CHAMPIONSHIP PICTURE: Although the 2010 Truck Series season did not start out how Ron Hornaday and the No. 33 team would have liked, following a third-place finish at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway in April, the team now sits sixth in the Truck Series standings only 178 points behind leader Timothy Peters.
If past championship seasons are an omen of the outcome of the 2010 winner, Hornaday has a good shot at a comeback.
SOLITARY WINNER: Hornaday is the only Truck Series driver to ever win a race at Kansas Speedway from the pole. His first and only victory at the 1.5-mile track came in 2008 when he sat on the pole and won the race. Jack Sprague finished second that day leading to Kevin Harvick Inc.’s (KHI) first one-two Truck Series finish.
RON HORNADAY “DAY”: On April 8th, Hornaday traveled back to his hometown of Palmdale, California to be honored by having not one, but FIVE streets named after him. The five entrances into the Antelope Valley Auto Mall became “Ron Hornaday Way.”
“It’s so cool to come back here,” Hornaday said while receiving his awards from the city. “Words cannot describe what an honor all of this is.”
GOLDEN OLDIES: This weekend’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 will mark the first time in KHI history that the team has had two drivers over 50 years old in its Truck Series entries. Between Ken Schrader (54), driver of the No. 2 Chevrolet Silverado and Hornaday (51), the combined age of KHI’s driver lineup is 105. Together, the two veterans have made 345 Truck Series starts, and have earned 46 wins and four championships.
JARET’S ANGELS: This weekend the No. 33 and No. 2 KHI trucks will run a special decal in honor of Jaret’s Angels.
2010 marks the 10th anniversary of the Jaret’s Angels organization. Jaret’s Angels is a family-and-friend support group for 11-year-old Jaret Arneson, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes (often referred to as juvenile diabletes) at the age of two. All of the donations collected by Jaret’s Angels go directly to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Jaret’s Angels has collected over $100,000 over the last 10 years to support efforts to find a cure for this disease. This year Jaret surpassed the 10,000 shot mark. 10,000 times Jaret has rolled up his sleeve, his pants leg, his shirt offering his arms, his leg, his stomach to a sharp needle and syringe loaded with life-saving insulin.
While KHI is racing at Kansas Speedway with the Jaret’s Angels logo on the trucks, Jaret will planning his annual Walk to Cure Diabetes that will be held in Charlotte, NC on May 1st. Over the years Jaret has done his part to raise awareness for Type 1 diabetes appearing in public service announcements, radio spots, throwing out the first pitch at baseball games, talking with elected representatives and cheering on his favorite NASCAR entities carrying the Jaret’s Angels logo.
Notes from the Professor: Quotes from Ron Hornaday:
WHAT MAKES KANSAS SPEEDWAY UNIQUE?
“Kansas Speedway is a pretty new track for the Truck Series. Turn three at Kansas can be slippery if the sun is out and the track temperature is hot. One of the main things you have to do if you want a good run here is to get through turn three without any trouble.”
A FEW TIMES EACH YEAR THE TRUCK SERIES SHARES THE RACE WEEKEND WITH THE INDY RACING LEAGUE (IRL) HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED DRIVING AN IRL CAR?
“I’ve never really had the desire to drive one. I think they look pretty cool. When I worked for A.J. Foyt’s team on the Cup side I learned a little more about them and how they work, but I prefer for my head to be covered.“
CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 33 Longhorn team will take chassis No. 040 to Kansas Speedway Chassis No. 40 already has a storied career. KHI co-owner Kevin Harvick drove this truck to victory lane at the Truck Series season-finale at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway. Chassis No. 040 last saw on track action at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March with Hornaday behind the wheel. Hornaday experienced a flat tire on lap 24 which resulted in a hard impact with the outside retaining wall, leading to a 34th-place finish. Following the crash, the No. 33 team brought the truck back to the shop where they did a complete overhaul, replacing the front and rear clips as well as the body.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Four weeks ago at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway, Hornaday and the No. 33 team recorded a third-place finish marking their second consecutive top-five finish this season. The run vaulted Hornaday up another six positions in the Truck Series point standings. He is currently sixth, 178 markers behind current points leader Timothy Peters.
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 2, 2010
Kansas Speedway
O’Reilly Auto Parts 250
Race length: 167 Laps/200 Miles
Banking/Turns: 15-degree turns;
10.4-degree front straight-a-way; 5-degree back straight-a-way
Track layout: 1.5-mile
Shape: D-Shaped Oval
Pre-Race Schedule
Saturday:
Practice: 10:00 a.m. – 11:10 a.m., EST
Final Practice: 11:40 a.m. – 12:50 p.m., EST
Qualifying: 4:35 p.m., EST
TV: The O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 can be seen on SPEED beginning Sunday at 1:00 p.m., EST.
Radio: The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will broadcast the race live at 1:00 p.m., EST.
Truck Specs:
Chassis: 040
Engine: Earnhardt-Childress Racing (ECR)
Ron Hornaday
Truck Series Statistics at
Kansas Speedway
Starts: 5
Wins: 1 (2008)
Poles: 2 (2008, 2009)
Top Five’s: 2
Top 10’s: 3
Laps Led: 217
Average Start: 8.4
Average Finish: 8.0