ROLLING SNAKE EYES FOR THE FIRST TIME: Ron Hornaday is the winningest driver in the Truck Series with 46 career wins to date. However, in nine attempts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway he has yet to put a tally in the win column. Las Vegas joins Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, Michigan International Raceway, Iowa Speedway, Pocono (Pa.) International Raceway, Chicagoland Speedway and Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway as the only tracks on the current Truck Series schedule in which Hornaday has not recorded a win.
EPIC BATTLES: Although Hornaday has not recorded a win at the 1.5-mile D-shaped oval, he has experienced some epic championship battles on the hallowed grounds of famous sin city. His first ever Truck Series championship was decided at the final race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 1996. Two years later he found himself in the same situation, this time fighting rival Jack Sprague and it came down to the final laps. Sprague won the race, and Hornaday finished second to take the title by a mere three points. To this day, it is still the closest championship title race in Truck Series history.
AUCTIONEER: While in Las Vegas, Hornaday and fellow Truck Series competitor Mike Skinner will make their way to the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino to attend a live taping of Barrett- Jackson. The Barrett-Jackson Auction Company was established in 1971 and is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Barrett-Jackson specializes in providing products and services to classic and collector car owners, astute collectors and automotive enthusiasts around the world.
TO THE LEFT, TO THE LEFT: According to NASCAR’s Loop Data statistics no other driver has made more passes in turns one and two at Las Vegas Motor Speedway than Hornaday. When making his way up through the field, Hornaday’s corners of choice for moving past competitors are the first two, and he has made 50 passes in these two turns over the last five Las Vegas Motor Speedway Truck Series events.
Notes from the Professor: Quotes from Ron Hornaday:
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON GOING TO LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY?
“I have come really close to winning at Vegas and this year we have a really good shot at it. We have run pretty well at the 1.5-mile tracks. I really would like to mark this one off my list, since this will mark my 10th visit to the track.”
WHERE DOES LAS VEGAS RANK AMONG ALL THE TRACKS THE TRUCK SERIES VISITS?
“Las Vegas is a special place. I always say that my favorite race tracks are the ones I win at, but this one ranks up there very close. I have been so fortunate in my racing career. In the mid to late 90’s, Sprague and I had a good battle going. I won the first championship, then he won one, then I won my second. The cool part was every year I won the championship he won the race here in Vegas. I have some really good memories from there.”
CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 33 E-Z-GO team will take chassis No. 047 to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Chassis No. 047 is a brand-new chassis which has not yet seen a lap of competition.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Last weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Hornaday and the No. 33 team recorded a 24th-place finish following a late-race tangle with a lapped truck where Hornaday sustained left-front fender damage. Following the incident, Hornaday and Timothy Peters got together on the race track, sending Hornaday into the outside retaining wall, ending the day for the No. 33 truck.
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 25, 2010
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Smith’s Food & Drug Stores 350
Truck Specs:
Chassis: 047
Engine: Earnhardt-Childress Racing (ECR)
Track Layout:
1.5-mile D-Shaped Oval
Race length: 146 Laps/219 Miles
Banking/Turns: 20-degree turns; 9-degree straight-a-ways
Weekend Schedule
Saturday:
Practice: 12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m., EST
Final Practice: 1:45 p.m. – 3:00 p.m., EST
Qualifying: 6:15 p.m., EST
TV: TheRaceDayRaffleSeries.com 175 can be seen live on SPEED beginning Saturday at 9:00 p.m., EST.
Radio: The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will broadcast the race live at 9:15 p.m., EST.
Ron Hornaday
NASCAR Truck Series Statistics at
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Starts: 9
Wins: 0
Poles: 1 (2008)
Top Five’s: 5
Top 10’s: 7
Laps Led: 129
Average Start: 9.4
Average Finish: 7.7