Race 2 Win: Busch Series Race Notes

NASCAR Busch Series

NAPA Auto Parts 200 - Ron Hornaday Notes

Ron Hornaday
No. 77 Dollar General Stores Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS Team Report
NASCAR Busch Series Race 23 of 35 – Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

O’REILLY RACEWAY PARK RACE RECAP:

Under the lights at the 0.686-mile short track of O’Reilly Raceway Park (ORP), Ron Hornaday drove the No. 77 Dollar General stores Chevrolet to a fifth-place finish. After a visit to victory lane on Friday night in his No. 33 Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) owned Chevrolet, Hornaday was primed and ready for the one-day NASCAR Busch Series show at ORP.

CIRCUIT GILLES VILLENEUVE FACTS & STATS:

INAUGURAL BUSCH SERIES RACE IN CANADA: For the first time in the series’ history, the NASCAR Busch Series (NBS) will visit Montreal. The 2.71-mile street-course sits on a man-made island in the St. Lawrence River.

HORNADAY IS NO ROOKIE TO ROAD-COURSE RACING: The driver of the No. 77 Dollar General stores Chevrolet, Ron Hornaday, is no rookie when it comes to road-course racing. Hornaday has competed at 23 road-course events in his 15-years of racing in one of NASCAR’s three premier series. Hornaday has competed in three of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series exhibition races held in Japan. In 1996 the NASCAR Suzuka Thunder Special was held at the Suzuka Circuitland in Suzuka City, Japan. Hornaday started 10th in the No. 45 Chevrolet, and finished 20th. He returned to Suzuka Circuitland in 1997 where he started ninth and finished 13th. In 1998 NASCAR Nextel Cup teams traveled to Motegi City, Japan to compete in the NASCAR Thunder Special Motegi. Hornaday started 25th and finished 15th driving the No. 08 Chevrolet. Hornaday has also competed at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez road course in Mexico City for Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) in 2005. Driving the No. 33 Chevrolet for KHI, Hornaday started 21st and finished 12th.

CHASSIS NO. 005 HAS KHI HISTORY: Chassis No. 005 will come out of retirement for the August 4 Busch Series event in Montreal. Chassis No. 005 was previously raced by Ron Hornaday at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez road course in Mexico City, Mexico in 2005.

DOLLAR GENERAL HOSTS CANADIAN VENDOR, GILDAN: Dollar General Corp. is very excited about the first Busch Series event in Canada. While Dollar General currently has no retail stores in Canada, the company has relationships with a variety of vendors throughout the country, including Gildan Activewear in Montreal. Gildan is a sponsoring partner on the No. 77 Dollar General stores Chevrolet. “It’s very exciting to be a part of the continued growth of the NASCAR Busch Series,” commented Monty Bailey, Motorsports Manager for Dollar General Corp. “NASCAR is doing an excellent job in lengthening the potential reach of the series’ sponsors and continues to broaden marketing opportunities outside of the continental United States.”

KHI TEST FOR ROAD COURSE: In preparation for the back-to-back NASCAR Busch Series road-course events in Montreal and Watkins Glen, N.Y., both Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) Busch Series teams visited Iowa Speedway to test at the tracks road course. Upon arrival at Iowa Speedway, KHI General Manager Rick Carelli and road-course ace Ron Fellows mapped out the road course located in the infield of the 7/8-mile oval track. Carelli and Fellows determined that the test session would be most valuable to the two Busch Series teams if the course was run in the opposite direction. By running in the opposite direction, there is a segment of right and left corners that is similar to the layout of the course in Montreal. Testing the majority of the day in Iowa, both KHI crew chiefs, Wally Rogers and Dan Stillman, felt they gathered enough information to help the KHI Busch teams run successfully in the upcoming road-course events.

UPDATE ON INJURIED CREW MEMBER—JAKE LAUDERT: Jake Laudert, who normally serves as rear tire carrier on Ron Hornaday’s No. 33 Chevrolet Silverado in the Truck Series, filled in on the No. 77 Dollar General stores Chevrolet and was struck by another competitor during the NASCAR Busch Series race at the O’Reilly Raceway Park. Laudert was immediately taken to the track’s infield care center to have his injuries assessed. Completely conscious and coherent, Laudert was released and returned to the No. 77 pit area to watch the remainder of the 200-lap event. Upon returning to North Carolina, Laudert visited his local physician and it was concluded that he sustained a broken left big toe and bruising on his left knee. He was also cut across the bridge of his nose.

QUICK NOTES:
Race Info
Date: August 4, 2007
Track: Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
Event Name: NAPA Auto Parts 200 Presented by Dodge

Race length: 74 laps / 200.46 miles
Banking/Turns: various degrees
Track layout: 2.71-mile
Shape: Road-course

Pre-Race Schedule:
Friday:
Practice: 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., ET
Final Practice: 2:05 – 3:25 p.m., ET
Saturday:
Qualifying: 12:10 p.m., ET

Broadcast Times:
TV: NASCAR Countdown pre-race coverage can be seen live on ESPN2 at 3:00 p.m., ET, followed by the NAPA Auto Parts 200 Presented by Dodge on ESPN2 at 3:30 p.m., ET.
Radio: The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will broadcast pre-race coverage at 3:00 p.m., ET.

No. 77 Dollar General stores Monte Carlo SS Specs
Chassis: 005
Car History: Previously raced at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City in 2005.
Engine: RCR