty decent run in Bristol and we are hoping that we can carry that momentum over to Texas. We tested there a couple of weeks ago and learned a lot about the two cars we are taking back for the race. They are both pretty close, but the one we are using as the primary car felt a little more comfortable during a long run and was a little more consistent.” 
–Ron Hornaday, Team Conseco Driver

Forth Worth, TX (April 1, 2001) -  Team Conseco’s hopes for a good finish in the Harrah’s 500 NASCAR Winston Cup Series event quickly evaporated following an incident on the fourth lap of the event resulting in a disappointing 40^th place finish for Ron Hornaday at the Texas Motor Speedway this past Sunday afternoon.

Hornaday had qualified in the 20^th position on Friday afternoon and was poised for another competitive run behind the wheel of A.J. Foyt’s No. 14 Conseco Pontiac when he was caught up in a multi-car accident on the fourth circuit of the 334-lap event.  The car sustained damage to the front and rear suspension, as needed major bodywork before it could return to the track.  

As the race wore on, Team Conseco made repairs to the Conseco Pontiac.  With a patchwork of duct tape and new body panels, the Conseco Pontiac returned to competition with Hornaday listed in the 43^rd position.  By the end of the race, Hornaday had completed enough laps to surpass three other cars and finish 40^th.

“I don’t know what to tell you,” Hornaday said as the team was working to repair his machine.  “It’s just one of those things.  We were in the wrong place at the wrong time.  I’m not mad at anyone.  I’m just disappointed we didn’t get a chance to really race in front of A.J.’s home crowd.  He and Conseco had a lot of guests here this weekend and we were really hoping for a good day.  We’ll just have to go back and try twice as hard next week in Martinsville.”

FOX will air the Virginia 500 from Martinsville, Virginia live on Sunday, April 8 with television coverage starting at 12:30PM E.D.T.

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