JOLIET, Ill. (August 28, 2010)—- Ron Hornaday scored his third consecutive third-place finish Friday night which marked his first top-five finish and career-best run at Chicagoland Speedway. In his one previous visit to the 1.5-mile speedway in 2009, Hornaday finished 11th.
“We overcame a lot this weekend to come out with a solid finish,” said Hornaday after the race. “My crew chief Kevin Buskirk and I keep learning more and more about each other every week and it’s starting to show. We had a really awesome set of tires midway through the race, it was the only time that I could really run with Kyle [Busch]. My guys had two awesome pit stops and really helped me gain a lot of track position on pit road. We made a slight change when we pitted the second time to try and catch the No. 18, but we went the wrong direction. We decided to take two tires at the end to see what it would do. I’m really happy to come home third. It was a great night for the Shopezgo.com Chevrolet.”
Hornaday began the EnjoyIllinois.com 225 from the seventh position and as the race began, the lead trucks became separated by several truck lengths throughout the top 10. Hornaday and his Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) teammate Shelby Howard ran sixth and seventh for the majority of the opening laps. Hornaday radioed to the team that he could not get close to Howard to try and battle for the position. The first caution of the night waved on lap 28, when an internal part in the engine of the No. 2 truck failed, sending Howard to the garage ending his night. On lap 31, the No. 33 team pitted from the fifth position for four tires, fuel and a slight air-pressure adjustment. A solid stop by the pit crew allowed Hornaday to gain three positions on pit road, placing him second for the restart on lap 33.
Hornaday battled Todd Bodine for the second position while leader Kyle Busch pulled away from the field. By lap 39, Hornaday had pulled away from Bodine and began to search for different lines hoping to find that one would allow him to catch Busch. Several laps later, the leaders began to work through heavy lapped traffic. Hornaday was able to get to Busch’s bumper, but was unable to pass the No. 18. The second caution of the night waved on lap 78, just before green-flag pit stops began.
Hornaday brought the No. 33 down pit road for four tires, fuel and a slight air-pressure adjustment. Another solid stop from the No. 33 team placed Hornaday second for the restart on lap 83. Hornaday battled Bodine for the lead and on lap 84, Hornaday made the pass and assumed the top spot. That same lap the caution waved for the No. 4 truck, whose engine had expired. The race restarted on lap 88 with Hornaday leading the way. The four-time champion chose the inside lane for the restart and was unable to hold onto the lead, becoming extremely loose under the No. 30 of Bodine who was on the outside. By lap 100, Hornaday had settled into the third position behind Busch and Bodine and radioed the crew that he was loosing grip in both corners.
When the caution waved again on lap 124, Hornaday brought the No. 33 truck down pit road for two right-side tires and fuel. Hornaday led the field down for the restart on lap 129, doing his best to hold off Bodine and Busch who had four fresh tires. He was unable to maintain the lead as Busch and Bodine slid past the No. 33 truck on lap 131. Hornaday remained in the third position, battling Johnny Sauter when the caution waved for the final time on lap 148, sending the EnjoyIllinois.com 225 into overtime.
Busch and Bodine battled for the win as Hornaday and Sauter fought for third. Hornaday was able to get a good restart and hold off a hard-charging Sauter to take the checkered flag in the third position. Busch won his 20th NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, followed by Bodine, Hornaday, Sauter and Justin Lofton. The run marks Hornaday’s third consecutive third-place finish and his ninth top-five finish of 2010. Hornaday remains fifth in the Truck Series point standings, 328 points behind leader Bodine.
The Truck Series returns to action next weekend at Kentucky Speedway where Hornaday is the defending winner of the Built Ford Tough 225 presented by the Greater Cincinnati Ford Dealers, which can be seen, live on SPEED at 7:30pm, EST.
STATS RECAP
Race Info
August 27, 2010
Chicagoland Speedway
Race: 17 of 25
Driver: Ron Hornaday
Started: 7th
Finished: 3rd
Truck Series Point Standings: 5th, 328
points behind leader Todd Bodine
Next on the Schedule for the No. 33:
Date: September 3, 2010
Track: Kentucky Speedway
Event Name: Built Ford Tough 225
Driver: Ron Hornaday
Broadcast Time: SPEED 7:30 p.m., EST MRN 7:45 p.m., EST