Ron Hornaday Jr. Turning Up The Heat
While he’ll argue that it’s too early to be predicting who will take home the 2009 title, it’s hard not to acknowledge that Ron Hornaday Jr. (No. 33 Longhorn Chevrolet) is a title contender. The three-time series champion is coming off a dominating win at The Milwaukee Mile, where he nailed a perfect driver rating. He also bumped Matt Crafton (No. 88 Menard’s Chevrolet) from the top spot in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standings.
The win Saturday was his 41st, which extends his hold on the most wins in the series. It also came on his birthday, the second time the veteran driver has won on his date of birth. He also celebrated his birthday in Victory Lane back in 1998 at Bristol Motor Speedway. He is the only driver in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series to do so and one of only three NASCAR drivers to win on their birthday. Kyle Busch recently won on his birthday at Richmond (May 2, 2009) and Cale Yarborough, like Hornaday, accomplished the feat twice (1977 and 1983).
The series will head to a track this weekend where Hornaday also knows the way to Victory Lane. The driver and his No. 33 team are the defending race winners at Memphis Motorsports Park. Hornaday also won at Memphis in 1998.
This is the last year for the distinctive Elvis trophy before a new design is brought into the fold, and Hornaday would like to make sure he’s the one who takes it home.
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Count On Veteran Dennis Setzer As Contender At Memphis
One can’t talk about the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series without talking about veteran driver Dennis Setzer. Highly respected in the garage, Setzer looked as though he might not be back for another year at the end of last season. But when the season opener at Daytona rolled around, he was there.
Driving the No. 8 Chevrolet for MRD Motorsports since Atlanta, Setzer is showing he’s still a contender each week. He’s collected five top-10 finishes in the season’s 10 races so far. Two were runner-up results, one at Dover and the second last weekend at Milwaukee.
Setzer has competed in the series full time since 1999. In 277 starts, he has 18 wins, 80 top-five finishes and 153 top-10 finishes. He’s finished in the top ten in the standings eight times. Of those eight, he managed to finish second three years in a row. With another strong run at Milwaukee, he cracks the top 10 again moving from 14th to 10th in the standings.
As the series prepares to head to Memphis this weekend, Setzer is one driver to watch. In ten starts at the track, he has seven consecutive top-five finishes and has finished outside the top 10 only twice. Of his 18 wins in the series, 10 have come at half-mile-or-less tracks. Of the tracks on the current schedule, Setzer has 12 wins, including a 2001 win at Memphis.
Veteran Crew Chief Rick Ren Says Consistency Key For Hornaday’s Team
Veteran crew chief Rick Ren is just as competitive as his driver, Ron Hornaday Jr. And just like his driver, he’s keeping the entire season in perspective, not thinking too far ahead (i.e. an unprecedented fourth series title for Hornaday).
Here Ren tackles that subject and looks ahead to Memphis:
What do you think it will take to get Ron Hornaday Jr. that fourth championship?
“We have to stay consistent. Really the only two issues we’ve had this year (tire issue at Dover; oil pump belt in Texas) have been out of our control. They had nothing to do with the driver or the crew, but simply circumstance. I heard Jeff Gordon say one time that to win a championship, you have to have luck. I agree. Whether it is luck you have created or just racing luck, we will have to have some things just fall our way. If we maintain our consistency and continue to improve on pit road, then we should be right there when the checkers fall in Homestead.”
Do you do anything different to prepare for a track that you won at last year?
“No, I really prepare the same for every track. The thing winning the year before does for you is provide you with a great set of notes. However, each year is different and there are going to be different circumstances so you just have to work off of what you have.”
Can you take anything from the win this past weekend at Milwaukee and apply it to Memphis?
“I tried a few things in Milwaukee that I hope transfer over to Memphis, but we will just have to try them in practice to see if they work.”
Your driver at Milwaukee said he wanted another Elvis trophy. Does that put any pressure on you as a crew chief?
“No. I look at every race the same way. I want to go there, lead the most laps and most importantly, lead the last one.”
What about Memphis makes it challenging for a crew chief?
“Well, I have won this event twice, once with Travis Kvapil and last year with Hornaday. I think the hardest thing is finding the maximum amount of grip and keeping the truck from getting tight. If you can do that, you have a great shot at winning the race.”
Points Battle Tightens After Milwaukee
Ten races down, 15 to go in the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season. The series is known for its championship battle going down to the wire, sometimes to the last lap in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
This season appears no different than the those before. The points lead has changed for the fifth time following Milwaukee. Ron Hornaday Jr. takes over for the second time with a 36-point lead over Matt Crafton.
Two former series champions looking to improve their luck and chances at another title sit third and fourth. Third-place Todd Bodine (No. 30 Copart Toyota) is 88 points out of first. The points difference is nothing to worry over, but Mike Skinner (No. 5 Exide Toyota), sitting a mere point behind Bodine, is someone worth keeping an eye on.
Both Bodine and Skinner have wins so far this season. But consistency could be key. Crafton is winless since grabbing his first career win at Lowe’s in May last year.
From fifth place back, the points and stakes are tighter. David Starr (No. 24 Zachry Toyota) moves up a spot to fifth following a ninth-place finish over the weekend. Rookie Tayler Malsam (No. 81 One Eighty Toyota) continues to impress and moves up two places to sixth. He is 14 points behind Starr. Only 10 lie between Malsam and Brian Scott (No. 16 Albertson’s Toyota), who is seventh.
Scott can’t rest easy as the second-year driver only has a two-point cushion on veteran Terry Cook (No. 25 Cajun Industries/Harris Trucking Co. Toyota). Back in ninth, Rick Crawford barely hangs on to his spot. Crawford entered the top 10 following the race at Texas. He has just six points over Dennis Setzer, who is 10th.
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Loop Data: Career Year Continues For Starr
David Starr quietly entered the top five in points with another top-10 finish last Saturday, his fourth in the last five races.
Now Starr heads to Memphis, a spot where he has had strong runs in his 12-year career. Currently, he sits 112 points behind fourth-place Mike Skinner – a coveted spot.
Starr’s highest career points finish was fourth, in 2006. That season, he had a win, six top fives, 12 tops 10s and an average finish of 11.0. Through 10 races this season, Starr has two top fives, five top 10s and an average finish of 11.6. With 15 races remaining this season, Starr is on pace to match his 2006 numbers.
Another strong Memphis race would help that cause. In nine Memphis races, Starr has two top fives and four top 10s. But some of his strongest runs have come recently.
Since the inception of Loop Data in 2005, Starr has a Memphis Driver Rating of 93.5, an Average Running Position of 11.7, three Fastest Laps Run, a Pass Differential (passes minus times passed) of +39 and a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 79.5%.
Starr’s best Memphis performance might have come in last year’s fifth-place finish. In that event, he had a Driver Rating of 104.9 (fourth-best), an Average Running Position of 7.1 (fifth) and ran all but two of the 204 laps among the top 15.
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