ONE OF THE FAVS: When fans ask Ron Hornaday what his favorite track is he always responds “the one’s I win at.” This week he travels to another one of his favorite venues Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway (CMS). In two of his five total starts at the hometown 1.5-mile track, Hornaday has recorded two victories. Ironically, each year he has taken home the hardware from CMS, he has also gone on to hoist the championship trophy at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway.
IN THE LOOP: According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics, thus far in the 2010 season, Hornaday continues to wear his royal crown as the ‘King of Restarts.’ Hornaday reigns over Johnny Sauter as the quickest to take off once the green-flag has been displayed. Hornaday has a 4.167 average ranking among all drivers compared to Sauter’s 7.200 average ranking.
KHI LAP LEADERS: Hornaday’s KHI teammate and team co-owner Kevin Harvick currently leads the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in laps led this season. Harvick has led the way for 267 of the 797 circuits that have been completed. When it comes to this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Hornaday comes in second to Kyle Busch, where Hornaday has led 128 laps at the legendary 1.5-mile quad oval.
ONE OF TWO: Hornaday and Busch are the only two Truck Series drivers who have ever won multiple races at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Hornaday will attempt to pass Busch and become the tracks only three-time winner this weekend.
POLE WINNER: Although Hornaday has never recorded a Truck Series pole award at Charlotte Motor Speedway, he does possess a NASCAR Nationwide Series pole, the only Nationwide Series pole he won during his time in the series. Hornaday grabbed the pole in 2002, driving for Dave Carroll.
ENDING THE STREAK: Hornaday and the No. 33 Longhorn team will attempt to end their 17 race winless drought this weekend.
Notes from the Professor: Quotes from Ron Hornaday:
WHY ARE YOU SO SUCCESSFUL AT CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY?
“I’m not really sure. At KHI we have always had a solid set-up for that track. It was one of those places, kind of like Daytona, that I wanted to get marked off my ‘ I’ve won there’ list. I think I was just so determined to learn the track that once I got the first victory and figured out the place, we have been successful there ever since.”
WHAT IS IT WITH KHI AND NEW CHASSIS’ THAT MAKES THE ORGANIZATION SO LETHAL WHEN YOU RUN A NEW TRUCK?
“I used to only like running older trucks. When we won the championship in 2007, I had one truck that I ran all the time and was very successful with -Chassis No. 014-. The guys called it ‘Old Faithful’ because no matter what was going on, we could count on that truck for a good finish. Once Kevin started selling trucks, it seemed like I got a new one every week there for awhile. KHI just continues to give me the best equipment. Each time they build a new truck they just make it better and faster. We are constantly learning and changing. New, old, battered, bruised, we run them all and hopefully win with them.”
CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 33 Longhorn team will take chassis No. 044 to Charlotte Motor Speedway. Chassis No. 044 is a brand-new chassis that produced excellent wind tunnel numbers when tested recently. In 2009, Hornaday won two out of six races with new chassis.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Last weekend at Dover (Del.) International Speedway, Hornaday and the No. 33 team had a strong top five run going, when a late-race caution waved. On the final restart of the race the No. 33 truck experienced vapor lock, not allowing the truck to pick up the remaining fuel in the cell. Once the truck hit the straight-a-way the truck was able to get fuel and finish the race in the 12th position. Hornaday remains fourth in the Truck Series point standings 125 markers behind new leader Aric Almirola.
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 LONGHORN MOIST SNUFF
The Longhorn brand offers the best value to consumers by delivering a simple combination of premium quality and really great price. Introduced in 2003, Longhorn is a low price leader in the moist snuff category, manufactured in the same fine tradition as some of our other tobacco products including Red Man, Timber Wolf and White Owl. Longhorn moist snuff gives you the taste you demand at the price you want. For more information on Longhorn, visit our website at www.longhornsnuff.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
May 21, 2010
Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway
N.C. Education Lottery 200
Race length: 134 Laps/201 Miles
Banking/Turns: 24-degree turns;
5-degree straight-a-ways
Track layout: 1.5-mile
Shape: Quad-oval
Pre-Race Schedule
Friday:
Practice: 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m., EST
Final Practice: 10:20 p.m. – 11:50 p.m., EST
Qualifying: 3:30 p.m., EST
TV: The N.C. Education Lottery can be seen live on SPEED beginning Friday at 7:30 p.m., EST.
Radio: The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will broadcast the race live at 7:30 p.m., EST.
Truck Specs:
Chassis: 044
Engine: Earnhardt-Childress Racing (ECR)
Ron Hornaday
Truck Series Statistics at
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Starts: 5
Wins: 2 (2007, 2009)
Poles: 0
Top Five’s: 3
Top 10’s: 3
Laps Led: 128
Average Start: 5.2
Average Finish: 8.2