JOLIET, Ill. (September 18, 2011) — Four-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday drove the No. 33 Anderson’s Maple Syrup Chevrolet Silverado to a 10th-place finish at Chicagoland Speedway on Friday night after qualifying 16th for the Fast Five 225. The Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) team spent the majority of the 150-lap event battling for position inside the top 10 before bringing home Hornaday’s 203rd top-10 finish in the series.
Hornaday quickly picked up three positions within the first two laps of competition despite reporting to his KHI team that the No. 33 was tight as he raced around the track. By the night’s first caution on lap 11 for debris, the driver was up to the 13th spot. The No. 33 team opted to stay on track and as a vehicle in front of Hornaday headed to pit road, the driver moved into the 12th position for the restart on lap 13.
Back under green, the veteran driver fought his way forward. As the race approached the 30-lap mark, the driver reached the top 10 but reported the Anderson’s Maple Syrup Chevrolet was tight as he entered the corners.
Green-flag racing continued and the leaders hit pit road starting on lap 40 for the night’s first round of scheduled pit stops. Hornaday, running in the eighth position, brought his Chevrolet down pit road on lap 43 for four tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment. He returned to the track in the 12th position.
After the field cycled through the green-flag pit stops, the yellow flag waved for a second time on lap 59 for fluid on the track. Hornaday kept the No. 33 machine on track and restarted 11th when the field resumed green-flag racing on lap 65.
The No. 33 Chevrolet quickly powered its way into the top 10 after the restart, reaching the eighth position by lap 66. As the field settled into the green-flag run, Hornaday fought to hold on to a top-10 position. By the halfway mark, he slipped to 11th.
NASCAR waved the third and final yellow flag of the night on lap 83 and as the field slowed, the veteran driver reported that the adjustments made on the previous stop had freed up his Chevrolet too much.
The team used the caution period to bring Hornaday to pit road for four fresh tires, fuel and chassis adjustments to help with the handling issues. The No. 33 pit crew’s quick work gained the team one position on pit road and put the Anderson’s Maple Syrup Chevrolet in the 10th position when racing resumed on lap 87.
Hornaday continued to race around the 1.5-mile track in the 10th position but fell to 11th on lap 123. With the end of the race approaching, the team opted to bring Hornaday down pit road for a final green-flag pit stop on lap 129. The KHI crew added two right-side tires and topped off with fuel before sending the No. 33 back on track in the 12th spot.
With 15 laps to go, Hornaday made his way back inside the top 10. The driver fought to reach the top five but the checkered flag flew with the No. 33 Anderson’s Maple Syrup Chevrolet running in the 10th position.
The Truck Series will return to action at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 24. Watch the action live on SPEED at 3 p.m. ET.
Comments from driver Ron Hornaday:
“We had a decent Anderson’s Maple Syrup truck tonight. We were tight at the beginning of the race and when we made our first stop down pit road, it was a little too much and it made us way too loose. Not a bad night overall. We are still in this championship battle and will be fighting till the end.”
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