Ron Hornaday Jr. and team owner Kevin Harvick celebrate Hornaday's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship and Harvick's Ford 200 win at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The championship is Hornaday's fourth in the series and the second for Kevin Harvick Inc. (Photo Credit: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

“I just can’t believe it,” said Hornaday following the race. “This has been a dream season. To win five races in a row, then win the championship not only for myself but for KHI as a whole is pretty awesome. There are so many people to thank, Longhorn, Veteran of Foreign Wars (VFW), Turtle Wax, Copart for coming on board, Georgia Boot, Rheem, Hungry Man, Miller Welders, Merit Pro, Wiley X, all of our great partners who made this year happen. I can’t think Kevin and DeLana (Harvick) enough for all that they have done. They give me the best equipment to drive hands down. I’m really lucky to be able to be apart of it all. It’s so cool for me to be standing here as the champion and Kevin to be in victory lane. It says a lot about the team work and effort everyone puts into this truck program at KHI. Wow, I just can’t believe it this is awesome.”

Hornaday started the Ford 200 from the fourth position, immediately behind boss Kevin Harvick in the No. 4 Georgia Boot Chevrolet. As the race started Hornaday battled a loose-handling truck and tried to find a line his truck would work well in as he battled Matt Crafton for the fifth position. While Hornaday fought with his truck, his KHI teammate Harvick moved into the lead and began to pull away from the field. The first caution of the race waved on lap 31. The No. 33 team brought the truck to pit road on lap 33 for four tires and an air-pressure adjustment. The team had a problem with the jack on the right side resulting in a slow stop. The following lap the team came back down pit road for fuel and was able to gain back a few positions lost on pit road during the previous stop. On the restart on lap 36 Hornaday was scored in the eighth position.

The air-pressure adjustment helped the No. 33 truck as another caution waved on lap 38; Hornaday had gained two positions on the restart moving him to sixth. Hornaday tried multiple lines on the race track, but as the tires wore, the No. 33 truck continued to turn to the loose side. The third caution waved on lap 59. The No. 33 team brought the truck down pit road for four tires, another air-pressure adjustment and came back the following lap for fuel. Several of the leaders chose different pit strategies taking two tires, fuel only and some stayed on the race track, miring Hornaday back in the 11th position for the restart on lap 63. By lap 72, Hornaday had moved back into the seventh position and Harvick had made his way back to the lead.

On lap 86, Busch cut down a tire and was forced to pit road. Three laps later he was back on pit road for a tire violation. Hornaday continued to struggle with the handling of his truck as it would go from loose to tight and back to loose all around the track. On lap 115, the No. 33 truck came to pit road during a round of scheduled green-flag pit stops for fuel only. The last caution of the race waved on lap 129 forcing the season finale for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series to end with a green-white-checkered finish. The No. 33 was scored in the 10th position at the time of the caution and made the decision to come down pit road for four tires. The tires paid off as Hornaday moved up two positions to take the checkered flag in the eighth position to solidify the 2009 NASCAR Camping World championship for himself and KHI, while Harvick went on to win his second consecutive Truck Series race in as many weeks.

The championship marks Hornaday’s fourth title recording championship wins in 1996, 1998, 2007 and 2009. This is the second championship for Kevin and DeLana Harvick and KHI. Over the course of the 2009 season the No. 33 team recorded six wins, 15 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes. Hornaday also recorded four poles and set a record for consecutive wins with five in a row joining Richard Petty and Bobby Allison as only the third driver to achieve this benchmark.

- Kevin Harvick Inc. Press Release

Ron Hornaday Jr., driver of the No. 33 VFW.org Chevrolet Silverado, celebrates with the series championship trophy after clinching the title with a fourth place finish in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway on November 13, 2009 in Avondale, Arizona.

“I couldn’t think of a better track to clinch the championship, I love Phoenix” said the newly-crowned champion. “This is a compliment to the team. It takes a lot of people to accomplish something like this, all these team guys and everyone back at the shop. But, we aren’t done yet. We still have to get the owner’s title too. Kyle (Busch) is pretty close to us. I can’t say enough for Kevin and DeLana (Harvick) and the whole KHI organization. These trucks are awesome. I don’t know what happened during the pit stop, or how we rallied back, but Rick Ren (crew chief) and the entire team did a great job. It is so much fun to drive for Kevin and DeLana, I just can’t believe it. I just want to thank everyone who has been apart of making this happen this year, VFW, Copart, Longhorn, Turtle Wax, Georgia Boots, Rheem, Hungry-Man, Wiley X, Indian Motorcycles, Miller Welders, Merit Pro everyone. It is unbelievable. This is a lot of fun.”

