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RON HORNADAY ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY ADVANCE 

LAND OF FIRSTS: In 2005, Ron Hornaday returned to victory lane in the Truck Series for the first time since 2002 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.  The victory marked the first time he went to victory lane for Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI).  Hornaday took KHI to victory lane for the second-time in the company’s history. He followed his owner Kevin Harvick who scored KHI’s first Truck Series victory at Phoenix International Raceway on November 8, 2002.  Since that day Hornaday has gone to victory lane another 18 times for KHI. The 2005 trip to victory lane is still the only win for Hornaday at the 1.54-mile speedway. He has finished second three times. 

Did you know?:  In 10 previous seasons of racing at Daytona International Speedway, only one driver — Mike Bliss — has gone on to win the championship with a finish outside the top 15 in the first event of the season. Bliss recovered from engine failure and a finish of 33rd in 2002.  Hornaday will have to overcome a similar situation in order to win his fifth Truck Series championship in 2010.  Three weeks ago the No. 33 Longhorn team recorded a 27th-place finish in the Truck Series’ season opener at Daytona due to an early-race accident.  In 2008, Hornaday overcame a 25th- place finish and finished second to Johnny Benson only seven points shy of the championship crown.

WELCOME TO THE TEAM: Doug George will move from KHI’s No. 2 Truck Series team to become the crew chief of Hornaday’s No. 33 Longhorn Chevrolet.  George, a former racer, competed against Hornaday in the Southwest Tour series in the late 90’s, winning the championship in 1990.  He brings years of experience most recently serving as Truck Series crew chief for Kyle Busch and Aric Almirola’s at Billy Ballew Motorsports in 2009.

THANK YOU FOR BUCKLING-UP: One week prior to the Atlanta 200, Hornaday traveled to Georgia to join Governor Sonny Perdue in rewarding Georgia residents for driving safely.  Hornaday was named an honorary H.E.A.T (Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic) team officer and was stationed at a Henry County road check station where he awarded safely seat belted motorist tickets to this weekends Atlanta 200. 

Notes from the Professor: Quotes from Ron Hornaday:
HOW DO YOU REBOUND AFTER THE 27TH-PLACE FINISH IN DAYTONA THREE WEEKS AGO?
“Daytona is Daytona.  Sometimes you come out of there feeling like a hero with momentum on your side and sometimes you come out wrecked.  This time we were wrecked.  Honestly, I didn’t really think about the finish that much. What I was proud of was the way our team worked to get the truck fixed.  They never gave up and we were faster when we went back out than we were in the draft!  Like I told them leaving the garage, this is a championship-caliber team and we’re going to prove it.”

ATLANTA HAS BEEN A VERY GOOD TRACK FOR YOU IN THE PAST.  WHAT WILL YOU HAVE TO DO TO GET BACK TO VICTORY LANE?
“Atlanta is a fast track.  I really enjoy running there.  We have always had a good set up there and I’m sure this year will be no different.  We are taking the truck that Kevin won with at Homestead.  I think he is going to be my toughest competition there in his brand-new truck.”

CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 33 Longhorn team will take chassis No. 040 to Atlanta Motor Speedway.  Chassis No. 040 last competed at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway at the end of 2009 with Kevin Harvick behind the wheel.  Harvick drove chassis No. 040 to victory lane leading 108 of the 136 laps. 


DOUG GEORGE NAMED CREW CHIEF FOR RON HORNADAY

KERNERSVILLE, N.C. (February 25, 2010) — Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) announced today that Doug George has been appointed crew chief of the No. 33 Longhorn Chevrolet Silverado driven by four-time Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday.

George, who made the move to KHI in the off season, began 2010 as crew chief of the organization’s No. 2 Truck Series team with Cup Series veterans Elliott Sadler and Kevin Harvick splitting time behind the wheel.

“This is a really great opportunity to work with Ron and the No. 33 team,” George said. “Ron is a dedicated driver with goals to win races and championships.  I’m really happy that Kevin and DeLana put their confidence in me to lead the No. 33 team.  We are going to work hard to take the best equipment in the Truck Series to victory lane week in and week out.  Ron and I have known each other forever, both as competitors and friends.  I look forward to working with him in 2010.”

