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Race report

Hornaday finishes 11th at Michigan International Speedway

Ron Hornaday and the No. 9 Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff Chevrolet Silverado team earning their ninth top-15 finish of the 2013 season.

Ron Hornaday

Ron Hornaday

Action Sports Photography

Starting the National Guard 200 at Michigan International Speedway from the 10th position, Ron Hornaday and the No. 9 Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff team moved into the sixth spot on lap one before the caution flag waved for an incident on the backstretch. Once the race returned to green-flag conditions on lap five, Hornaday quickly moved to the third position.

Ron Hornaday
Ron Hornaday

Photo by: Action Sports Photography

Several laps later on lap 11 after slipping to the seventh position, Hornaday reported to the team that he believed he had a right-rear tire going down. Continuing on track and feeling out the tire, the team was able to bring Hornaday down pit road on lap 16 under caution to change four tires, make a track-bar adjustment and add fuel. Hornaday restarted the race on lap 20 from the 19th position.

Six laps after the green-flag restart, the caution was displayed again for a multi-truck incident on lap 26 in turn four. Hornaday again pitted for another track-bar adjustment and to top off with fuel. The team restarted the race on lap 32 in the 15th spot.

Over the next long green-flag run, Hornaday worked his way as high as 12th on lap 35 before falling back to 16th on lap 44. Fighting the handling of his Silverado in traffic, Hornaday reported to the team on lap 50 that, "This almost feels like we don't have a right-rear spring in it." The team caught a break on lap 55 when the caution flag waved for debris in turn two. The team brought Hornaday down pit road for four tires with an air-pressure adjustment and a left-side track-bar adjustment. Returning to the track in the 14th spot, Hornaday was penalized for a crew member over the wall too soon and had to start at the tail end of the field.

Working his way back through the field, the caution again waved on lap 65 and the team decided to stay on track to gain positions. The race restarted on lap 69 with Hornaday 11th. Unfortunately, Hornaday made contact on the restart with a competitor and had to pit under green-flag conditions for a flat right-front tire, going one lap down to the leaders.

Running in the "Lucky Dog" position, Hornaday was able to return to the lead lap after the caution flag waved for the sixth time on lap 76. Crew Chief Bruce Cook called Hornaday to pit road for his final stop of the race for four tires and fuel. The race restarted on lap 78 with the No. 9 Chevrolet team in the 16th position.

Making his way through the field, Hornaday was running 11th when the final caution flag waved on lap 90. With encouragement from Cook that his truck "has been the best it has been all day, get what you can from here on out," Hornaday restarted the race on lap 94 from the 11th position.

Over the final six laps, Hornaday slipped as low as 13th before battling back to cross the finish line solidly in the 11th spot. The finish marked his ninth top-15 finish of the 2013 season with 12 races complete.

Hornaday Hype: "The Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff team worked very hard to keep our No. 9 Chevy in contention for another solid finish. While we weren't able to get the results we were hoping for, I'm excited to get to Bristol and show what our team is made of."

NTS Motorsport

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