“KHI Teammate Ron Hornaday Clinches Fourth Championship”
“It is pretty awesome to have a vehicle like this Longhorn Chevy,” said Harvick following the win Friday night. “I mean, from the time we unloaded it, it was just flat awesome. I just want to thank everybody from Longhorn and KHI, Chevrolet, VFW, Rheem and all of the fans for coming out and supporting everything that we do. This Truck Series is a lot of fun to race in. I got to have a little bit of fun with Kyle (Busch) there at the end head to head. That is always fun. So a great truck and a great night for KHI.”
With the race in full speed Friday night under the lights at PIR, Harvick quickly looked for the lead taking over the top spot on lap two of the scheduled 150-lap event. After only five laps, Harvick began voicing concern that something was being laid down on the track by another competitor’s truck and suspected it was oil. Unsure, Harvick continued to run fast laps while also battling a loose-handling truck. Three laps after voicing concern, Harvick lost control of the truck in turn four and spun without collecting any damage to the No. 4 Chevy. Following the spin, Harvick brought his truck to pit road to top off with fuel and to check the truck for damage. Returning to the track, Harvick restarted the race on lap 12 from the 31st position.
Shuffled back in the field, Harvick patiently worked his way toward to the front, taking over the 20th position on lap 22. Continuing to fight a loose-handling truck, Harvick was able to bring the No. 4 Silverado back to pit road from the 18th position on lap 33 under caution for four fresh tires with an air-pressure adjustment and the next lap for fuel and a track-bar adjustment. With a fast, clean stop, the team gained six positions to restart the race on lap 38 from the 12th spot. Crew chief Ernie Cope and Harvick both complemented the team on a great pit stop, telling them they were back in the hunt for the win.
Quickly taking over the lead on lap 96, Harvick was able to pull away from the field, hold off a hard-charging Busch and survive several late-race cautions to score his second Truck Series win of the 2009 season. Busch finished the race second followed by Almirola, Hornaday and Johnny Sauter.
Hornaday, Harvick’s KHI teammate, becomes the oldest champion in NASCAR history at age 51, the first driver in Truck Series history to win four titles and only the second driver to clinch the Truck Series championship before the season finale (Greg Biffle was the first in 2000).
Next on the Truck Series Schedule:
Date: November 20, 2009
Track: Homestead-Miami Speedway
Event Name: Ford 200
Driver: Kevin Harvick
Broadcast Time: SPEED 7:30 p.m. EST
- Kevin Harvick Inc. Press Release
Photo Credit: NASCARMedia.com / Christian Peterson and Jason Smith of Getty Images