Ron Hornaday Brings Home Second-Place Finish at Martinsville Speedway
Gains One Position in the Championship Point Standings with Two Races Remaining in the Season
MARTINSVILLE, Va. (Oct. 30, 2011) — Four-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday brought the No. 33 Steak-umm Steaks/Chastity Baker Chevrolet Silverado to a second-place finish on Saturday afternoon at Martinsville Speedway. Hornaday started the Kroger 200 in the second position and was able to stay among the top five for the majority of the 200-lap event before capturing his 13th top-five finish of the season.
When the green flag waved at the 0.526-mile oval, Hornaday raced in the second spot for the first 11 laps before taking the lead on lap 12. Just as the veteran driver settled into the lead, he was caught on lap 13 and shuffled out of the top spot.
Hornaday reported to crew chief Bruce Cook that he was a little free in the middle as he fell back to fourth on lap 17. The field was slowed for the first caution of the day on lap 37 when a truck made contact with the wall in turn two. Cook brought the No. 33 Steak-umm Chevrolet down pit road for four tires, fuel and chassis and air-pressure adjustments. Hornaday returned to the track for the lap 42 restart in the sixth position.
By the time the field made a full lap back under green, Hornaday picked up four positions and muscled his way to second. On lap 48, the driver regained the lead.
The second caution of the event fell on lap 50 for an accident in turn two. The KHI team opted to remain on track and took the field back to green-flag racing on lap 57. Hornaday relayed to Cook that his Chevrolet was fighting tight conditions as he slipped to the second position on lap 77. The yellow flag waved for a third time on lap 87 for an accident in turn four involving the No. 97 truck. The No. 33 team opted not to pit to maintain track position and took the lap 92 restart from second.
Hornaday continued to race around the Virginia short track in the second position for the next 13 laps before an accident in turn two brought out the fourth caution on lap 105. Cook once again instructed his driver to remain on track during the caution leaving the No. 33 Chevrolet in the second position. When the field resumed green-flag conditions on lap 109, Hornaday was quickly passed by the No. 13 truck who had a fresh set of Goodyear tires and settled into the third spot when the caution flag was brought out on lap 115 for debris.
After a brief caution, the field went back racing on lap 119 with Hornaday in third. Back under green, the driver radioed to his KHI crew that his truck was beginning to get a little free as he fought to maintain his position. Cook encouraged the veteran driver to hold onto the truck until they could bring him to pit road for adjustments.
The sixth caution of the day waved on lap 132 and provided the No. 33 team the opportunity to bring Hornaday to pit road for adjustments. On the stop, the crew bolted on four fresh tires, added fuel and made an air-pressure adjustment in an effort to alleviate the handling issues. Many of the leaders remained out on track during the caution which placed Hornaday in the 15th position for the restart on lap 137.
The driver patiently worked his way forward after the restart reaching the eighth position by the time an accident erupted on the backstretch on lap 147 to bring out to the seventh caution of the day. The No. 33 remained on track and maintained the eighth position for the restart on lap 151.
Hornaday patiently worked his way toward the front of the field and moved into the second position by the eighth caution of the race on lap 174 for an accident in turn two. The team elected to remain on track during the caution period and took the restart from the second position with 22 laps to go to the end of the race.
Quickly following the restart, Hornaday charged to the lead but was shuffled out of the top spot by the time the yellow flag waved for the final time on lap 181 for an accident in turn four. With no need to make a pit stop, the No. 33 Steak-umm Steaks/Chastity Baker Chevrolet stayed on track in the second position taking the green flag for the final time with 14 laps remaining in the race. Hornaday held on to second in the final laps around the track to bring home his 17th top-10 finish thus far this season. The runner-up finish also moves Hornaday up one position in the Driver’s Point standings, 15 points out of the lead with only two races remaining in the 2011 season.
The Truck Series returns to Texas Motor Speedway on Friday, November 4. Watch the action live on SPEED at 8 p.m. ET.
Comments from driver Ron Hornaday:
“We had a great day. Bruce Cook and the guys did a great job on this No. 33 Steak-umm Steaks Chevrolet. We got a great qualifying position which allowed us to stay up front for the majority of the race. Bruce made some great calls on pit road, taking four tires over two and we were able to make a charge back to the front with the fresher tires. That was a pretty cool day.”
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