No. 33 VFW Chevrolet Silverado

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY: Last year in the Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR), Ron Hornaday and the No. 33 team were involved in a lap one incident, but were able to rebound and finish the race in the 25th position to salvage a three point deficit to Johnny Benson going into the final race at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway. Hornaday looks at the race at PIR as a turning point in last year’s season.

“When you look back and think of why we didn’t win the championship in 2008, a lot of people point to Homestead,” said Hornaday. “I look at the season as a whole, running out of gas at Martinsville, getting taken out in Mansfield, and then wrecking on lap one in Phoenix. Even though this year our circumstances are different, we can’t look only at Homestead for the final call as to why we will or will not win the championship. Titles are won during a season, not in one race. I would really like to have last year’s Phoenix race to do over, but we don’t and now we are in a similar situation this year with just a different point margin. This year maybe I can keep the truck going in the right direction for more than a lap.”

LUCKY NUMBER 22: In order to wrap up the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver’s championship, Hornaday has to finish 22nd or better in the final two races at PIR and Homestead-Miami Speedway.

ON THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW: According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics Hornaday leads all Truck Series driver’s at PIR in making passes down the straight-a-ways. In the last four races at PIR Hornaday has made 22 quality passes down the short straight-a-ways.

Notes from the Professor: Quotes from Ron Hornaday:

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS HEADING TO PHOENIX?

“I have been pretty successful at Phoenix International Raceway over the years. I have had a lot of great races there and have two wins there in 1998 and 1999. It’s a flat race track for the most part. It has a little more banking in turns one and two than in turns three and four. We have been really good this year on the flatter, shorter tracks. Phoenix is a place that I have been running for a number of years and I really like going back to one of the roots of the Truck Series.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT GOING INTO PHOENIX WITH A 197 POINT ADVANTAGE IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLE?

“To me right now we are just focused on two more races. I don’t look at the championship until Homestead. The No. 33 team is not only racing for the driver’s championship, we want to make sure Kevin and DeLana win the owner’s championship as well. I don’t go into it looking at how many points we are ahead. I know that we just need to win the last two races. That’s what I want to go do and then the points will take care of themselves.”

CHASSIS HISTORY:

The No. 33 Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) team will take chassis No.037 to Phoenix International Raceway this weekend. Chassis No. 037 was last on track at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Hornaday drove the then new chassis to a second-place finish.

PREVIOUS RACE RECAP:

Last week at Texas Motor Speedway, Hornaday and the No. 33 team recorded their 10th top-three finish of the 2009 season. Hornaday battled leaders Kyle Busch and Matt Crafton for the win but his truck became too loose in the closing laps to challenge for the win.

ABOUT VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS (VFW):

Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United State) is a non-profit organization dedicated to honoring the sacrifice and ensuring the rights of America’s veterans through advocacy, support and community service, while promoting patriotism. The VFW offers a wide array of services to support veterans and their families throughout their military career, from active duty to honorably discharged. For more information, visit: www.vfw.org or call (816) 756-3390.

ABOUT KEVIN HARVICK INC.

Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI), established in 2001, is a 70,000 sq. ft. facility located in Kernersville, N.C. KHI houses two full-time Truck Series teams, including the 2007 series champions. The No. 33 team is led by three-time Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday and the No. 4 is comprised of Ricky Carmichael, the most successful motocross racer in American history, and a variety of NASCAR Sprint Cup stars. KHI is also home to the No. 33 Nationwide Series team competing full-time with drivers Kevin Harvick (a two-time Nationwide Series champion), 2008 Daytona 500 champion Ryan Newman and Ron Hornaday. The 2009 season marks KHI’s sixth year of full-time competition in NASCAR’s elite divisions. Visit www.kevinharvickinc.com for more information.

Kevin Harvick Inc. Logo

ONE OF THE FEW: Ron Hornaday heads to Martinsville (Va.) Speedway this weekend with a mission to check the 0.526-mile track off the list. There are currently eight tracks on the Truck Series schedule where the veteran has yet to tally a win and Martinsville Speedway tops that list. In 14 starts (the most of any track on the circuit) Hornaday has yet to visit victory lane and collect the famous Grandfather clock trophy. Earlier this season, Hornaday came ever so close finishing second to “the boss” Kevin Harvick.

