KANSAS CITY, Kan. (May 3, 2010)—- Ron Hornaday must have had a little luck on his side at Kansas Speedway, as the pole sitter endured rain, a fender rub and a nearly race-ending wreck to eventually cross the finish line in second position. The No. 33 Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) Longhorn team worked endlessly to try and become the first back-to-back Truck Series winners at Kansas Speedway, but they fell one position short.
“Wow,” said Hornaday following the race. “What a day! We had an awesome No. 33 Longhorn Chevrolet. There at the end I was chasing Johnny [Sauter] down and we caught him a few times. I was trying to use the lapped trucks to help me get past him, but when the two trucks ahead of us got to racing side-by-side my truck planted the nose and jumped sideways on me. I was thinking ‘Oh no Johnny look out’ as I slid up into him. Fortunately, he hit the wall and straightened us both out. That is definitely a clip for the highlight reels. We had a few issues today with a left-rear fender rub, but our truck was so good we just kept moving up through the field. After Johnny and I got together, I had used up my right-rear tire and we didn’t have anything left for them. We will take second; it’s a good points day for us.”
Hornaday scored his 25th career pole on Saturday, joining Jack Sprague and Mike Skinner as the only three drivers to have recorded that Truck Series milestone. Hornaday made the decision to start from the outside lane, which proved to be the right call as he jumped out in front of the field leading the first seven laps before the first caution flag waved. Hornaday continued to lead through the second caution flag at lap 16. However, when the third caution flag waved on lap 26, the team chose to bring him down pit road for four tires and fuel. The No. 81 truck of David Star chose to take on two tires, grabbing the lead as the race returned to green flag competition on lap 31. Hornaday restarted the race from the second position.
Hornaday quickly moved back to the top spot. Almost immediately after taking the lead, Hornaday came on the radio and told crew chief Doug George that something was going on with the left-rear tire. After further inspection it was determined that the left-rear fender was rubbing on the tire, causing a slight plume of smoke. Under the next caution period Hornaday brought the No. 33 truck down pit road for maintenance on the left-rear fender to pull it away from the tire. Hornaday was forced to restart from the 27th position on lap 39. Immediately, the No. 33 made quick work of the field and by lap 50, Hornaday had already made his way back into the top 10. By the halfway point on lap 84, Hornaday had moved back into the third position. On lap 92, Hornaday came down pit road for a round of scheduled green-flag pit stops. Following the stop, Hornaday radioed the crew that the left-rear fender was rubbing again. Unsure of the cause of the rub, the team became concerned but the tire smoke eventually went away.
With rain looming in the distance every truck showed a sense of urgency and was on a mission to gain as many positions as possible before the storm hit. Hornaday retook the lead on lap 106 and the rain came on lap 111 with Hornaday at the front of the field. A torrential downpour ensued as teams ran for cover. The storm lasted only a few minutes and gave way to clear and sunny skies. The race was delayed for a little over an hour. During the red flag, the No. 33 team gave way to concern about the left-rear fender which continued to rub the tire, making the decision to pit once the race resumed. When the red flag was lifted on lap 115, the No. 33 team came back down pit road. The field followed as everyone made their final pit stop of the day. The No. 33 took on four tires and fuel. The stop was lengthy as work to the left-rear fender continued. Hornaday restarted the race on lap 119 from the 14th position.
By lap 121, Hornaday was scored in the fifth position. By lap 130, he was on the bumper of Johnny Sauter for the lead. Hornaday made several runs at Sauter, but could not clear the pass. Hornaday made his final attempt on lap 145 when he and Sauter got side-by-side. Two lapped trucks in front of the leaders were involved in their own heated side-by-side battle, causing Hornaday’s truck to dance sideways into Sauter. Both trucks ended up in a four-wheel slide with the back end of Sauter’s truck hitting the outside wall and bouncing back into Hornaday, straightening both trucks out on the race track. Both trucks kept pace not losing a single position. After the slide, Hornaday had used up everything his right-rear tire had and was not able to make another run at Sauter for the win. Hornaday finished in the second position followed by Todd Bodine, Brian Ickler and Johnny Benson. Hornaday moved up two positions in the drivers point standings to fourth only 97 markers away from leader Timothy Peters.
The Truck Series returns to action on May 14th at Dover (Del.) International Speedway.
STATS RECAP
Race Info
May 3, 2010
Kansas Speedway
Race: 5 of 25
Driver: Ron Hornaday
Started: 1st
Finished: 2nd
Truck Series Point Standings: 4th (-97)
Next on the Schedule for the No. 33:
Date: May 14, 2010
Track: Dover (Del.) Speedway
Event Name: Dover 200
Driver: Ron Hornaday
Broadcast Time: SPEED 8:00 p.m., EST MRN 5:00 p.m., EST