Category: Pre-Race Reports
06/14/10
ROAD-COURSE RALLY: When looking for someone to step into the seat of the No. 33 Longhorn Moist Snuff Chevrolet this week at Road America, Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) co-owners Kevin and DeLana Harvick didn’t need to look far. They turned to their own stable with four-time Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday. Hornaday who will make his first-career start at the 4.048-mile road course as the Nationwide Series makes their inagural stop at the Wisconsin track.
In the Nationwide Series, Hornaday has six starts on road courses among three tracks, Watkins Glen International, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve (Montreal, Canada) and Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez (Mexico City, Mexico). In those six starts, Hornaday has two top-10 finishes and has led 11 laps at Watkins Glen International.
BEFORE THE RACE: QUOTES WITH DRIVER RON HORNADAY:
After recently participating in a driving school at Road America, can you talk about the track and how the recent laps helped prepare you for the inaugural Nationwide Series race at the track? “The Road America track is awesome. I was going down the front straight-a-way and I thought it would never end. I learned so much about the track and I think I have a good grasp for what it is going to take to be fast there. I’m really looking forward to getting in the No. 33 Longhorn Chevrolet this weekend. Ernie [Cope] has a great group of guys on his Nationwide program. They have already won a few races this year and I hope that I can give them a good run this weekend.”
Road America will be your first of two races in the No. 33 car. How do you prepare to make the transition from the truck to the car, and what are the biggest challenges you face making the transition? “There really isn’t that much difference between the trucks and cars. I spent a lot of time at the shop this week making sure I was comfortable in the seat and making sure all the belts were in the right locations. I know the No. 33 team has a great car prepared and I am just glad they gave me the opportunity to race it.”
With this being the inaugural Nationwide Series race at Road America, what would it mean to you to walk away with the win? “Any win is a big win. I always say my favorite tracks are the ones I win at and I would like to add this track to my list of favorites. I know the No. 33 team is trying to stay close to the Owner’s Points lead and I want to help them all I can. When you go to a track for the first time it sort of evens the playing field, so all of the drivers are really in the same spot. I talked with Colin Braun a little bit since he used to road race at Road America. We talked about braking points and things like that. It’s going to be hard to beat some of the “road course ringers,” but I think we have as good of a chance as anyone. The main goal is to be there at the end.”
CHASSIS HISTORY: For the first road course of the 2010 Nationwide Series season, the No. 33 team will unload chassis No. 045 for four-time Truck Series champion Hornaday. This chassis was last on track at Watkins Glen International (August 2009) with team co-owner Kevin Harvick behind the wheel. Harvick broke the track record during qualifying to sit on the pole. After leading 12 laps throughout the race, Harvick finished a solid fourth.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Mike Bliss made his second-career start for KHI in the Nationwide Series most recently at Kentucky Speedway. Starting the race from the sixth position, Bliss ran most of the race in the top eight and looked to be on his way to another solid finish for the team. After leading 13 laps and battling for the lead late in the race, Bliss got loose in turn two and hit the wall, causing damage to the No. 33 KHI machine. Making quick repairs to the car on pit road, Bliss was able to return to the track and salvage a 24th-place finish, two laps down to the leaders.
ARE YOU A FOLLOWER? Twitter users can now keep up-to-date with Kevin Harvick Inc.’s NASCAR Nationwide Series by following @KHI_NNS. In addition, you can follow KHI’s Truck Series teams @KHI_TruckSeries. Want more from KHI? Follow KHI’s co-owners Kevin and DeLana Harvick @KevinHarvick and @DeLanaHarvick.
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 19, 2010
Road America
Bucyrus 200
Race length: 50 laps/200.4 miles
Turns: 14
Track layout: 4.048 miles
Shape: Road Course
Pre-Race Schedule:
Thursday:
Open Practice: 10:00 a.m., ET – 1:00 p.m., ET
Open Practice: 2:30 p.m., ET – 5:00 p.m., ET
Friday:
First Practice: 2:00 p.m., ET – 3:00 p.m., ET
Final Practice: 5:00 p.m., ET – 6:30 p.m., ET
Saturday:
Qualifying: 10:35 a.m., ET
TV: The Bucyrus 200 can be seen live on ESPN2 at 3:00 p.m., ET.
Radio: The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will broadcast the race live at 3:00 p.m., ET.
No. 33 Longhorn Moist Snuff Chevrolet Specs:
Chassis: 045
Engine: Earnhardt-Childress Racing (ECR)
Ron Hornaday
Nationwide Stats at Road America
*This will mark the inaugural NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Road America.
About Longhorn Moist Snuff:
The Longhorn brand offers the best value to consumers by delivering a simple combination of premium quality and really great price. Introduced in 2003, Longhorn is a low price leader in the moist snuff category, manufactured in the same fine tradition as some of our other tobacco products including Red Man, Timber Wolf and White Owl. Longhorn moist snuff gives you the taste you demand at the price you want. For more information on Longhorn, visit our website at www.longhornsnuff.com.
About Kevin Harvick Inc.:
Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI), established in 2001 by Kevin and DeLana Harvick, is an 80,000 sq. ft. facility located in Kernersville, N.C. Home of the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship team, KHI enters 2010 in its seventh full year of competition with two full-time Truck Series teams and one full-time Nationwide Series team. Four-time Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday returns to the helm of the No. 33 Truck team looking for his fifth title and third championship for KHI (2009 and 2007), while Sprint Cup series stars Kevin Harvick and Elliott Sadler guide the No. 2 Truck team. Two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Harvick will again shine as the lead driver of the No. 33 Nationwide Series team as he continues to make his mark in motorsports and establish KHI as one of the top teams in NASCAR competition. For more information about KHI and its teams, please visit www.KevinHarvickInc.com.