09-11-2006 | TruckSeries.com Report
Ron Hornaday returned behind the wheel of the No. 33 Outdoor Channel Chevrolet after a week away and looked to have one of the fastest cars of the evenings at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway (RIR). Hornaday started the race from the second position, his best start of the season. Hornaday raced near the front of the field early in the event, but a lap 75 incident in turn four sent Hornaday's No. 33 hard into the wall. The damage caused to the race car was beyond repair and the Outdoor Channel Chevrolet retired to the garage for the night in the 41st position. Friday at RIR was a busy day. NASCAR Busch Series teams had two practice sessions followed by qualifying and the race that evening. Hornaday and the No. 33 Outdoor Channel team worked hard on his Monte Carlo SS in both practice sessions to get the handling on the car that Hornaday desired. By the end of the second practice session, the team was happy with the car and optimistic for qualifying. Hornaday had his best qualifying effort of the year on Friday with an outside front row starting position of second. His second-place starting position was Hornaday's third top-10 qualifying effort in as many races. At the start of Friday night's Busch race Hornaday's No. 33 Outdoor Channel Chevrolet battled inside the top-five and looked strong early on in the event. The team elected to pit on lap 25 and make adjustments on Hornaday's machine. Upon the restart Hornaday's car was "loose" handling. While competing around the 10th position on lap 35, Hornaday was tapped in the rear bumper by another competitor and sent spinning. There was no contact or damage made to the Outdoor Channel Chevrolet. Hornaday had to come down pit road for four fresh tires and then returned to the racing surface. Hornaday restarted from the 40th position on lap 39 and wasted no time making his way to the front of the field. By lap 70 he made it into the top-10, but on lap 75 Hornaday was again hit from behind by another competitor. This time the Outdoor Channel Chevrolet was sent hard into the turn four wall, ending his night of racing. Hornaday was not hurt in the incident, but his evening was done and the Outdoor Channel Chevrolet was on the transporter in the 41st position. The No. 33 team is 11th in the Owner's point standings, six points out of 10th.This week the Busch Series will have a well deserved week of before traveling to Dover, Del., in two weeks on Saturday, September 23.