|
|
| |
|
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. |
|
|
