Ron Hornaday
No. 33 Steak-umm Chevrolet Silverado
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race 5 of 25 – Nashville Superspeedway
TAKE-TWO: Ron Hornaday found his way around the 1.333-mile track of Nashville Superspeedway and took the No. 33 Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) Chevrolet to victory lane in August 2009. The four-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion will be heading to Nashville hoping to cross the finish line first for the second time in his career during the 150 lap Bull Hill Vineyards 200 on Friday night.
Hornaday dominated the 154-lap (green-white-checker finish) event during his 2009 Truck Series championship quest. He started the Nashville race in the fourth position and never fell out of the top-five. He had 46 of the fastest laps during the race and lead nearly three-fourths of the race with an average running position of 1.338.
HIP-HIP HOORAY: The Truck Series could not succeed without the continued support from the broadcast channel SPEED. This weekend SPEED will celebrate the 200th truck race broadcast. Since being involved in the Truck Series starting in 2001, KHI attributes much success based on the continual coverage and support from the SPEED organization. Thank you, SPEED for all of your hard work and helping make the Truck Series.
STEAK-UMM HUNGRY FOR THE WIN: After facing the wrath of Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and finishing 28th following a wreck on lap 76, the No. 33 Chevrolet Silverado will once again display the Steak-umm colors as the primary sponsor for the four-time champion. This is the second of three primary races on the No. 33 truck. The “Philly Cheese Steak” brand will return to the track later this season at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway in October where Ron Hornaday will look to defend his win from October 2010.
CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 33 team will utilize chassis No. 045 this weekend at Nashville Superspeedway. Chassis No. 045 is a newly-built chassis at the KHI facility and will make its on track debut this weekend. With a visit to the wind tunnel for advanced testing, the team is confident in its aero package.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Ron Hornaday and the No. 33 Cooked Perfect Chevrolet took to action at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway for the Kroger 250 where the veteran driver was looking to find his way back to victory lane for the first time since capturing the win at the track back in October. The team was able to race with consistency around the 0.526-mile oval and bring home a third-place finish, Hornaday’s 12th top-10 finish in18 races at Martinsville.
THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Ron Hornaday
How do the tires react different on concrete than asphalt?
“Unfortunately the weather in Nashville is always so good. Therefore, getting rubber down on the track is difficult. You only get one set of tires to practice on so you try to save that set. You don’t run as many laps in the first practice as you would in the second.”
What does it take to win at Nashville and what is special to you about it?
“The whole package; It is the team, equipment, sponsors. Everyone driving puts a little more effort into that race because we all want to be able to take the Gibson guitar home. That trophy is one of the nicest ones we get. The fans are really great at Nashville. Walking out to driver introductions, seeing the fans and being able to sign autographs for them. It’s Nashville. Everything might be bigger in Texas, but everything is big in Nashville.”
THOUGHTS FROM THE CREW CHIEF: Jeff Hensley
What is something unique to you about Nashville?
“Nashville is one of those tracks that the Cup drivers don’t have an advantage over us. The Truck Series and the Nationwide Series are exclusive to that track, so with the exclusion of Kyle Busch in the spring last year, you usually have a full-time Truck Series driver in victory lane. That’s exciting for us.”
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 Katey Hawbaker at KHI: khawbaker@kevinharvickinc.com.
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