MARTINSVILLE, Va. (March 28, 2010)—- Known for short-track racing and strong restarts, veteran Truck Series driver Ron Hornaday went back to his racing roots at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway Saturday afternoon to record a strong second-place finish. After a difficult start to the 2010 season, Hornaday bounced back, gaining 16 positions in the Truck Series point standings moving up to 12th following his second-place finish.
“The No. 33 Longhorn Chevrolet ran really well today,” said Hornaday following the race. “Being able to come from 31st at Martinsville to finish second is pretty incredible. This team never gave up. We did not intend to pit that early, but our truck wasn’t handling the way we wanted it to so we came in for some adjustments that really helped. That set us up for another two-tire stop to gain some track position. All in all it was a really good day for the No. 33 team. We gained some valuable points and some momentum.”
Qualifying for the Kroger 250 was cancelled on Friday due to rain. With the cancellation of qualifying, Hornaday was positioned in the 31st starting spot due to an Owner’s points swap between the No. 2 and the No. 33 trucks during the off season.
Hornaday and crew chief Doug George made a plan to use pit strategy in order to move up through the field. However, an ill-handling truck led the team to make the decision to give up the 17th position on lap 28 to come to pit road for four tires, a trackbar adjustment, an air-pressure adjustment and fuel. The team realized at the last minute they did not have time to put on four tires without losing a lap to the leaders, quickly calling for a two tire stop. On lap 30, the team brought Hornaday back down pit road hoping to put on the other two tires. Hornaday’s Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) teammate, and race leader, Kevin Harvick, was quickly coming to restart the race, thus the No. 33 team waived off the additional two tires and made a pass through on pit road in order to avoid losing a lap.
Hornaday restarted the race in the 22nd position, but made quick work of the field. By lap 70, the No. 33 Longhorn Chevrolet rode in the 11th position. A caution on lap 73 brought the field down pit road for a scheduled pit stop. The No. 33 team decided to bring Hornaday back down pit road to take on the left-side tires they were unable to put on at the beginning of the race. A quick stop helped Hornaday gain valuable track position as he returned to the track in the second spot. On lap 81, only 65 laps after starting in the 31st position, Hornaday assumed the lead holding on for nine laps before his KHI teammate Harvick reassumed the lead on lap 90.
Hornaday continued to race with the top-five drivers of Harvick, Johnny Sauter, Mike Skinner and Matt Crafton. A caution at lap 133 brought the field back to pit road. Hornaday and the No. 33 were able to get back in sequence with the rest of the field, taking on four tires and fuel. Six trucks played different pit strategies remaining on the track. Hornaday restarted in the eighth position on the top side of the track, getting pinned on the outside behind a slower truck. He did his best to hold his position until he could muscle his way to the inside which is the preferred line.
A rash of cautions resulted in multiple double-file restarts, making it difficult for Hornaday to move forward. By lap 194, Hornaday had made his way back into the top five as Harvick reassumed the lead. As the laps wound down Hornaday slowly picked his way toward the lead. On lap 216, Hornaday was in a heated battled with Sauter and Skinner for second. The No. 33 got a nose under Sauter as he broke loose sending Sauter up the race track and Skinner into the side of Sauter moving Hornaday to second. With only 20 laps remaining, Hornaday did what he could to catch Harvick, but just as it was a year ago, Hornaday ran out of laps setting up another KHI one-two finish.
Harvick went on to win his eighth career Truck Series race and his fourth consecutive win in races that he has entered. It marks KHI’s fourth one-two Truck Series finish. Brian Ickler finished third, followed by Timothy Peters and Johnny Benson.
The Truck Series returns to action next week (April 2nd) at Nashville Superspeedway where Ron Hornaday recorded his fifth consecutive win in 2009.
STATS RECAP
Race Info
March 27, 2010
Martinsville (Va.) Speedway
Race: 3 of 25
Driver: Ron Hornaday
Started: 31st
Finished: 2nd
Truck Series Point Standings: 12th (+16)
Next on the Schedule for the No. 33:
Date: April 2, 2010
Track: Nashville Superspeedway
Event Name: Camping World Truck Series 200
Driver: Ron Hornaday
Broadcast Time: SPEED 8:00 p.m., EST MRN 8:00 p.m., EST