Ron Hornaday Jr. pulled away from Kyle Busch on the final restart to score his first Martinsville Speedway victory in an overtime finish Saturday afternoon in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Hornaday had to withstand a flurry of late-race caution flags and restarts, but outdueled Busch on the green-white-checkered finish to win by .305 seconds. Hornaday added to his series record with his 47th win to bolster his impeccable short-track portfolio, but had never won the historic .526-mile track’s signature grandfather clock trophy until Saturday.
Hornaday took the lead for the first time in the 196th of a scheduled 200 laps, inching ahead of Busch before the race’s final caution period extended the race by an extra six laps. Busch was initially scored ahead of Hornaday before the final restart, but NASCAR officials reversed the ruling and moved Hornaday back to the lead. USA Today
“They should have put the clock up earlier—it might have given me a little more motivation,” Hornaday quipped after the race.
Points leader Todd Bodine finishes third followed by Jason White and Aric Almirola. Mike Skinner, David Starr, Stacy Compton, Ricky Carmichael and Matt Crafton completed the top 10.
“Butch and I worked together at RCR [Richard Childress Racing],” Hornaday said. “We worked together at KHI. He left for a little bit. He came back, and we’re just jelling. The truck unloaded just unbelievable.
“When we made the change, I told them [owners Kevin and DeLana Harvick] that we were going to get results. We came to Martinsville to win.” NASCAR.com
“We just didn’t have quite enough for the two [Kevin Harvick Inc.] trucks, but we gave it all we had,” Busch said. “The truck was good, but we just didn’t have quite enough turn there at the end.”
Bodine, the current points leader, finished third in what was an emotional race for the 46-year-old driver.
“We may have had a fifth-place truck, but we finished third,” said Bodine, who led the most laps with 83. “That’s because what [crew chief Mike Hillman] Jr. and the guys in the pits did to get the breaks that we needed. This is how you win championships.”
The 2006 series champion raced with a heavy heart less than 24 hours after the death of his mother, Carol June Bodine.
“I was good until I got on pit road, and then it was pretty hard for me,” Bodine added. “It’s all good now. My mom and dad were watching from the grandstands up in the sky, rooting for me. They loved this race track [Martinsville], and I know they were with me.” MiamiHerald.com
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NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Kroger 200 at Martinsville - Race Results
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