“Martinsville is a place that I really would like to get a win at,” Hornaday said. “I’ve said it a lot this year but I’m after trophies. My wife will spend the money but when racing is over for me those are the things that I can show my grandkids. Martinsville is definitely a place that’s on my radar. I’m excited to get back to racing after this break and finish out what has been a dream season.”

THE ONES TO BEAT: Over the last nine races at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, the trucks coming out of the Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) stables have been the ones to beat. In 2008, KHI swept the pole positions with Jack Sprague and the No. 2 truck team setting a new track record in the spring followed by Hornaday and the No. 33 team winning the pole for the fall race.

KHI co-owner Kevin Harvick leads NASCAR’s loop data statistics for average running position (6.0), average finish (8.0), percentage of laps spent in the top 15 (93.1) and driver rating of 112.0 out of 150 possible points earned. Hornaday is not far behind. He is the driver that has spent the most laps in the top 15 (1,737) as well as gaining the most points (1,271).

KEVIN HARVICK FAN CLUB GATHERING: Following the Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway, KHI will host the seventh annual Kevin Harvick Fan Club Gathering. The event runs from 5p.m. to 9p.m. at the KHI facility in Kernersville N.C. The event is open to the public, admission is free. This year’s gathering will feature a classic car and specialty vehicle show, the Rheem Extreme Cake Challenge as well as autograph sessions with Ron Hornaday, Ricky Carmichael and DeLana Harvick for selected Fan Club member and attendees. Kevin Harvick will sign autographs for Fan Club members only.

Notes from the Professor: Quotes from Ron Hornaday:

WHAT WOULD IT MEAN FOR YOU TO FINALLY BREAK THROUGH AND GET A WIN AT MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY?

“I’ve been coming here for awhile now and for some reason we just can’t seem to break through and get the checkers. It would mean a lot to me to win at Martinsville. It is one of the tracks that we’ve been coming to since the Truck Series started and to finally add my name to the list of legends who have won there would mean a lot to me.”

AS YOU BEGIN THE FINAL FIVE RACE STREATCH TO THE END OF THE TRUCK SERIES SEASON, HOW IMPORTANT IS SURVIVIING MARTINSVILLE?

“Martinsville has been one of those tracks we have circled on our calendar. Martinsville and Talladega are the two tracks that are very important to just get out of there with a good finish. We have been very fortunate that we have had really good trucks at Martinsville the past few times we have gone there, but it’s more important now than ever to keep all four fenders off the tires and race as clean as we can to get a good finish.”

CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 33 Veteran of Foreign Wars (VFW) team will take chassis No.033 to Martinsville Speedway. Chassis No. 033 was last on track at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway (BMS) where Hornaday’s five race win steak came to a close, but he was able to record a third-place finish, his best finish at BMS since 1999.

PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Four weeks ago at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Hornaday and the No. 33 team recorded their 16th top-10 finish of 2009 with a sixth-place finish at the 1.5-mile track. Hornaday led 34 laps, but took on four tires late in the race while some of the other leaders took on two tires or stayed out. Johnny Sauter went on to win his first career Truck Series race. Hornaday remains the point’s leader by 197 markers over Matt Crafton with five races remaining in the 2009 season.

ABOUT VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS (VFW):

Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United State) is a non-profit organization dedicated to honoring the sacrifice and ensuring the rights of America’s veterans through advocacy, support and community service, while promoting patriotism. The VFW offers a wide array of services to support veterans and their families throughout their military career, from active duty to honorably discharged. For more information, visit: www.vfw.org or call (816) 756-3390.

About Kevin Harvick Inc.

Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI), established in 2001, is a 70,000 sq. ft. facility located in Kernersville, N.C. KHI houses two full-time Truck Series teams, including the 2007 series champions. The No. 33 team is led by three-time Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday and the No. 4 is comprised of Ricky Carmichael, the most successful motocross racer in American history, and a variety of NASCAR Sprint Cup stars. KHI is also home to the No. 33 Nationwide Series team competing full-time with drivers Kevin Harvick (a two-time Nationwide Series champion), 2008 Daytona 500 champion Ryan Newman and Ron Hornaday. The 2009 season marks KHI’s sixth year of full-time competition in NASCAR’s elite divisions. Visit www.kevinharvickinc.com for more information.

