Ron Hornaday had a lightening-fast truck at the Mansfield (Ohio) Motorsports Speedway. Hornaday started the race from the ninth position and battled his way to a sixth-place finish in a race full of caution flags and rain delays.
In his first race in the NASCAR Truck Series at the Dover (Del.) International Speedway in 2005, Ron Hornaday started in the third position, led 134 of 200 laps and finished seventh. In 2006, Hornaday started in ninth place and finished in the seventh position.
Ron Hornaday will pilot chassis No. 004, the truck he drove to victory lane last season at the Kentucky Speedway. Other than testing at the Homestead Miami (Fla.) Speedway, truck No. 004 has only been in reserve as a back up so far in the 2007 season.
Q&A with Rick Ren, Crew Chief of the No. 33 Camping World Chevrolet:
With your recent finishes how do you feel heading to Dover? "I feel pretty good about Dover, it is a real racy track. But Dover is a two-fold deal. The chassis needs to be good and the driver really needs to be on his game. Ron is on his game, there is no doubt about that. The only variable is the truck. I don't have a notebook on that truck yet, but it is the truck that Ron won with at Kentucky last year."
Why is winning at the "Monster Mile" important to you? "Well, it is a track that I haven't gone to victory lane at yet. Dover has special meaning for me. I would really like to win there. It is where I met my wife. Dover was her first race ever."
Is there a strategy to Dover? "Qualifying is key at Dover. Pit road is very narrow, so pit selection is really important. There is usually a really long run in the race, but I have also seen it won on fuel mileage."
Q&A with Ron Hornaday, Driver of the No. 33 Camping World Chevrolet:
What do you like about racing at Dover (Del.) International Speedway? "It's an awesome racetrack. The first time I went to Bristol, I just took to that place. I was racing for Earnhardt at the time and I told Steve Hmiel that I really like the high banks. He said, 'if you like Bristol, you'll really love Dover. You can hold it wide open at Dover.' So the first time there I held it wide open. It was fine in turns 1 and 2, but I almost wrecked a brand new car in turns 3 and 4. Hmiel said, 'I was only kidding Ron.' You have to run hard every lap at Dover, and that's my favorite type of racing."