For defending Camping World Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday, 2010 has not gone exactly as planned.
Early in the season changes atop the pit box for Hornaday when long time crew chief Rick Ren left and went to Kyle Busch Motorsports.
Owners Kevin and Delana Harvick made crew chief changes but the results were not changing.
On track struggles saw Hornaday in the garage making repairs then on the track racing for wins. Hornaday hovered around fifth through seventh in the standings all year.
This past weekend at Martinsville he finally broke through for his first win at the track.
The newest change was the addition of Butch Hylton on the pit box.
Hornaday credited his win on Saturday to Hylton. "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.”
There hasn’t been many times this season where Hornaday could say that. They have often time lacked speed and when they have found some speed, the handling was off.
Hornaday often seemed a little bit uncomfortable with how the trucks were driving.
Collecting his second win of the season it is a far cry from where he was a year ago.
He was on the verge of winning another title in CWTS and about to win his sixth race of the year.
This season he has two wins, 10 top fives and 12 top 10’s. In seven of the 21 races run has resulted in finishes of 20th or worse.
When the drivers you are chasing down are finishing top five and top 10 every week, you quickly lose ground.
While the title is out of reach the battle to finish top five in the standing between Hornaday and Matt Crafton is only 40 points.
There is still plenty of racing to do and plenty on the line for Hornaday and his team in 201.
This weekend at Talladega is the perfect chance to gain those points.
Hornaday since 2006 his averages finish is ninth. He hasn’t led a lap at Talladega in that time either but has finished in the top 10 all but once.
This weekend is just another opportunity for this team to build toward 2011 and another run at the title.
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