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a large group of
family and friends
and, finally, he
spent most of the
day in the Top-10.
"Every driver
likes to hear the
crowd cheer for
you," said
Hornaday, a
Palmdale, CA native.
"California is
home to me and I had
lots of family and
friends here today.
The race was pretty
awesome. We had a
strong car and even
though didn't end up
where we wanted to,
we definitely showed
them what we came
here with."
With
qualifying rained
out Friday, the
field was set based
on 2002 championship
point's position
putting Hornaday
27th in the 43-car
field. Hornaday
wasted little time
beginning his march
through the field
breaking into the
Top-3 just past the
halfway mark.
"We
were running third
for quite a while
and I wish we could
have stayed
there," said
Hornaday. "Team
GMAC really did it
for us today in the
pits and got us up
front. We picked up
spots every time we
came into the pits.
I'm really happy
with the way we
raced."
Hornaday might have
finished in the
Top-5 if not for a
couple of close
calls over the final
25 circuits. Still,
the veteran driver
was happy with the
finish. "We
started far back and
ended the day pretty
far back, but we are
proud of the way we
ran and we spent a
most of the day in
the Top-10,"
Hornaday stated.
The
California event
marked Hornaday's
last race in the
GMAC/CARQUEST Chevy.
Pending a final test
at Concord Motor
Speedway Tuesday,
Team GMAC regular
driver Ricky
Hendrick will
reassume the driving
chores at Richmond
International
Raceway this
weekend. Hornaday
logged six races in
the GMAC Monte Carlo
while Hendrick
recovered from
injuries sustained
in an accident at
Las Vegas Motor
Speedway in March.
"Well...we
aren't certain this
is my last race,
" said
Hornaday. "We
have to see how it
goes when he tests
Tuesday. We had some
strong runs in the
last six races. It
is an honor to work
with Team GMAC and
work for Hendrick
Motorsports. I wish
I could have done
more for this team.
I wish Ricky all the
luck next week at
Richmond. I'll be
right there rooting
him on."
Hendrick
will return to the
driver's seat of the
Team GMAC Chevy in
the Hardee's 250 at
Richmond
International
Raceway, Friday, May
3 at 7 p.m. Eastern
Daylight Time. The
event will be the
10th of 34 NASCAR
Busch Series races
this season and will
be telecast live on
FOX and MRN Radio.
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