- Kevin Harvick Inc. Press Release

SHORT-TRACK ACE: Over the course of Ron Hornaday’s 12 year NASCAR Truck Series career, he has visited victory lane 19 out of the 43 times at short tracks (less that 1-mile in length). Thus far in 2009, Hornaday has recorded one short-track victory, his second career win at Memphis Motorsports Park in June.

LUCKY NUMBER “2” FOR THE No. “33”: Hornaday has picked up two victories at O’Reilly Raceway Park (ORP) in his NASCAR Truck Series career; the first in 1997, followed by another victory 10 years later in 2007. Coincidently, both wins have come when Hornaday started the race from the second position. In 1997, he took the lead with two laps to go and held on for his first ORP win. Ten years later in 2007, Hornaday notched his second ORP victory after he led 90 laps. Hornaday has finished third or better in each start at ORP while driving a Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) vehicle.

LOOP LEADER: According to NASCAR’s Loop Data Statistics over the last four races held at ORP, Hornaday leads 10 statistical categories, including highest average finish of 2.3, laps led with 243 and the highest driver rating of 130.5.

RESTART KING: Two weeks ago while in Chicago en route to his fourth win of the 2009 season, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series veteran Mark Martin gave credit for his race-winning restart to Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday from victory lane. Statistics back Martin up as Hornaday currently leads all drivers with the fastest restart time at ORP by almost one mile per hour (MPH) over Rick Crawford.

Notes from the Professor: Quotes from Ron Hornaday:

WHY DO YOU THINK YOU ARE SO GOOD AT SHORT TRACKS?

“I really like racing at ORP and tracks like it. I grew up racing on tracks very similar to it. I think knowing how to race guys and knowing when to pass on short tracks has been the key to my success. Luck has had a lot to do with it too.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE TITLE “RESTART KING”?

“I don’t know that I would say I’m the king at anything. I appreciate that people like Mark Martin watch me to gain pointers. Restarts have always been something that I worked on. I think I have a pretty good system right now. As competitive as the Truck Series is, you have to have something up your sleeve to get an advantage. I guess restarts are my thing.”

CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 33 VFW team will bring a brand new chassis to ORP. Chassis No. 33 makes its competition debut this weekend. Two weeks ago, the team took this truck to a Goodyear tire test session at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway for the only laps this chassis has participated in on track.

PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Last week at Kentucky Speedway Hornaday and the No. 33 team recorded their fourth win of the 2009 season. Hornaday became the first repeat winner at Kentucky Speedway. The win also marked the second time in Hornaday’s 12 year Truck Series career that he has won three races in a row. In 1997, Hornaday recorded wins at The Milwaukee Mile, Louisville Motor Speedway, and Colorado National Speedway. Thus far this season Hornaday and the No. 33 team have tallied wins at The Milwaukee Mile, Memphis Motorsports Park and Kentucky Speedway. Hornaday continues to lead the Truck Series point standings for the third consecutive week.

ABOUT VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS (VFW):

Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United State) is a non-profit organization dedicated to honoring the sacrifice and ensuring the rights of America’s veterans through advocacy, support and community service, while promoting patriotism. The VFW offers a wide array of services to support veterans and their families throughout their military career, from active duty to honorably discharged. For more information, visit: www.vfw.org or call (816) 756-3390.

ABOUT KEVIN HARVICK INC.:

Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI), established in 2001, is a 70,000 sq. ft. facility located in Kernersville, N.C. KHI houses two full-time Truck Series teams, including the 2007 series champions. The No. 33 team is led by three-time Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday and the No. 4 KHI All-Stars team is comprised of Ricky Carmichael, the most successful motocross racer in American history, J.R. Fitzpatrick and a variety of NASCAR Sprint Cup stars. KHI is also home to the No. 33 Nationwide Series team competing full-time with drivers Kevin Harvick (a two-time Nationwide Series champion), 2008 Daytona 500 champion Ryan Newman, Ron Hornaday, Cale Gale and Kelly Bires. The 2009 season marks KHI’s sixth year of full-time competition in NASCAR’s elite divisions. Visit www.kevinharvickinc.com for more information.

- Kevin Harvick Inc. Press Release