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Joe Denette Hits Lottery Again with New Driver Ron Hornaday and New Home at KHI Shop

Last year, Joe Denette started a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team with his winnings from the Mega Millions Virginia Lottery drawing.

[media-credit name=”Photo Credit: lotterypost.com” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]But this year, Denette feels like he has hit the lottery all over again by securing veteran and championship Truck Series driver Ron Hornaday, as well as the shop formerly operated by the winners of the 2011 Owner’s Championship, Kevin and DeLana Harvick.

“I think this is one of the best scenarios I could ask for,” Denette said. “I got one of the best drivers out there in my opinion. I lucked out on this one.”

Denette said the deal with Hornaday came about over a simple dinner together.

“Hermie Sadler, my business manager in racing, came to me with a proposal because Hermie and Kevin (Harvick) are pretty good friends,” Denette said. “They started talking back and forth and he started talking to Ron.”

“We sat down for dinner one night and by the time we were done with dinner, we had a deal struck.”

While Denette knew of Hornaday’s championship resume, including 51 victories, 27 poles, and 146 top-five finishes, he was most impressed with the veteran driver’s heart and passion for the sport. He also was taken with his new driver’s desire to keep winning.

“His passion and his desire to keep winning impressed me most,” Denette said. “His goal is to win a fifth championship. When he left the table, he asked me what I expected from hi and I said just to give it your all and compete.”

“I told him, I want you to win your fifth championship with Joe Denette Motorsports.”

Hornaday, a 14-year veteran of the Truck Series, shared Denette’s excitement for his new ride, especially with the closure of his former team, KHI Motorsports.

“I’m very excited for the opportunity to work with JDM next season,” Hornaday said. “This is a young team and they have put a lot of the right people in place to win races and compete for a championship in 2012.”

“I’m honored to continue my relationship with Chevrolet and I’m looking forward to a successful 2012 season.”

Another important part of Hornaday’s team that will be come to Joe Denette Motorsports is crew chief Jeff Hensley. And, according to Denette, one of the best holdovers from the KHI days is that the team will actually be running out of the former race team’s shop.

“We hired Jeff a week or two before we hired Ron,” Denette said. “We’re actually going to be running out of Kevin’s old shop.”

“I feel like I’m taking over where Kevin left off.”

While Denette confirmed that he will definitely be running one truck full-time, as he did last season in his rookie year, he also revealed that he may be running a second truck, perhaps even on a full-time basis.

“Right now we are running the No. 9 truck with Ron driving and several races throughout the season, we planned on running a second truck,” Denette said. “But from what my understanding is Hermie (Sadler) is already striking some deals where I feel like we’re going to have two trucks on the track this whole season.”

“I’m not 100% sure but I know for a fact that Elliott Sadler will be driving a few races this year and I also believe that Kevin (Harvick) wants to run a few Truck races for me this year.”

“In essence, he’ll be driving his old stuff, so I figure it’s a win/win situation.”

As with many NASCAR teams currently, Denette continues to be in the hunt for sponsors at all levels for his race trucks.

“We’re still working on sponsors,” Denette said. “Right now, I’m still open for sponsorship.”

“If someone wants to come up with some money and wants their company or logo on the side of my truck or on the hood of the truck, I’d gladly take it,” Denette continued. “I’ll put anybody on the truck that wants out there.”

In addition to sponsorship dollars, however, what Denette is dreaming about most is getting that first ever race win next year with his new team and driver.

“The first win, there will be nothing like it,” Denette said. “That’s what I came into the sport to do.”

“I want to win,” Denette continued. “I want to win a driver’s championship. I want to win an owner’s championship. I want a NASCAR trophy of my own.”

This week, Denette is going to finish up the 2011 season by heading to Las Vegas for NASCAR Championship week, taking the opportunity to check out that NASCAR trophy that he is so hoping to win next year.

And, yes, Denette will not only be heading to the championship banquet but also hoping that he will get lucky at some of the black jack tables in the casinos as well.

“I actually purchased a table at the banquet and have a group of six people coming with me,” Denette said. “We will have Hermie Sadler and his wife and some people who won a contest through the Virginia Lottery.”

“It’s pretty cool. When you meet the drivers in person, it’s cool,” Denette continued. “You can sit down and talk to them. I played black jack last year with Kenny Wallace and Kurt Busch.”

