Saturday, April 26 Kansas Speedway Kansas City, Kansas

Ron Hornaday and his team celebrate their win in the O'Reilly Auto Parts 250.

Hornaday Conquers Kansas
By Tim Tuttle, Special to Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (April 26, 2008) -- Ron Hornaday Jr. won the O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 in overpowering fashion Saturday at Kansas Speedway,starting from pole and leading 136 of 167 laps.

It was Hornaday's first win of the season and extended his all-time lead in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to 34. He also took the lead in the points by 61 over Rick Crawford.

"This thing was just a rocket ship," Hornaday said. "It's a brand-new truck. You don't have trucks like that, it was awesome."

Hornaday surrendered the lead three times during yellow-flag pit stops and impressively drove the Kevin Harvick, Inc. Chevrolet back to the front in a few laps on each occasion. He was fourth following his final pit stop on Lap 108, regaining the lead in five laps and holding it for the final 55 around the 1.5-mile circuit.

KHI teammate Jack Sprague bounced back from a midrace mistake that put his Chevrolet at the back of the field to finish second, one truck length (.149 seconds) behind following a restart with two laps remaining.

Hornaday pulled away to a two-truck length advantage and was in control heading onto the backstraight. Sprague made a strong run going into Turn 3, but wasn't able to get alongside Hornaday and followed him to the checkered flag.

"Coming off the backstretch, all of a sudden he (Sprague) was on my rear end," Hornaday said.

Sprague, also driving a new truck built by KHI, pitted out of sequence on Lap 74 and steadily gained positions. He passed rookie Colin Braun on the outside in Turns 1 and 2 on Lap 155 to take third and moved up to second one lap later when second-running Todd Bodine spun in Turn 3 and hit the outside wall.

"We didn't pit when everybody else did, and we used our stuff up getting back to the front," Sprague said. "We wanted it bad."

Braun, in his Roush Fenway Ford, finished third but angered veterans Sprague and Matt Crafton.

Braun rammed Crafton's Chevrolet in the bumper and turned him into the Turn 4 wall, ruining a strong race. Crafton confronted Braun on pit row after the race, and Braun took responsibility for the mistake.

"I didn't want to get into Matt," Braun said. "I apologize. Hey, I'm a rookie and I make mistakes."

Sprague was attempting to pass Braun on the inside on the frontstretch when the rookie moved to his left.

"He came down on me and I could have let him crash," Sprague said. "I went around him on the outside. I told him, 'That was a gift, but don't mess with me again.' He has to stop running into people. If he wants to win, he has to have respect."

Bill Davis Racing teammates Johnny Benson and Mike Skinner finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in their Toyotas.

Complete Race Results click here

Post-Race Point Standings click here

Broadcast Times - AT*

• Pre-Race: Saturday, April 26 (SPEED at 6:30 p.m.)
• Race: Saturday, April 26 (SPEED at 7 p.m.)

*AT is one hour ahead of ET, i.e. if it's 2 p.m./AT - it's 1 p.m./ET... Event Stats PDF files unless noted otherwise

Friday First Practice Speed Chart click here Hornaday on top at 168.088 mph

Friday Final Practice Speed Chart click here McCumbee fastest at 168.629 mph

Qualifying Order click here Saturday at 2:40 p.m./AT - not televised

Green Flag Fast Facts
The Race: O’Reilly Auto Parts 250
The Place: Kansas Speedway
Race Distance: 250.5 miles/167 laps
TV: SPEED 6:30 p.m./AT, 5:30 p.m./ET
Track Layout: 1.5-mile paved
2007 Winner: Erik Darnell
2007 Pole: Mike Skinner
Schedule (local track time): Friday: Practice, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 2:30-3:30 p.m.; Saturday: Qualifying, 12:40 p.m.

Year-To-Date Standings: click here

Track Map



Pre-Race Pit Stops

• Kansas Win Sets The Table For Successful Season...Win the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 and odds are excellent you’ll finish high in the final standings. The Kansas Speedway winner has gone on to log a top-10 finish in six of the seven seasons the 1.5-mile track has been a part of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck schedule. Mike Bliss also won the 2002 championship; four other Kansas winners — including 2006 champion Todd Bodine (No. 30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota) — finished among the final top five. Bliss, currently a NASCAR Nationwide Series competitor, is the only driver to win multiple times in Kansas. He captured the final of five races at nearby Heartland Park Topeka, a 2.1-mile road course, in 1999. Ironically, 2007 broke the Kansas Speedway/top-10 streak. It was good news and bad for Erik Darnell (No. 99 Northern Tool + Equipment Ford). Darnell became the track’s third, first-time winner joining Ricky Hendrick and Jon Wood. Unfortunately for Darnell, the season didn’t end quite so successfully. He won the Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award, but finished 14th overall.
• Standings Leader Kyle Busch Out; Shane Sieg In At Kansas...One set of standings will change. The other — perhaps not. Kyle Busch, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series standings leader since his February victory at Auto Club Speedway, will not drive the No. 51 Miccosukee Resorts Toyota at Kansas Speedway. With four drivers within 69 points of Busch, it’s a certainty someone else will be the leader when Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 concludes. Georgia native Shane Sieg, 25, will take the wheel of the Tundra — a move Ballew hopes will allow him to retain the owner standings lead. Busch is expected to return May 16 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Sieg has competed in 27 races since 2003 with a best finish of eighth at The Milwaukee Mile. He drove Ballew’s No. 15 truck three times last season, finishing 10th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. “With Kyle’s schedule at Joe Gibbs Racing this weekend, there was no way he could make the race in Kansas,” Ballew said. “We looked at all the scenarios but it just wasn’t feasible. Shane has driven for us before and is familiar with the equipment. “We hope to leave Kansas still leading the owners’ points and know Kyle can make up some ground in the drivers’ points when we race at Lowe’s. Sieg ran as Busch’s teammate in 2007, but as Billy Ballew Motorsports’ No. 1, knows the pressure is on. “It’s a great opportunity to get back behind the wheel,” Sieg said. “I know I have big shoes to fill but I just want to bring a good finish home to keep Billy as the team owner point leader.”
• Two Teams Change Crew Chiefs...John Quinn has succeeded George Church at Wyler Racing while Lance Hooper — formerly with Thorsport Racing — replaces Gary Showalter at Key Motorsports. “Let’s just say John and I are both working on a Windows computer,” said Terry Cook (No. 60 Wyler.com Toyota). “We’re on the same page and speaking the same language.” Curtis Key, owner of the No. 40 Chevrolet driven by Chad Chaffin, said the move was performance-related.
• Speed In No. 22 Toyota...Scott Speed will drive the Red Bull Tundra for Bill Davis Racing in Kansas. Phillip McGilton has left the organization.
• New Faces...Mario Gosselin (No. 212 Chevrolet) and Michelle Theriault (No. 73 Dodge) will debut at Kansas. Gosselin is a former USAR Pro Cup champion. Theriault was 13th in NASCAR Camping World Series East competition last year.

IMPORTANT: All information, schedules and/or scheduled events is/are subject to change without notice. Please check with the source to confirm.