Hornaday started the Lucas Oil 150 from the third position, immediately behind boss Kevin Harvick in the No. 4 Longhorn Chevrolet. With only eight laps complete, a lap truck began to lay down liquid on the racing surface. Harvick brought out the first caution of the night when he hit the moisture and spun off of turn four to the entrance of pit road sustaining no damage. Hornaday emerged from the smoke unscathed for the restart on lap 13 after NASCAR cleaned the racing groove. Hornaday battled with Aric Almirola and Kyle Busch for the race lead, but settled comfortably in the third position until the second caution of the race on lap 35.

The No. 33 team decided to come to pit road for their first scheduled pit stop of the night. Initially the plan was to take on four tires on the first stop and come back the following lap for fuel. However, with the leaders taking fuel only, the team made a quick change to fuel only. A lap later the team was called back down pit road by NASCAR for a pit-road violation and decided to make the most of the penalty which put them at the tail end of the longest line. On lap 37, the team took on four fresh tires and restarted the race in the 23rd position on lap 38. Hornaday began to work his way back through the field, but it was slow going on the one-mile track. By lap 60, the point’s leader had moved his way back into the top 15, but his truck had become too loose through the center of the corners to be able to get back to the gas when he wanted. As Hornaday battled Todd Bodine for the 15th position and worked his way back toward the front of the field, his KHI teammate Harvick ran in the second position chasing Almirola for the top spot.

The third caution of the evening waved on lap 91 and the No. 33 team took full advantage, giving up the 10th position to bring the truck down pit road for four tires and the following lap for fuel. Two quick stops gained Hornaday three positions on pit road placing him in the seventh position for the restart on lap 96. The “restart king” was able to use his four fresh tires to move back into the top five as Harvick took the lead from Almirola. Hornaday gained one more spot before the checkered flag waved to finish in the fourth position. Harvick held off a hard charging Kyle Busch through four late-race cautions and a green-white-checkered finish recording his second Truck Series victory of 2009 followed by Busch, Almirola, Hornaday and Johnny Sauter.

Hornaday was crowned the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion with one race remaining in the 2009 season next weekend at the Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway. The owner’s championship will be decided next weekend as DeLana Harvick continues to hold a 60-point advantage over Billy Ballew.

- Kevin Harvick Inc. Press Release

No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet Impala SS

“The Rheem team did a great job preparing the No. 33 car for the race,” said Harvick following the event. “We just missed it on pit road today, but good job overall. It had to be one of the wildest races I’ve ever seen at California, but definitely exciting for the fans.”

Looking for his first career Nationwide Series win at Auto Club Speedway, Harvick had one goal on his mind when the green-flag waved and immediately began his march to the front of the field. Starting the race from the 10th position, Harvick moved into the third position on lap 16 and when the caution flag waved on lap 37, pitted from the fourth position for four tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment to help with the handling of the No.33 machine.

Restarting the race on lap 42 in the fifth position, Harvick continued to run in the top five, working his way as high as second on lap 61 before falling back to fourth when the second caution of the day waved on lap 71. Making a routine stop taking on four fresh tires with no adjustments and fuel, Harvick restarted the race on lap 75 in the fifth position.

Slipping back to the ninth position on lap 107, Harvick began to maneuver his way back through the field. Battling for seventh position, Harvick had to take evasive action on lap 141 to avoid the spinning No.18 car of Denny Hamlin (who replaced Kyle Busch under the first caution due to illness).

With another late-race caution, the scheduled 150-lap event was extended to a green-white-checkered finish. Havick restarted the race from the sixth position and following the wild restart and shuffling of positions, was able to cross the finish line in the fourth position.

Joey Logano went on to win his second race in a row, followed by Brian Vickers, Carl Edwards, Harvick and Brad Keselowski.

Next on the Nationwide Series Schedule:

Date: October 16, 2009

Track: Lowe’s Motor Speedway

Event Name: Dollar General 300

Driver: Ryan Newman

Sponsor: Hungry-Man

Broadcast Time: 7:30 p.m., ET on ESPN2 and 7:30 p.m., ET on PRN Radio

- Kevin Harvick Inc. Press Release

JULY 24, 2009

Ron Hornaday Wins at O’Reilly Raceway Park to Become First Driver in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series History to Win Four Consecutive Races; Extends his Lead in the Point Standings to 174 Points

Indianapolis, IN – Ron Hornaday, Jr. made NASCAR Camping World Truck Series history tonight at O’Reilly Raceway Park (ORP) taking his No. 33 VFW.org Silverado to victory lane to become the first driver to win four consecutive races.

It was the three-time NCWTS champion’s third win at ORP and the 44th of his career. He extended his lead in the point standings to 174 points with 13 of 25 races in the 2009 record books as he battles for an unprecedented fourth title.

Dennis Setzer, No. 8 Malcolmson Construction Silverado finished fourth.

