REDEMPTION: Eight months ago Ron Hornaday and the No. 33 team led the most laps (55) at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) only to lose an oil pump belt with eight laps remaining in the race. Hornaday had hoped to win three in a row at TMS as he swept both races in 2008, but now the No. 33 team returns to the 1.5-mile track looking for victory lane as well as pad to their championship point’s lead.
LAP LEADER: According to NASCAR’s loop data statistics over the last nine Truck Series events at Texas Motor Speedway, Hornaday has led the most laps (407) of any other driver.
In 2009, Hornaday has won the WIX Lap Leader award an impressive 14 times. He has led the most laps in 7 of the 22 races this season at Texas Motor Speedway, The Milwaukee (Wisc.) Mile, Memphis (Tenn.) Motorsports Park, O’Reilly Raceway Park, Nashville Superspeedway, Gateway (Ill.) International Raceway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Hornaday has led a total of 1,055 laps in 2009.
TWO BATTLES: Not only is Hornaday racing for the driver’s championship, owner of the No. 33 truck DeLana Harvick is also racing for the owner’s title. Hornaday currently holds a 202 point lead over Matt Crafton in the driver’s battle. On the other side Harvick leads Billy Ballew, owner of the Kyle Busch driven No. 51 truck by 100 points going into the final three races.
Notes from the Professor: Quotes from Ron Hornaday:
HOW MUCH CONFIDENCE DO YOU HAVE GOING INTO TEXAS?
“Texas has become a really good place for us over the last few years. I used to really struggle at Texas, but Rick Ren (crew chief) and the No. 33 guys have really gotten a good set up for the track. I’m excited to go back and try to get the finish we left there in the spring.”
CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 33 Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) team will take chassis No.024 to Texas this weekend. The last time this chassis was on track was at Texas Motor Speedway in the spring. Chassis No. 024 has been to victory lane once in 2009 at Lowe’s (N.C.) Motor Speedway in May.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Last week at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway Hornaday and the No. 33 team rode in the top 10 with three laps remaining only to be collected in an on-track incident among the leaders. The No. 33 sustained heavy right-front damage, but the team was able to repair the truck enough for Hornaday to finish the race two laps down to the leaders in the 17th position.
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 VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS (VFW):
Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United State) is a non-profit organization dedicated to honoring the sacrifice and ensuring the rights of America’s veterans through advocacy, support and community service, while promoting patriotism. The VFW offers a wide array of services to support veterans and their families throughout their military career, from active duty to honorably discharged. For more information, visit: www.vfw.org or call (816) 756-3390.
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
November 6, 2009
Texas Motor Speedway
Winstar World Casino 350
Race length: 147 Laps/ 220.5 Miles
Banking/Turns: 24-degrees turns; 5-degree straight-a-ways
Track layout: 1.5-mile
Shape: Quad-oval
Pre-Race Schedule
Thursday:
Practice: 1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m., EST
Final Practice: 3:15 p.m. – 4:30 p.m., EST
Qualifying: 8:00 p.m., EST
TV: The Winstar World Casino 350 can be seen on SPEED Friday at 8:30 p.m., EST
Radio: The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will broadcast live at 8:30 p.m., EST
Truck Specs:
Chassis: 024
Engine: Pro Motors Engineering (PME)
Ron Hornaday
Truck Series Statistics at
Texas Motor Speedway
Starts: 13
Wins: 2 (2008 back-to-back)
Poles: 0
Top Five’s: 4
Top 10’s: 8
Laps Led: 595
Average Start: 8.9
Average Finish: 11.3