Hornaday, the series’ first four-time champion and all-time winningest driver with 45 victories, feels confident with George calling the shots.

“I really like Doug, he and I go way back,” said Hornaday.  “I raced against Doug for the 1992 Southwest Tour championship. He was always a great competitor.  He’s got a confidence about him that makes him likeable and a good leader.  Knowing all of the experience that Doug has I feel really good that he is coming to join our team.  I think he will be a great addition.”


GOING BACK-TO-BACK: In 2010 Ron Hornaday will once again try and place his name in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series record books by attempting to become the first back-to-back Truck Series champion. He has the opportunity to repeat the history he made in 2009 turning his four current championships (2009, 2007, 1998 and 1996) into five.  If he is able to win a fifth championship he would join Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt as the third driver to ever win five championships in any of NASCAR’s three elite divisions.

Notes from the Professor: Quotes from Ron Hornaday:
WHAT WOULD IT MEAN FOR YOU TO GET YOUR FIRST SUPERSPEEDWAY WIN AT DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY?
“Since I first sat behind the wheel of a race car I wanted to go to Daytona.  I know a lot of drivers say that, but driving through the tunnel at Daytona always gives me chills.  To win a race at Daytona would fulfill a dream.  It would be a great accomplishment.”

ARE YOU PLEASED THAT THE PIT STOP RULES ARE DIFFERENT FOR 2010?
“Last season the new rules were definitely a challenge for our team, but in the end we figured it out.  I personally like making one stop for fuel and tires, but I commend NASCAR for trying something different to try and help teams save on costs.  We will just have to see how the new fuel cell works out.”

UNDER NEW LEADERSHIP: Dave Fuge has joined KHI and the No. 33 team as crew chief for the 2010 season.  Hornaday and Fuge have a storied history dating back to the NASCAR Southwest Tour days when Fuge’s chassis were the ones to beat week in and week out at Hornaday’s home track Sagus (Calf.) Speedway.  In 2002, Hornaday drove for Fuge when he jumped behind the wheel of a second truck for IWX Motorsports at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway for only his second Truck Series start of the season. Hornaday won the race, his first and only to date at Homestead, while teammate Mike Bliss won the 2002 Truck Series championship.

Quotes from Crew Chief Dave Fuge:
DO YOU FEEL ANY ADDED PRESSURE JOINING THE REIGNING CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM?
“Not any more pressure than I put on myself.  I think from the outside there is some pressure placed on me and this team to see if we can repeat last year’s success but everyone at KHI expects a lot and I expect the same. We have all the resources we need in the driver, team and equipment to be successful.”

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON WORKING WITH FOUR-TIME TRUCK SERIES CHAMPION RON HORNADAY AND KHI?
“I’ve known Ron forever; I’ve raced with and against him for over 20 years so we know each other pretty well.  Kevin [Harvick] and Ron are West Coast guys like myself and we all have the same mentality when it comes to winning and we aren’t going to let anything get in our way to get there.“

RECORD HOLDER: Hornaday holds an abundance of records in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series most notably he is the championship record holder with four championships (2009, 2007, 1998 and 1996).  He also holds the record for most wins in the series with 45.  He is also the all-time short-track winner with 20 of his 45 victories coming at tracks less than one-mile in length.  At the end of 2009 members of the media named Hornaday Truck Series driver of the decade.  He was also named the third quarter driver of the year and inducted into the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association 40th All-American team as a first team selection.  In 2009, he also won five consecutive races, the first Truck Series driver to ever accomplish this feat.  Hornaday wrote his name in the record books along side Bobby Allison and Richard Petty as only the third driver in NASCAR history to win five consecutive races.  He also possesses the record for highest top-10 finishing average.  In 1996, Hornaday had a 95.8 percent top-10 finish average, out of 24 starts Hornaday finished in the top 10 a record 23 times. 

 

 

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