GOING FOR NUMBER THREE: Ron Hornaday will take the No. 33 Kroger/IAMS Chevrolet to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend for the WinStar World Casino 400k with the drive to capture his third victory at the 1.5-mile oval. The four-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion will make his 17th series start in his Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) Chevrolet at “The Great American Speedway.”
TEXAS-SIZED SUCCESS: Hornaday found his way to victory lane at both Truck Series events in 2008 at Texas. Dominating the race in June, Hornaday led 81.4 percent of the race holding an average position of 1.215. The series returned on Halloween where Hornaday spent 139 of the 147-lap event in the top-15 and led 45 laps before grabbing the checkered flag.
KHI & KROGER: KHI and Kroger’s Mid-Atlantic Region continue to build a strong relationship both on and off the track in 2011. Kroger and their vendor partners have combined for five wins and 17 top-10 finishes since the beginning of their relationship in 2009.
CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 33 team will be utilizing chassis No. 046 this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. This chassis was used twice during the 2010 season, at Iowa Speedway in July and Nashville Superspeedway in August. The No. 33 team also took this truck to Dover (Del.) International Speedway earlier this season where the team brought home a ninth-place finish.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: The No. 33 Anderson’s Maple Syrup Chevrolet went into the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 with high hopes of bringing home the victory for the 400th NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event. Unexpected tire failure early in the race took Ron Hornaday out of contention at Kansas Speedway and the team was relegated to a 30th-place finish.
THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Ron Hornaday
What are your thoughts heading into Texas?
“This No. 33 team was here at Texas for the Goodyear tire test two weeks ago and I think the test gave us some different ideas for this weekend’s race. We won’t have to waste time in some of the setups because we know that it is not going to work. I have a great group of guys behind me, and we have ground to make up. Hopefully we can do it here.”
THOUGHTS FROM THE CREW CHIEF: Jeff Hensley
What is the advantage to the tire test at Texas you attended in May?
“Any time you are able to spend time on the track, you are gaining knowledge. We had setups in our playbook that we thought were going to work for our Texas truck. After have the on track time during the tire test, we realized that combination wasn’t going to work.”
“We are at a point now where we can’t afford to stumble. That test saved us time at track because we now know that combination isn’t going to be best for that track. We have really worked hard on our down force program and we are taking on of our best down force pieces in Chassis No. 46. Ron won both races back in 2008, and we’re hoping to do the same this year.”
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 Katey Hawbaker at KHI: khawbaker@kevinharvickinc.com.
ABOUT KROGER MID-ATLANTIC:
Kroger Mid-Atlantic, a division of the The Kroger Co., operates 125 stores and 60 supermarket fuel centers in Virginia, North Carolina, West Virginia and eastern portions of Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. Kroger Mid-Atlantic focuses its charitable efforts on supporting hunger relief, health and wellness initiatives, and local organizations in the communities it serves. For more information about Kroger, please visit www.Kroger.com.