CHAMPION ON BOARD: The No. 33 Chevrolet Silverado and four-time Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday will proudly sport a black and red Champion paint scheme, with their spark plug product featured on the taneau cover this weekend at Michigan. This is the first of a two-race primary partnership with the world leading spark plug manufacturer, also on board the Silverado at Las Vegas on October 15.
ONE TO WIN: There are only eight tracks on the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule at which victory have eluded four-time champion Ron Hornaday and Michigan International Speedway is one of those tracks. Hornaday will pilot the No. 33 Champion Chevrolet Silverado for Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) in the VFW 200 this Saturday at the 2-mile D-Shaped oval. In seven previous starts at Michigan, Hornaday has collected one top-five and five top-10 finishes with 15 laps led.
BY THE NUMBERS: Hornaday recorded another career milestone at Pocono Raceway on August 7. With a ninth-place finish, the driver captured his 200th Truck Series top-10 finish. Hornaday is the all-time Truck Series leader in top-10 finishes, surpassing Jack Sprague with 192. The veteran is also on the hunt for his 50th Truck Series victory, currently the all-time winningest driver in the series with 48 wins to his credit.
CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 33 team will utilize chassis No. 060 this weekend at Michigan International Speedway. This chassis made its on-track debut at Pocono where the team finished ninth. The KHI team also took this chassis to a Goodyear tire test at Texas Motor Speedway back in May.
PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: The No. 33 Utz Snacks Chevrolet Silverado brought home a ninth-place finish at Pocono Raceway Sunday, August 7 after rain postponed the Truck Series event Saturday afternoon. Hornaday spent the entire 50-lap race running in the top 15 before bringing home his 200th top-10 finish in 289 series starts.
MOST POPULAR DRIVER: Voting is underway for the 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Most Popular Driver award. Hornaday has taken home the honors twice, most recently in 2005 and 1997. Fans can vote for Hornaday now through November 17 on NASCAR.com.
THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Ron Hornaday
What are your thoughts heading into Michigan?
"Going to a track I have never won at is always exciting. This race is always fun and one for the fans to watch. With the track having characteristics like Daytona and Talladega, you know you're in for a ride. We've got another great partner on board the No. 33 Chevrolet this weekend and we hope to bring home another solid finish for this team. We've still got a lot of ground to make up and we're not going to quit."
THOUGHTS FROM THE CREW CHIEF: Jeff Hensley
What are your thoughts on racing at Michigan?
"You're definitely going to see a great race. The track has the same drafting tendencies as Daytona and Talladega, and it's a really fast race track. There is a fine line between drag and down force. You have that at the bigger tracks we run. The drivers are going to be running wide open for their qualifying lap and then the trucks will probably pick up about a second during race time."
