TALLADEGA, Ala. (November 1, 2009)—- Ron Hornaday and the No. 33 Copart Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) team survived the rain, but not the storm to finish 17th in the Mountain Dew 250 on Halloween at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. Hornaday overcame a pit-road miscue to run in the top 10 with three laps remaining only to be collected in an on-track incident. Hornaday was able to continue and cross the finish line two laps down to the leaders in the 17th position. Hornaday preserved his points lead by 202 markers over Matt Crafton.
“It’s Talladega,” said Hornaday following the race. “I’m not really sure how we were involved in that wreck. Before I knew what was happening we were in it. I’m really proud of this No. 33 Copart team for never giving up and working to get the truck back out on the track to finish with so few laps left. We will just go to Texas next week and try to get back what we lost.”
Hornaday started the Mountain Dew 250 from the 13th position. When the race began he and KHI teammate Ricky Carmichael worked together to pick up several spots and were running fifth and sixth when the first caution waved on lap six. Hornaday brought the truck to pit road on lap eight for fuel only. On the restart Carmichael remained behind Hornaday aiding in his charge to the front when Carmichael had to jump to the outside to make room for another truck.
Hornaday rode in the bottom groove with leaders Colin Braun, Aric Almirola, and Todd Bodine until the outside line began to make a charge on lap 30. Hornaday tucked up under Bodine pushing him toward the lead. The No. 33 truck lost the cover to the cowl opening which put debris on the track and caused the third caution of the race on lap 38. The team prepared to replace the cover, bringing Hornaday down pit road on lap 39 for four tires. The following lap the team came down for fuel and repairs. Hornaday went to take off from the fuel stop and stalled the truck. The team pushed the No. 33 Copart Chevrolet until it re-fired. Hornaday restarted at the tail end of the field in the 23rd position. On the restart, Hornaday and Bodine, who also had trouble on pit road, became drafting partners as the two made a charge back to the front. By lap 48, Hornaday had already moved up to the 15th position, but the back half of the field continued to jockey for positions jumbling the running position numerous times. Hornaday and Bodine again found one another at the tail end of the field. Bodine pushed Hornaday all the way back up into the top 10 but had to bail out of the draft dropping Hornaday back to 18th. On lap 60, Hornaday radioed the crew that if something didn’t change he was going to loose the draft all together.
A caution on lap 65 brought the leaders back down pit road. The No. 33 team opted for fuel only restarting in the ninth position on lap 70. Crew chief Rick Ren let Hornaday know that there was damage to the grill of the No. 33 truck. The damage would prevent Hornaday from leading a charge; he would have to be a pusher. As the laps wound down, the leaders remained single file. Hornaday rode in the eighth position with James Buscher helping push from behind. With 10 laps remaining in the 94-lap event, the outside line began to move. Hornaday continued to slice and dice with the leaders in the final laps moving into the fourth position on lap 86.
On lap 91, Mike Skinner was touched and spun across the track collecting 10 trucks all spinning down the backstretch. Hornaday was unable to avoid the carnage and sustained major right-front damage. Hornaday brought the truck to pit road for repairs and was able to return to the track on lap 94 one lap down to the leaders. The field restarted the race under a green-white-checkered scenario. Hornaday blew a right-front tire with one lap remaining but was able to finish the event two laps down in the 17th position. Hornaday remains the point’s leader by 202 points over Matt Crafton in the driver point’s battle. DeLana Harvick holds a 100-point advantage over Billy Ballew for the owner’s championship with three races remaining in the 2009 season.
STATS RECAP
Race Info
October 31, 2009
Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway
Race: 22 of 25
Driver: Ron Hornaday
Started: 13th
Finished: 17th
Truck Series Point Standings: 1st (+202)
Race length: 94 Laps/ 250.4 Miles
Track layout: 2.66-mile
Shape: Tri-oval
Number of Race Cautions: 7 for 28 laps
Next on the Schedule for the No. 33:
Date: November 6, 2009
Track: Texas Motor Speedway
Event Name: Winstar World Casino 350
Driver: Ron Hornaday
Sponsor: Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)
Broadcast Time: SPEED 8:30 p.m., EST MRN 8:30 p.m., EST