THIRD QUARTER DRIVER OF THE YEAR: Ron Hornaday will be the first Truck Series driver to ever be awarded the quarterly Driver of the Year award. In its’ 42nd year, the Driver of the Year title is unique and the oldest award of its type. A panel of 20 leading journalists from across the U.S. determine the winner. Hornaday beat out IndyCar’s Ryan Briscoe, NHRA’s Antron Brown and NASCAR Sprint Cup Driver Kyle Busch for this prestigious honor. Hornaday will be awarded a trophy and a Tissot wristwatch for his accomplishment on Saturday, October 31, 2009 at Talladega Superspeedway Media Center at 10:15 a.m.
“This is a very big honor,” said Hornaday. “It’s pretty cool to be the one chosen out of so many candidates. There are a lot of great race car drivers throughout all the series that are eligible for this award. This has been an amazing year in the Truck Series for me and the No. 33 team. I have to thank Kevin and DeLana (Harvick) for always giving me the best equipment and an opportunity to win week in and week out. We are a tight group and we work very hard. I’m honored and cannot thank my team, Kevin and DeLana and all of our sponsors enough. This is really awesome.”
“For Ron Hornaday, a full time Truck Series competitor, to win the Third Quarter Driver of the Year says a lot for what he and his team has accomplished this season,” said Kevin Harvick Inc.(KHI) co-owner Kevin Harvick. “Winning five consecutive races was truly an amazing achievement, as well as being in contention for his fourth series championship, at an age when most guys are considering retirement. He just seems to get better with age, like a fine wine. I think all of these factors combined really put his incredible season into perspective.”
CHASING THE SUPERSPEEDWAY: In three Truck Series attempts at Talladega Superspeedway, Hornaday has yet to tally a victory. Even though he has not recorded a win, he has managed to complete every lap of competition at the 2.5-mile track. In 2008, Hornaday recorded his career best finish of second, behind two-time Talladega winner Todd Bodine.
COPART CHALLENGE OF CHAMPIONS FINALE: Hornaday and Bodine will end their battle to collect points in the Copart Challenge of Champions competition this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. Each driver will be in a Copart sponsored truck during the Mountain Dew 250. Throughout the Challenge of Champions each driver has driven a Copart sponsored truck for a total of four races. When in a Copart truck the driver points earned during that race were applied toward the Copart Challenge of Champions title. Hornaday has driven the No. 33 Copart Chevrolet for a win at the Milwaukee (Wisc.) Mile, finished second at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and then went on to finish sixth at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Thus far in the challenge Hornaday has collected a total of 530 points to grab the lead by 106 points over Bodine. Bodine has also completed three of four races during the Copart Challenge of Champions. Hornaday and Bodine have one last chance, this weekend during the Copart championship finale to see who goes home with the trophy and a $5,000 check to the winning driver’s charity of choice.
“I’m looking forward to see who wins the Copart Challenge of Champions,” said Hornaday. “It’s been a tight race between Todd and me for the Copart Challenge of Champions trophy. It will be fun to have a big group of Copart guests in Talladega and I hope that we can put on a great show. I’m looking forward to try and top our finish from last year and get my first restrictor plate race win. I want to thank Copart for their support this season and their generosity for providing $5,000 to the winner of the challenge’s charity. If I win, my wife Lindy and I have chosen to give the money to the Victory Junction Gang. Kids are a passion of ours. They are the future of our sport and anything that I can do on or off the race track to help raise money for sick children I am more than willing to do. I appreciate all the support and hopefully we can take the No. 33 Copart Chevrolet to victory lane and win the Copart Challenge of Champions.”
Notes from the Professor: Quotes from Ron Hornaday:
WHAT WOULD IT MEAN FOR YOU TO FINALLY BREAK THROUGH AND GET A WIN AT TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY?
“I think finally getting a win at a restrictor-plate track would be pretty cool. I think it would say something about the versatility of our race team. We are a championship caliber group and getting a win at Talladega would help prove that we can not only win at short tracks but also at bigger venues.”
HOW IMPORTANT IS TALLADEGA IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLE?
“Other than Martinsville, this is the race we have had circled on our calendar. This race is all about survival. Once you get through the first 80 laps, then you can go for the win, but up until then, it’s mainly about strategy. We have to make sure we keep ourselves in a comfortable position and do all we can to be right there at the end of the race to battle for the win.”
CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 33 Copart team will take chassis No.026 to Talladega Superspeedway. Chassis No. 026 was last on track at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway for the first race of the 2009 season. Hornaday drove chassis No. 026 to a fifth-place finish to kick off the 2009 season with his career best finish at Daytona International Speedway.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Last week at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, Hornaday and the No. 33 team survived the paperclip-shaped track and finished fourth, the team extended their points lead to 224 markers over Matt Crafton with just four races remaining in the 2009 season.
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 COPART:
Copart, founded in 1982, sells more than 1 million vehicles each year online for insurance companies, banks, finance companies, fleet operators, dealers, the general public and others. Copart’s extensive inventory allows buyers to browse more than 50,000 vehicles each day.
ABOUT KEVIN HARVICK INC.
Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI), established in 2001, is a 70,000 sq. ft. facility located in Kernersville, N.C. KHI houses two full-time Truck Series teams, including the 2007 series champions. The No. 33 team is led by three-time Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday and the No. 4 is comprised of Ricky Carmichael, the most successful motocross racer in American history, and a variety of NASCAR Sprint Cup stars. KHI is also home to the No. 33 Nationwide Series team competing full-time with drivers Kevin Harvick (a two-time Nationwide Series champion), 2008 Daytona 500 champion Ryan Newman and Ron Hornaday. The 2009 season marks KHI’s sixth year of full-time competition in NASCAR’s elite divisions. Visit www.kevinharvickinc.com for more information.
QUICK NOTES
Race Info
October 31, 2009
Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway
Mountain Dew 250
Race length: 94 Laps/ 250.04 Miles
Banking/Turns: 12-degrees turns; 0-degree straight-a-ways
Track layout: 0.526-mile
Shape: Oval
Pre-Race Schedule
Friday:
Final Practice: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., EST
Qualifying: 5:10 p.m., EST
TV: The Mountain Dew 250 can be seen on SPEED at 4:00 p.m., EST
Radio: The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will broadcast live at 4:00 p.m., EST
Truck Specs:
Chassis: 026
Engine: Pro Motors Engineering (PME)
Ron Hornaday
Truck Series Statistics at
Talladega Superspeedway
Starts: 3
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Top Five’s: 1
Top 10’s: 3
Laps Led: 0
Average Start: 12.7
Average Finish: 6.3