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Ron Hornaday The Milwaukee Mile Preview

06/15/09

TEN STRONG: This weekend when Ron Hornaday takes the green-flag at The Milwaukee Mile from behind the wheel of the No. 33 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet, he will make his 10th career Nationwide Series start at Milwaukee. In nine previous starts at the track in the Nationwide Series, Hornaday has one win, three top-five and five top-10 finishes and has led 119 laps.

As a double duty driver this weekend, Hornaday will also make his 10th Truck Series start at the track Friday night for the No. 33 KHI team. In nine previous Truck Series starts, Hornaday has one win, seven top-five and nine top-10 finishes, has led 199 laps and completed 100 percent of the laps. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RON: Saturday, June 20, will mark Ron Hornaday’s 51st birthday. On his birthday in 1998, Hornday won at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in the Truck Series after starting from the pole and leading 187 of 200 laps, driving for Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI). This Saturday the birthday boy looks to repeat his victorious trip to Bristol in ‘98 and score his fifth win in the Nationwide Series.

TRIPLE ATTACK: During the month of June, the No. 33 car will see four different faces in the driver’s seat for four different races. Cale Gale started the month at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway with a 31st-place finish after being caught up in a mid-race accident and Kelly Bires followed him at Kentucky Speedway where the No. 33 team scored a 10th-place finish after starting the race 42nd due to a wreck during qualifying that forced the team to the back-up. Up next will be Ron Hornaday at The Milwaukee Mile and rounding out the month will be KHI co-owner Kevin Harvick at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. This feat was also accomplished during the month of April when Tony Stewart drove the car to a second-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway, Kelly Bires scored a fourth-place finish at Nashville Superspeedway, Kevin Harvick earned a fifth-place finish at Phoenix International Raceway and Ryan Newman completed the month by winning the pole and securing a second-place finish at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

BEFORE THE RACE: QUOTES WITH DRIVER RON HORNADAY:
Will running the truck race on Friday night help in the Nationwide race on Saturday? “I hope so.  Even though the two series are very different, you mainly want to run the same line at Milwaukee, the bottom.  I really like Milwaukee. It is very similar to the types of tracks I grew up racing on.  It will be fun to work with a new group of guys, I worked with Ernie (Cope, crew chief) last year on the Truck side a little bit, they have had a lot of success this year and I can’t wait to get behind the seat.”

Describe a lap around the track. “Milwaukee is flat, and a lot like Phoenix. Down the front and back straight-a-ways you are pretty much wide open on the gas then hard on the brakes getting into the corners. The turns aren’t as narrow as Martinsville, they are more wide open so it is key to get a good arch to get down into them so you can quickly pick up the throttle and run hard down the straight-a-ways.”

CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 33 Jimmy John’s team will unload chassis No. 041 this weekend at The Milwaukee Mile with driver Ron Hornaday. This chassis was last on track at Dover (Del.) International Raceway where Kevin Harvick started from the fifth position and fought back to finish 13th after a late-race accident. Prior to Dover this chassis was run at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway where Harvick started the race from the 13th position and scored his first career victory in a KHI-owned car and at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway where Harvick started eighth and finished fifth.

PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: For the 14th race of the season on the Nationwide Series circuit, Kelly Bires climbed behind the wheel of the No. 33 Copart Chevrolet at Kentucky Speedway. Marking his second start this season for KHI, Bires looked to improve on his fourth-place finish earlier this year at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway. With a good car in practice and several adjustments, Bires looked to be on his way to a solid night until qualifying for the Meijer 300 got under way. With Bires coming to the green flag to start his qualifying lap, he got too loose in turn four and wrecked the primary car. The team immediately turned to the back-up car and began preparing for the race. Bires started the event 42nd and spent most of the night making adjustments and working his way through the field. Getting as high as fourth during the race, Bires fell a few positions to finish the race solidly in the 10th position. 

ONLINE MEDIA KITS: Media members can now access KHI media kits online at KevinHarvickInc.com. Included on the site are driver bios, driver and team images, KHI history and statistics, team profiles and schedules. Please contact Alicia Deal (adeal@kevinharvickinc.com) at KHI for access to the new site.

QUICK NOTES

June 20, 2009
The Milwaukee (Wisc.) Mile
NorthernTool.com 250

Race length:  250 laps/250 miles
Banking: 9.25-degrees in the turns
            2.5-degrees on the straight-a-ways
Track layout: 1.0 mile
Shape: Oval

Pre-Race Schedule:
Saturday:
First Practice: 10:00 a.m. – 11:15 a.m., ET
Final Practice: 11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., ET
Qualifying: 5:30 p.m., ET

TV: The NorthernTool.com 250 can be seen live on ESPN2 at 7:30 p.m., ET.

Radio: The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will broadcast the race live at 8:00 p.m., ET.

No. 33 Chevrolet Impala Specs:

Chassis: 041
Engine: ECR

About Jimmy John’s:
Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches was founded in 1983 by 19-year-old Jimmy John Liautaud in a converted garage in Charleston, IL. Since its inception, the company has grown to over 825 corporate and franchised locations in more than 37 states throughout the U.S. The company is known for its obsession with fresh, quality products and high-speed execution. For more information, visit www.jimmyjohns.com.

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 Chevrolet Silverado driven by three-time Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday and the No. 4 KHI All-Stars Chevrolet Silverado driven by Ricky Carmichael, J.R. Fitzpatrick and a variety of NASCAR Sprint Cup stars. KHI is also home to the No. 33 Chevrolet Impala competing full-time in the Nationwide Series, with drivers Kevin Harvick (a two-time Nationwide Series champion), 2008 Daytona 500 champion Ryan Newman, Hornaday, Kelly Bires and Cale Gale. The 2009 season marks KHI’s sixth year of full-time competition in NASCAR’s elite divisions. Visit www.kevinharvickinc.com for more information. 


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