IN THE LOOP: According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics, Ron Hornaday and the
No. 33 truck have led more laps than any other Truck Series driver at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) over the last four Truck Series events held at the 1.5-mile track. Hornaday has led 443 laps versus his closest rival Mike Skinner who has led 400 laps.
1.5-MILE MASTER: Hornaday has made 66 starts on 1.5-mile tracks across the country. Out of those 66 starts he currently has nine wins, second to Todd Bodine who has collected 10 wins on 1.5-mile tracks.
“I’m not sure why we are so good on the 1.5-mile tracks,” said Hornaday. “I used to be known for getting around the short tracks, but recently all the guys at Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) have done a lot of research and we have done quite a bit of testing to make ourselves better. I think the Truck Series schedule is very equal with short tracks, 1.5-mile tracks and superspeedways so you have to be good at all of them. Over the last few years our 1.5-mile program has just come a long way and I’ve been the lucky guy who gets to climb behind the wheel of the KHI trucks and make it to victory lane.”
ONE OF THE FEW: Hornaday finds himself amongst an elite group of Truck Series drivers at Texas Motor Speedway. He joins Brendan Gaughan, Todd Bodine, Jack Sprague and Dennis Setzer as multi-time winners at TMS. He and Gaughan are the only two drivers who have ever won back-to-back races at the 1.5-mile venue Gaughan won four races in a row in 2002 and 2003, and Hornaday swept the spring and fall events in 2008.
GOLF ANYONE? During the short, one-week break in the Truck Series schedule, Hornaday joined KHI co-owner Kevin Harvick and other NASCAR stars for the John Paul Linville (DeLana Harvick’s late father) Memorial Golf Tournament at the Oak Hollow Golf Course in High Point, N.C., to raise money for the newly formed Kevin Harvick Foundation.
“I’m not really a good golfer,” laughed Hornaday. “They had a last minute cancellation and asked if I would come join them at the tournament. It is for a really good cause and I’m proud of Kevin and everyone involved for putting on such a great event. We hit a few balls, but we mainly joked and had a great time amongst our team and the other golfers. “
Notes from the Professor: Quotes from Ron Hornaday:
AFTER A STRONG RUN AT CHARLOTTE, WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY?
“I’m really excited to head back to Texas. We have run really well there in the past. I think we have a good set-up and will run well. For me, Texas has always been hit or miss. We had back-to-back wins in 2008, but really I’ve been very hit or miss at Texas. I’m looking forward to a good weekend and hopefully our first win of 2010.”
CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 33 Longhorn team will take chassis No. 040 to Texas Motor Speedway. Chassis No. 040 competed three weeks ago at Dover (Del.) International Speedway where after spending the majority of the rae in the top five, the No. 33 team experienced a vapor lock issue late in the race and were relegated to a 12th-place finish.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Two weeks ago at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, the No. 33 team scored their fourth top-three finish in the last five events, coming home third. Hornaday led 28 laps during the 134-lap event, but his truck became too tight late in the race to make a move on eventual winner Kyle Busch.
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
June 4, 2010
Texas Motor Speedway
WinStar World Casino 400K
Race length: 167 Laps/250.5 Miles
Banking/Turns: 24-degree turns;
5-degree straight-a-ways
Track layout: 1.5-mile
Shape: Quad-oval
Pre-Race Schedule
Thursday:
Practice: 12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m., EST
Final Practice: 1:45 p.m. – 3:00 p.m., EST
Qualifying: 7:00 p.m., EST
TV: The WinStar World Casino 400K can be seen live on SPEED beginning Friday at 8:30 p.m., EST.
Radio: The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will broadcast the race live at 8:30 p.m., EST.
Truck Specs:
Chassis: 040
Engine: Earnhardt-Childress Racing (ECR)
Ron Hornaday
Truck Series Statistics at
Texas Motor Speedway
Starts: 14
Wins: 2 (2008 (spring), 2008 (fall))
Poles: 0
Top Five’s: 5
Top 10’s: 9
Laps Led: 631
Average Start: 8.6
Average Finish: 10.7