Mike Skinner (Toyota), Aric Almirola (Toyota) and Colin Braun (Ford) completed the top-five finishers.

The next event for the NCWTS will be on August 1, 2009 at Nashville Superspeedway.

Ron Hornaday

“I have to thank Kevin and DeLana (Harvick, team owners). People ask me how I do it and it is those two people right there. They just keep putting trucks underneath us, getting the right employees, just so. awesome. Mark Smith and everybody at the motor shop, PME, and especially all these fans. This is so cool to come around and see them put their hands up. This is what makes it so special. I have my wife here, this is so cool.

“We were just really tight on those long runs and I just kept playing with the rear brake and all that stuff. Then (Mike) Skinner put those tires on and I thought he had us. Once I found a groove that worked. I saw Kyle Busch run up and you can get a good run off. If you miss it by a half inch, you are going to get loose up off. I concentrated every time and when Mike got that good run off of there and he could have put me up against the fence, but he didn’t. We haven’t got a mark on this truck. I have to thank Mike for that.

“Colin Braun ran one heck of a race. Man this is what the truck series is all about, this is a lot of fun.”

HOW ABOUT FOUR IN A ROW, HOW DO YOU GUYS DO IT?

“Kevin and DeLana (Harvick). That’s all you can say. Another brand new truck. (Mike) Skinner had tires and I didn’t think I had him. I’ve got to thank VFW and Longhorn, Hungry Man, Vlassic Pickles I get to run them tomorrow that’s going to be fun. I tell you Mark Smith and them guys put on these motors, I’ve really got to thank them and all the guys back at the shop, everyone of these guys right here. Four in a row, that’s cool. Three has been done and to do this says a lot. I tell you Colin Braun I thought he was going to win this thing, he had a better truck and he rolled through the center better. Skinner put tires on and I don’t know how I held him off. I’ve got to thank him for running such a clean race. He definitely had a better truck toward the end. Kevin and DeLana this one is for you guys. This is cool.”

DID YOU KNOW THAT SKINNER WAS COMING AS FAST AS HE WAS?

“Yeah, he put tires on and I said can’t we come in and put tires on with six to eight to go? It’s just an awesome night. I know I’m forgetting everybody, Rick Carelli. Goodyear brought a brand new tire, an awesome tire. This says a lot for the Truck Series. I tell you what I wanted that fourth one so bad.”

I HOPE YOU HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO SAVOR THIS BECAUSE ITS REALLY QUITE AN OCCASION AND THE MOMENTUM YOU’VE PUT TOGETHER WITH THIS TEAM IS SOEMTHING WE HAVEN’T SEEN IN A LONG, LONG TIME.

“Well I’m going to keep taking my hat off to Kevin and DeLana. Everybody back at the track that are working real hard to get these sponsors. I mean there are a lot of them and I know I’m forgetting some of them. Copart and VFW again there’s jsut a lot of them. Just to see how everything is working and Kevin and DeLana working hard to keep everybody together. We’ve got nine trucks that they’ve put bodies on. This just says a lot for KHI. Kevin and DeLana have just really built the program up where its a lot of fun to race and a lot of fun to drive their stuff. When you win four in a row you can’t get tired of nothing.”

DENNIS SETZER, NO. 8 MALCOLMSON CONSTRUCTION SILVERADO, FINISHED 4TH:

“We were just fortunate. Randy Dean (crew chief) and these guys did a good job making adjustments. We were just fair to start with but they just kept plugging along making adjustments and did what we needed to do. We are having fun. It is good to be racing again. This team needs to be in the top-three every week. We just need to get the consistent runs to be up there.

“Randy did a good job making the call on the tires. Man, that is a lot of fun when you have tires and those other guys don’t. I was in that situation early in the race. We stayed out one time and I was sitting duck and kind of rode it out. I just went a lap down and the caution came out. But we rallied back.”

Matt Crafton

“Like I said to the guys I’ve got big shoulders. I made a mistake. We talked about coming down pit road going down the front straightaway and I just followed the leaders right by pit road. My truck was good on the short run. It would go 10 laps and then it would just fall off real bad. I made the mistake. I’ve got big shoulders and I hate it for the team because I made the mistake going by pit road and didn’t get tires. Like I said that happens.”

TALK ABOUT THE FOCUS AS WE GO DOWN THE STRETCH AND YOU CONTINUE IN THIS POINTS BATTLE.

“I’m just going to keep doing what we’re doing. We’ve been so good on our intermediate track stuff. Our short track stuff we went and tested this week and I thought we made some progress. We made our stuff go on the short run but it wasn’t as good on the long run. We’ve just got to work on it more. Hopefully we’ll be able to keep up with the No. 33 except on these short tracks. I think next week when we go to Nashville we’ll be just fine.Our intermediate stuff is pretty good.”

About General Motors:

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