HORNADAY AT PHOENIX: Hornaday has a lot of experience, and has made a name for himself, in several different divisions over the years at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway (PIR). Hornaday has competed in the NASCAR Southwest Series, West Series, Truck, Busch and Cup Series at PIR. Hornaday made his first start at PIR in 1985 driving a modified in the Copper Classic. Hornaday has made eight NASCAR Busch Series startes and 11 NASCAR Truck Series starts at PIR. In those 11 Truck Series starts, Hornaday has two wins (1998, 1999).
DOUBLE-DUTY WEEKEND FOR HORNADAY: Ron Hornaday will pull “double-duty” this weekend at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway. Hornaday will drive the No. 33 AES HR Solutions Chevrolet Silverado in the NASCAR Truck Series event on Friday night and the No. 33 Outdoor Channel Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS in the NASCAR Busch Series event on Saturday. Hornaday has pulled “double duty” in the two Series five other times this season (Dover, Milwaukee, ORP, Bristol, Texas). Hornaday’s best finish in those four weeks was a third-place effort in the Bristol Busch race.
DID YOU KNOW?: KHI owner and driver Kevin Harvick has one Busch Series win at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway (PIR). In eight starts he also has five top-five finishes. Harvick won the spring race in 2006. Harvick has two Truck Series wins (2002, 2003) driving a KHI truck at PIR. Harvick also has one Nextel victory at PIR, that came in April of this year.
KEVIN HARVICK INC. AT PHOENIX: KHI has a solid record company wide at PIR, claiming three victories in two different series. Owner/Driver Kevin Harvick won his first ever Truck Series race there in 2002 and picked up another win for KHI in 2003. Burney Lamar picked up his first West Series win there in 2005, in his first race as a driver for KHI.
HORNADAY’S SEASON TO DATE: Ron Hornaday has made 12 NASCAR Busch Series starts in 2006. Hornaday has three top-five and four top-10 finishes. Hornaday’s best finish was a third-place effort in August at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. Hornaday also has made all 23 of 25 NASCAR Truck Series starts in 2006. Hornaday has two wins, eight top-five and 12 top-10 finishes in the Truck Series. Hornaday is currently sixth in the Truck Series driver points standings. The No. 33 Outdoor Channel team is currently ninth in the NASCAR Busch Series owner points standings.
KHI QUOTEBOOK
Driver: Ron Hornaday
WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM DOUBLE-DUTY LAST WEEK THAT MIGHT HELP THIS WEEK? “The biggest thing that I learned from last weekend was that extra time working with Wally (Rogers) and the guys was the most important. We had a really good run in the RoadLoans/AES Silverado on Friday and that really helped things for Saturday in the Outdoor Channel Chevrolet. It was nice to get in the Busch car and already have a good setup underneath me and just fine tune the car. Wally and the guys did a great job.”
IS PHOENIX ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE TRACKS? “Phoenix really is a special place for me. Being a racer from the West coast, I’ve got a ton of laps around PIR and sometimes I feel like its my home track. So many great things in my career have happened at that track and I really look forward to going there every year. It’s a great place for KHI as well, with Kevin (Harvick) and (Rick) Carelli having so many great runs there as well.”
Historical Moment: In 1993, after an emotional finish in the final race at Phoenix International Raceway, Hornaday became the first driver to win back-to-back titles in the Southwest Series. During that race, Hornaday suffered a broken arm when a portion of a tailpipe from a competitor’s car went through the windshield near the halfway point. Needing just to finish the race, Hornaday’s car ran out of gas just feet from the finish line, forcing him to push the car across the line by himself. With no fuel for a victory lap, the crew pushed the car around the entire one-mile track to the delight of the fans. The story became legend on the West Coast.
Crew Chief: Wally Rogers
YOU’VE HAD SUCCESS AT PHOENIX, WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT THIS TIME? “We’re bringing what is basically a brand new car to Phoenix. We rebuilt the car from scratch and its probably our best short track car in our fleet. We had a good car there in the spring, we just got caught up in some bad luck. Hornaday probably has more laps around that place than anybody we’re racing against, so that should be a big advantage for us as well.”
HAS DOUBLE-DUTY HELPED YOU RECENTLY? “Getting the extra time to work with Ron (Hornaday) has been the biggest help. It’s a good way to work out the bugs on the first day and then stay a step ahead for the rest of the weekend. By race time on Saturday we already know what to expect and what to do in a variety of situations.”
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
§ KHI crew chief Wally Rogers will load chassis No. 007 onto the transporter for competition at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway. Chassis No. 007 is a rebuilt chassis that has never been be raced with the latest improvements.
§ The NASCAR Busch Series Phoenix.Travel 200 at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway can be seen live on NBC at 3:30 p.m. ET. MRN will carry the live radio broadcast.