BACK-TO-BACK: This weekend Ron Hornaday looks to become the first back-to-back Truck Series winner at Kentucky Speedway. Hornaday already holds the title as the only Truck Series driver to have two wins (2006 and 2009) at the 1.5-mile speedway.
FROM THE POLE: Not only is Hornaday the only two-time Truck Series winner at Kentucky Speedway, he is also the only driver to ever win the race from the pole position. Last season Hornaday went on a winning spree, eventually winning five consecutive races throughout the 2009 season. Kentucky Speedway marked his third consecutive win in 2009, previously recording wins at The Milwaukee (Wisc.) Mile and Memphis (Tenn.) Motorsports Park. Hornaday led only 29 laps of the 200-lap event on his way to the win.
NOT THE ONLY WINNER: Hornaday is not the only KHI driver to win a race at Kentucky Speedway. Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) co-owner Kevin Harvick won the inaugural Nationwide Series event at Kentucky Speedway in 2001. Later that season, Harvick went on to claim his first of two Nationwide Series championships (2006 and 2001).
CHAMPIONSHIP IMPLICATION: Out of the 10 Truck Series events held at Kentucky Speedway, the winner has gone on to become the champion five times.
Year Kentucky Race Winner Champion
2000 Greg Biffle Greg Biffle
2001 Scott Riggs Jack Sprague
2002 Mike Bliss Mike Bliss
2003 Carl Edwards Travis Kvapil
2004 Bobby Hamilton Bobby Hamilton
2005 Dennis Setzer Ted Musgrave
2006 Ron Hornaday Todd Bodine
2007 Mike Skinner Ron Hornaday
2008 Johnny Benson Johnny Benson
2009 Ron Hornaday Ron Hornaday
Notes from the Professor: Quotes from Ron Hornaday:
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO WIN AT KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY?
“It takes having a truck that can run on any line on the track. It also takes having the caution flags fall your way and having a team who can make good pit calls. The past few weeks the No. 33 team has really started to gel. My crew chief Kevin Buskirk and I are still learning each other, but we’re learning more each week. We have had solid finishes at the 1.5-mile tracks this year and we are bringing the same truck we ran last week at Chicago, which is a really good piece. I’m looking forward to going back to Kentucky. We had a surprising win there last year, I had never really run too well there, even though I had one win, it had never been a track where I was very successful. Everything went our way last year and I’m hoping for the same result this year.”
CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 33 E-Z-GO team will take chassis No.048 to Kentucky Speedway. Chassis No. 048 last hit the track at Chicagoland Speedway last week where Hornaday earned his third consecutive third-place finish.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Hornaday and the No. 33 team earned their third consecutive third-place finish last weekend at Chicagoland Speedway. Hornaday led a total of nine laps but was unable to hold off Kyle Busch and Todd Bodine for the win. The run marked Hornaday’s ninth top-five finish of 2010.
HOLLYWOOD BOUND: Hollywood Casino and its newly-formed night club, Boogie Nights, will serve as associate sponsors on the No. 2 and No. 33 KHI Chevrolet Silverados at Kentucky Speedway, becoming the Official Hotel of Kevin Harvick. Inc. this weekend. The world-class hotel offers comfort, style, convenience and entertainment, while the casino offers live 24/7 poker, slots, video multi-games and a wide variety of table games such as craps, roulette, mini-baccarat and Caribbean stud. Boogie Nights, which is located inside Hollywood Casino, is a ‘70s and ‘80s dance club open Thursday Friday and Saturday nights. The club cover charge is $10 and many special packages are available offering VIP treatment, bottle service, private booths, drink packages and more. For more information, visit the Hollywood Casino website, www.hollywoodindiana.com, or http://twitter.com/HollywoodIND.
ARE YOU A FOLLOWER? Twitter users can now keep up-to-date with Kevin Harvick Inc.’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams by following at http://twitter.com/KHI_TruckSeries. In addition, you can follow KHI’s Nationwide Series team at http://twitter.com /KHI_NNS. Want more from KHI? Follow KHI’s co-owners Kevin and DeLana Harvick at http://twitter.com/kevinharvick and http://twitter.com/delanaharvick.
MEDIA ACCESS: Members of the media can now log on to www.kevinharvickinc.com to gain access to press kit information online. For more information, please email Jessica Stroupe at KHI: jstroupe@kevinharvickinc.com.
About E-Z-GO
E-Z-GO, a Textron Inc. company, is a leading manufacturer of golf cars, utility and personal transportation vehicles. Products sold under the E-Z-GO brand include RXV® and TXT® fleet golf cars, Freedom® RXV and Freedom TXT personal golf cars, ST personal utility vehicles, Shuttle personnel carriers, and MPT turf-maintenance vehicles. E-Z-GO also produces the Cushman® line of heavy-duty material carriers.
E-Z-GO is the preferred golf car fleet provider for many of the world’s most revered golf courses, clubs and resorts. E-Z-GO is also the golf car of choice of nine of the nation’s ten largest course-management companies. E-Z-GO boasts the largest sales and service network in the industry, with more factory branch locations and independent distributors than any other manufacturer of golf cars and utility vehicles.
Founded in 1954 in Augusta, Ga., E-Z-GO became part of Textron Inc. in 1960.
About Textron
Textron Inc. is a multi-industry company that leverages its global network of aircraft, defense, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron in known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell Helicopter, Cessna Aircraft Company, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, Greenlee, and Textron Systems. More information is available at www.textron.com.
About Kevin Harvick Inc.
Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI), established in 2001 by Kevin and DeLana Harvick, is an 80,000 sq. ft. facility located in Kernersville, N.C. Home of the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship team, KHI enters 2010 in its seventh full year of competition with two full-time Truck Series teams and one full-time Nationwide Series team. Four-time Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday returns to the helm of the No. 33 Truck team looking for his fifth title and third championship for KHI (2009 and 2007), while Sprint Cup series stars Kevin Harvick and Elliott Sadler guide the No. 2 Truck team. Two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Harvick will again shine as the lead driver of the No. 33 Nationwide Series team as he continues to make his mark in motorsports and establish KHI as one of the top teams in NASCAR competition. For more information about KHI and its teams, please visit www.KevinHarvickInc.com.
QUICK NOTES
Race Info:
September 3, 2010
Kentucky Speedway
Built Ford Tough 225 presented by the Greater Cincinnati Ford Dealers
Truck Specs:
Chassis: 048
Engine: Earnhardt-Childress Racing (ECR)
Track Layout:
1.5-mile D-shaped oval
Race length: 150 Laps/225 Miles
Banking/Turns: 14-degree turns; 8-degree front straight-a-way; 4-degree back straight-a-way
Weekend Schedule
Thursday:
Practice: 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m., EST
Final Practice: 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., EST
Friday:
Qualifying: 4:05 p.m., EST
TV: The Built Ford Tough 225 can be seen live on SPEED beginning Saturday at 7:30 p.m., EST.
Radio: The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will broadcast the race live at 7:45 p.m., EST.
Ron Hornaday
NASCAR Truck Series Statistics at
Kentucky Speedway
Starts: 5
Wins: 2 (2006, 2009)
Poles: 1 (2009)
Top Five’s: 2
Top 10’s: 4
Laps Led: 76
Average Start: 11.8
Average Finish: 7.2