Ron
Hornaday
No. 33 VFW Chevy Silverado
Kroger 250 Post-Race Report
MARTINSVILLE,
Va. (March 31, 2008) – Ron Hornaday overcame adversity while
running in the 26th position late in the race to gain 18 spots
and bring the No. 33 VFW Chevrolet Silverado home with an
eighth-place finish in the Kroger 250 at Martinsville (Va.)
Speedway on Saturday, March 29, 2008. His eighth-place was the
third consecutive top-10 finish for Hornaday in the 2008 NASCAR
Truck Series season, and he remains in third place in the point
standings.
“My hat is off to this No. 33 team and Rick Ren,” Hornaday said
following the race. “We had to come in and pit that time (to
make the duct repair) and it put us toward the back of the
field, but those guys didn’t quit and we were able to get a
top-10 finish.”
After starting the race from the third position, behind
pole-sitter and Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) teammate Jack Sprague,
Hornaday quickly took the second-place spot away from Denny
Hamlin as the field drove into turn one on the first lap. From
there, Hornaday continued to chase down Sprague until he took
the lead away from him on lap five. Sprague regained the lead
again on lap six before Hornaday regained the lead on lap 30.
NASCAR officials informed the No. 33 VFW team they had to pit
because part of the rear bumper bar was dragging the track after
contact from another truck. Luckily, a caution came out on lap
80 and crew chief Rick Ren called Hornaday down pit road to take
four tires, fuel and make repairs to the rear bumper. Hornaday
caught a break and remained on the lead lap by coming in under
caution and restarted the race from the 12th position on lap 91.
The sixth caution came out on lap 129 and Ren called Hornaday
down pit road for a scheduled pit stop to take four tires, fuel
and a chassis adjustment.
Just as Hornaday began to gain ground on the lead trucks,
another caution came out on lap 137 and NASCAR again forced the
No. 33 to come in to the pits to repair damaged air ducts on the
nose of the truck. Crew members went to work and quickly made
repairs and Hornaday restarted on lap 147 running in the 26th
position.
In the final 100 laps, Hornaday fought hard to gain positions
and dodge accidents to earn his way back into the top 10. On the
final lap, he was running in the 10th position and was able to
gain two spots when the trucks of Kyle Busch and Johnny Benson
spun in turn four to cross the finish line in the eighth
position.
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