By Sheena Baker
Production Editor
CONCORD, N.C. — Ron Hornaday, Jr.’s opinion of Lowe’s Motor Speedway changed drastically Friday night.
Hornaday dominated the Quaker Steak and Lube 200, leading three times for 98 laps. After passing Travis Kvapil for the lead on lap 19, Hornaday left the rest of field in his tire tracks for most of the night.
“I hated this place,” Hornaday said. “It took me a long time to get used to this place. When people ask me what is my favorite track, I always tell them it is the ones I win at, so right now this is one of my favorite tracks.”
To get his 30th-career victory, though, Hornaday had to hold off A.J. Allmendinger’s No. 00 Toyota Tundra. Allmendinger took the lead after a two-tire pit stop with 44 laps to go. Hornaday tried to shake up the former Champ Car star on the restart, but Allmendinger held on for a few laps before Hornaday resumed command on lap 98 of the 1.5-mile speedway.
A late caution on lap 133 sent the event into overtime, putting Allmendinger on Hornaday’s bumper for the restart. However, Allmendinger’s Toyota was no match for the No. 33 Chevrolet.
“The truck was awesome tonight, but Ron was just a tick better,” said Allmendinger, who has struggled in trying to transition to the Nextel Cup Series this season. “If he would have made a mistake there at the end, I was going to be all over him.”
The victory was Hornaday’s first since last July at Kentucky Speedway and the fifth for team owners DeLana and Kevin Harvick.
It was also Chevrolet’s first triumph in the series this season.
With the victory, crew chief Rick Ren has now won Craftsman Truck Series races with five different drivers, tying Jon Monsom for victories with the most drivers in series history.
Point-leader Mike Skinner won his fourth pole of the season and looked to be on another stellar run until Kvapil passed him for the lead on lap 12. From there, Skinner fell back through the field. However, he battled back to finish eighth and holds an 85-point lead over Todd Bodine, who finished third, in the standings.
“We had a good truck, but it was a little too tight for me there at the end when I was back in traffic,” Bodine said. “We finished third and gained a lot of points, so all in all it was a good night for us. I didn't have anything for Ron there at the end because he was way too strong. When I was behind in traffic, I just couldn't do anything with the truck. It was pretty uneventful. We're doing the things we need to do to win the championship."
Mark Martin and Ted Musgrave rounded out the top five.