Motor Problem Plagues A Top-10 Finish for Dr Pepper Racing

Kansas City, KS, September 28, 2002 – The Dr Pepper Racing Team fell victim once again to an incident outside their control.  A cam shaft failed for the second time in four weeks ending the afternoon early for the Dr Pepper Racing Team.  The worst thing about it was that Ron Hornaday battled back from an incident earlier in the race, where #9 Jeff Burton spun him out, to the point that a Top-10 finish was inevitable.  Unfortunately, the engine problem was terminal and the #26 Dr Pepper Chevy finished 34^th.  Carroll Racing currently sits in the 18^th position of the Owner Points Standings.

 The weekend was a glimmering success for the Dr Pepper Racing Team on and off the track until the motor gave way.  Ron Hornaday had a jam packed schedule of driver appearances that were capped off with a Top-10 qualifying effort and solid practice sessions leading into the Mr. Goodcents 300.  Ron began his weekend at the Midwest Thunderfest, a race themed festival on Thursday night in Kansas City.  Friday night he was signing autographs prior to the Alabama concert and signed his signature again at the Fanwalk area of the infield for awhile on Saturday morning.  His efforts and attitude throughout each of the appearances clears up why he is a four-time recipient of the Most Popular Driver Award. 

The #26 Dr Pepper Monte Carlo earned a 10^th place starting position for Saturday’s BGN Race when Hornaday circled the 1.5-mile tri-oval in 31.291 sec.  #99 Michael Waltrip sat on the pole with a lap time of 30.887 sec.  The ironic situation occurred when the starting line-up was posted following the time trials; Hornaday was starting 10^th, #25 Bobby Hamilton Jr. 11^th and #15 Lyndon Amick 12^th.  The three drivers of the #26 Dr Pepper Chevrolet were all starting next to one another.

Hornaday didn’t take long to move up the field and away from those around him.  #1 Jimmy Spencer crashed in Happy Hour forcing him to the back of the field and moving Ron up to 8^th.  A great start of the race and some aggressive, gutsy driving moving Hornaday up to 6^th on the first lap and to 4^th on Lap 2.  The first caution flew on Lap 3 and Ron radioed that the Dr Pepper Chevy was running real smooth and would be explosive once the pressures in the tires built up.  The race restarted on Lap 7 and by Lap 13 the second caution waved when #5 Ricky Hendrick spun out.  The yellow lights were on around the track and Hornaday was heading back to the stripe when Jeff Burton got behind Ron in Turn 4, took the air off his spoiler and nudged him in the rear bumper.  That contact sent Ron and the Dr Pepper Chevy spinning.  Miraculously with a great piece of driving, Hornaday kept it off the wall; however the spin flat spotted a couple of the tires and forced the Dr Pepper Chevy down Pit Road and out of pit sequence with the leaders.

The Dr Pepper Racing Team restarted in 38^th and Hornaday methodically nipped away at the positions ahead until another caution came out on Lap 32 with the Dr Pepper Chevy in 27^th.  Todd Lohse called for a “Gas & Go” pit strategy that would gain track position while securing enough fuel to stay with the leaders through the next run.  Ron was in 12^th but on the restart picked up seven spots moving the Dr Pepper Chevy to 5^th.  There was some sloppy driving by the other drivers from Lap 32 through 46 that produced three cautions. During that time Ron led for a half of a lap as a result of another extraordinary restart, but got passed by #10 Scott Riggs going into Turn 3. 

The tires on the #26 Dr Pepper Chevy had 20 more laps than most of the field including all of the top 20 cars because of the earlier incident with Burton.  What followed was an 83 lap green flag run that saw most of the field go a lap down to leader #9 Jeff Burton.  The Dr Pepper Chevy came down pit road on Lap 100 for service from the “Thirst Crew” who quickly replaced the worn down tires with fresh ones and fuel.  The Dr Pepper Chevy was in 16^th when it returned to the track and was able to shield off Burton until Lap 121 when he eventually passed by placing the #25 Dr Pepper Chevy one lap down.

Hornaday kept the gap close after the #9 car went by and when the caution finally flew on Lap 132, Ron got back on the lead lap and was in the 15^th position.  Within a few laps the Dr Pepper Chevy was once again contending for the Top-10, that was up until Lap 147 when Ron radioed that the motor cut off all of a sudden.  He flipped the switches and changed the ignition boxes but no luck.  He then brought the Dr Pepper Chevy down Pit Road and the “Thirst Crew” lifted the hood and inspected the wires, turned some wrenches and realized it was terminal.  The day was done and they were to finish 34^th.  #9 Jeff Burton went on to claim the checkered flag.

“This was just disappointing for the fact that we came back from adversity early in the race,” commented Hornaday.  “The “Thirst Crew” hammered out an excellent pit stop under the green flag that allowed me to stay on the lead lap for as long as possible.  Our tires were just all used up and most of the other cars had much fresher tires; we were just biding our time till we could get in for some new rubber.  The Dr Pepper Team did a great job today it was just unfortunate that we had problems that we can’t control.  We didn’t have a car that could win today, but seeing how the rest of the race unfolded we easily could’ve been in the Top-10 and probably in the Top-5.  We had a busy week with a ton of guests in town from Dr Pepper so we really wanted a good, solid finish.  No matter what the weekend was fun though; we signed a ton of autographs, shook a lot of hands and held some babies; the fan support was great and I know we have more fans because of it.”

The Busch Grand National Series has next weekend off but the Dr Pepper Racing Team will test at Lowes Motor Speedway for the race on October 12^th near Charlotte.  The Little Trees 300 will begin at the 1.5-mile tri-oval at 1 pm EST, with coverage being supplied by TNT and PRN.

EXPOSURE UPDATE:  Ann Ernst, the Kansas City Fountain Drink Rep for Dr Pepper, organized a week of activities with the Showcar program to coincide with the race.  There were events supported by local and regional radio promotions at Zarda’s BBQ, Krispy Kreme Race Festivals and concerts.  From Thursday through the weekend, Ron signed over 2000 autographs but more importantly put smiles on his fans faces.  In addition to the appearances, there was an overwhelming amount of support in the garage area with over forty guests of Dr Pepper cheering on Ron Hornaday and the “Thirst Crew”.  The Honorary Pit Crew Member Program was activated again for the second year in a row at Kansas by the local distributor in the area.

The excitement on the track for the #26 Dr Pepper Chevy led to a good deal of television coverage to go along with the numerous radio and television interviews Ron performed throughout the weekend.