HISTORY MAKER: In 2009, Ron Hornaday came to O’Reilly Raceway Park (ORP) with three consecutive wins and an opportunity to make Truck Series history. When the checkered flag waved Hornaday did in fact make history and became the only Truck Series driver to win four consecutive races. The following week at Nashville Superspeedway he once again made history joining Bobby Allison and Richard Petty as only the third driver in NASCAR history to win five consecutive races.
DOUBLE DUTY: This weekend at ORP, Hornaday will climb behind the wheel of the No. 33 Georgia Boot Chevrolet Silverado on Friday night and on Saturday he will pilot the No. 33 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet Impala for his second Nationwide Series start of the season. In his first Nationwide Series appearance Hornaday finished 12th at Road America in Elk Hart Lake, Wisconsin. Hornaday does have one Nationwide Series win at ORP in 2000, while he was racing full-time for Dale Earnhardt Inc., one of four career Nationwide Series victories Hornaday has recorded.
“Double duty is usually fun, unless you were with me at Milwaukee last year,” said Hornaday with a smile. “The Truck race was cancelled due to rain so I ended up running the Truck and Nationwide race on the same day. I was pretty tired after that experience, but we won the Truck race and finished ninth in the Nationwide Series race. I also ran the Nationwide car here at ORP last year and we ran sixth. I’m looking forward to running both races; it will be a busy but fun weekend.”
THREE TIME: Hornaday is the only three time (1997, 2007 and 2009) Truck Series winner at ORP. He and Morgan Shepard, who is a three-time Nationwide Series winner (1982, 1984 and 1988), are the only three-time winners at the 0.686-mile facility.
Notes from the Professor: Quotes from Ron Hornaday:
WHAT WAS IT LIKE MAKING HISTORY AT ORP LAST YEAR?
“It was really strange. I knew when we won that race that we had done something incredible but the impact of it did not sink in really with any of the No. 33 team members until later. I think we were all riding the victory high. Then it ended after Nashville, but we went on to win the championship so we were content with that. Looking back on it this season I can’t believe we were ever in that position to begin with. The competition is so tough and it is any driver’s race week-in and week-out. Skinner probably should have won that race last year but we pulled it out somehow. I just continue to be reminded how lucky I am to be with such a competitive team.”
WHAT IS THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF RACING AT ORP?
“ORP is a traditional short track. I love racing there because it reminds me a lot of the tracks I grew up racing on. It eats up tires, it gets hot during the day and gains grip at night. It’s just a fun place to race at.”
CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 33 Georgia Boot team will take chassis No.43 to ORP. This chassis ran earlier this season with KHI co-owner Kevin Harvick behind the wheel at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. Harvick dominated the event leading 187 of 250 laps winning his second of three Truck Series events in 2010. The No. 33 team also ran this chassis at Nashville Superspeedway earning a third-place finish.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Last weekend at Gateway (Ill.) International Raceway, Hornaday had a solid top-five run going until a left-front sway bar broke on the No.33 truck on lap 48. The team spent nine laps on pit road working to fix the bar. Hornaday was able to gain a few spots due to track attrition and finished the race in the 26th-position.
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 GEORGIA BOOT:
Since 1937, Georgia Boot has been a manufacturer and marketer of quality work and outdoor footwear. It is a division of Rocky Brands, a publicly traded company on Nasdaq® under the symbol: RCKY. For more information, visit www.georgiaboot.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:
July 23, 2010
O’Reilly Raceway Park
AAA Insurance 200 presented by J.D. Byrider
Truck Specs:
Chassis: 043
Engine: Earnhardt-Childress Racing (ECR)
Track Layout:
0.686-mile oval
Race length: 200 Laps/137.2 Miles
Banking/Turns: 7.5-degree turns; 2-degree straight-a-ways
Weekend Schedule
Friday:
Practice: 11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m., EST
Final Practice: 12:45 p.m. – 2:00 p.m., EST
Qualifying: 5:10 p.m., EST
TV: The AAA Insurance 200 presented by J.D. Byrider 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.
Ron Hornaday
Truck Series Statistics at
O’Reilly Raceway Park
Starts: 10
Wins: 3 (1997, 2007 and 2009)
Poles: 0
Top Five’s: 7
Top 10’s: 7
Laps Led: 376
Average Start: 6.1
Average Finish: 9.1