Richmond: Ron Hornaday NASCAR Busch Preview

May 4

HORNADAY BACK ON TRACK: After racing in the NASCAR Truck Series last Saturday night at Gateway (Ill.) International Raceway, Ron Hornaday will return behind the wheel of the No. 33 Outdoor Channel Chevrolet for NASCAR Busch Series action this Friday night under the lights at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway (RIR). The start will be Hornaday’s fourth of the 2006 season. His best finish this season was seventh at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in April. Hornaday has eight career Busch Series starts at RIR, the most recent coming in September 2004.

TESTING? TESTING?: KHI and driver Burney Lamar tested RIR the last week of March during the NASCAR Busch Series test session. KHI took two cars to RIR for Lamar to test. The team worked diligently during the two day test session. They tried a variety of setups and gained valuable information leading into this weekend’s event at RIR. Lamar’s teammate, Ron Hornaday, will benefit from the test that Lamar completed and both will look to race at the front of the field in Richmond.

LOOKING AHEAD: The next four races in the No. 33 will see Hornaday and Tony Stewart swapping seat time. Hornaday is scheduled to compete this weekend at RIR, then take two weeks off while Stewart competes at Darlington and Lowe’s, before Hornaday returns behind the wheel at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. Thrown in the mix is a well-deserved off weekend for Busch Series teams, while the Truck and Cup Series’ compete at Lowe’s Motor Speedway the weekend of May 19-20.

DID YOU KNOW?: Ron Hornaday has eight career Busch Series starts at RIR. His best finish was seventh in 2003 while driving for RCR. Hornaday has competed for four different team owners in those eight starts. This weekend will mark the fifth different owner in nine starts. Hornaday has 161 career Busch Series starts, with his first coming in 1998 at Nazareth (Pa.) Speedway.

KEVIN HARVICK INC. HOLDING STRONG IN POINT STANDINGS: Although four different drivers have been behind the wheel of the No. 33 this season, the Wally Rogers-led crew sits 10th in the Owner’s standings, just 481 points behind the top spot. Burney Lamar, driver of the No. 77 KHI Dollar General Chevrolet, leads the Rookie-of-the-Year standings, and sits 11th in the driver points, one point out of the top-10.

KEVIN HARVICK INC. TEAMS UP WITH CYSTIC FIBROSIS FOUNDATION: Ron Hornaday’s Silverado will carry the Cystic Fibrosis banner in the NASCAR Truck Series event at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on May 19. KHI has partnered with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to raise awareness and funds to support vital research and care programs. The companies have joined forces to sponsor “Fast Lane to a Cure,” a dinner to be held on May 16 featuring silent and live auctions, entertainment and a guest speaker. Three drivers from the KHI family will be in attendance at the event, including Burney Lamar, Ron Hornaday and Kevin Harvick. The dinner will benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

KHI QUOTEBOOK
Driver: Ron Hornaday

MOST WOULD CONSIDER YOU A SHORT-TRACK ACE, WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT RIR? “Richmond really is the “perfect” short-track. There’s everything you want in a race track and you can race side-by-side all night long. Most of us came from racing local short-tracks, and most of us really enjoy racing under the lights at a short-track.”

HOW WILL BURNEY LAMAR’S TEST AT RIR HELP YOU THIS WEEKEND? “The Dollar General team was able to log a ton of laps and get a good idea of how the tires will wear and how the adjustments will affect the car. I’m sure Wally (Rogers) and the guys will give me a great Outdoor Channel Chevrolet to drive this weekend.”

Crew Chief: Wally Rogers

YOU’VE HAD A FEW TOUGH WEEKENDS AT THE TRACK LATELY, WHAT’S YOUR OUTLOOK FOR RIR? “Just finish. We’ve had our spell of bad luck, but we’ve still got our heads up and we know that Richmond is a new week and (Ron) Hornaday will give us 110 percent.”

YOU WERE THE CREW CHIEF FOR STEWART AT RIR IN THE FALL LAST YEAR, WHAT DID YOU LEARN TO HELP THIS TIME AROUND WITH HORNADAY? “It was good to work on the Busch car there, but more importantly I worked with (Ron) Hornaday in the truck race at Richmond. I’ve got a good idea of what Hornaday will be looking for in the car this weekend, so hopefully we’ll unload with a fast race car and go from there.”

TECHNICAL INFORMATION
§ KHI crew chief Wally Rogers will load chassis No. 017 onto the transporter for competition at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. Chassis No. 017 was last raced at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway. Tony Stewart drove chassis No. 017 to a 12th-place finish.

§ The NASCAR Busch Series Circuit City 250 presented by FUNAI at Richmond International Raceway can be seen live on FX at 7:30 p.m. ET. MRN will carry the live radio broadcast.

Greg Engle, the Editor of the Cup Scene Daily is seeking employment within the motorsports journalism industry. If you are interested, please contact him at:
greg@cupscene.com

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