The biggest lesson that Denette has learned in his rookie year is that racing is indeed all about the people in the sport, especially having the right people in the right places to win. And, through it all, Denette’s passion for the sport, especially the Truck Series, has remained strong, if not increasing even further.

“I love the sport even more now,” Denette said. “I have more access to come up to the drivers and talk to the drivers and shoot the breeze. I run across these guys all the time and I’m still amazed at what they do.”

“Just go to a Truck race,” Denette said. “It’s unreal. Any day, any time, anybody can be a winner there.”

“I’ve got a passion for trucks,” Denette continued. “To see them racing, it’s pretty cool.”

“The Truck Series is the grass roots of NASCAR,” Denette said. “It’s how the sport started.”

“And the best part is that anybody can come to the track and win.”

November 30, 2011
M&M’s Mars NASCAR’s Teaching Sponsor In More Ways Than One

M&M’s Mars has been one of NASCAR’s few full-time sponsors, adorning the car of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, usually driven by Kyle Busch. The sponsor, however, has not only succeeded on the track, but has become one of the sport’s newest teaching sponsors, in more ways than one.

One of the most important ways that M&M’s Mars has been educating through racing is by participating in the NASCAR Kinetics program. Recently, NASCAR expanded this successful program, providing college students with real-world marketing challenges in the sport, from 12 to 20 schools this semester.

The NASCAR Kinetics program began in 2009 with just four schools participating. But over the past few years, the program has expanded to become NASCAR’s biggest college experience.

“NASCAR Kinetics is a dynamic initiative that merges educational and experiential tasks,” Steve Phelps, NASCAR Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, said. “We anticipate students will leverage the marketing techniques and lessons in teamwork they learn through the program to successfully position themselves in an increasingly competitive motorsports industry.”

This year, the program is concentrating on three case studies, including evaluating social media strategies for Michael Waltrip Racing and coming up with sponsorship activation ideas for Dodge. The third case scenario is working with M&M’s Mars to celebrate the colorfulness of the M&M’s characters as the sport’s official chocolate.

The students have to host one of three viewing parties highlighting the M&M’s brand. Their challenge is to “Make Race Day More Fun” through the use of the candy, as well as attracting casual and avid NASCAR fans.

You can get TEFL certified and Teach English Abroad and get a life-changing opportunity to travel the world and immerse yourself in new cultures.

“M&M’s has been involved with the NASCAR Kinetics program since spring 2009 and has been the sponsor of the viewing party case study since spring 2010,” Lauren Nodzak, PR Manager of Mars Chocolate North America, said. “We originally got involved after the Winston-Salem State University team reached out to us on the M&M’s Racing Facebook page and invited us to cover their party.”

“After being exposed to the program at that level, we decided to become a partner and make the viewing party case study sponsored by M&M’s.”

Nodzak affirms that M&M’s candy is the “perfect fit” as a snack for NASCAR fans coming together to enjoy the race. “The idea of getting your friends together to watch a NASCAR race while enjoying plenty of M&M’s is a key component,” Nodzak said.” Racing fit perfectly within the brand as we launched an overall brand campaign, ‘M&M’s Makes Race Day More Fun.’

Nodzak said that the students have been most creative in marketing the M&M’s brand through the viewing parties, from sharing recipes including the brightly-colored candy to having M&M’s race car driver Kyle Busch look-a-like contests.

“The students have taken some very creative approaches to incorporating M&M’s into their parties,” Nodzak said. “Just as exciting is how the students have taken fun to the next level, from NASCAR simulators to marching bands at these events.”

“Working with college students through the NASCAR Kinetics program has given us an additional channel to leverage our NASCAR sponsorship,” Nodzak continued. “NASCAR Kinetics brings a new level of engagement and brand advocates into the M&M’s Racing family.”

Unfortunately, M&M’s Mars has had to involve themselves in another educational endeavor in addition to the NASCAR Kinetics program. The sponsor has had to teach its star driver Kyle Busch a lesson after an on-track incident with Ron Hornaday in the Truck race at Texas Motor Speedway.

Because of the incident, Busch was not only penalized by NASCAR by being forced to sit out the Nationwide and Cup races last weekend, but was also forced to forgo his M&M’s sponsor being on his No. 18 car for the last two races of the season. Mars, Inc. did, however, affirm their sponsorship of Busch for the 2012 season, hopefully after their driver has had time to reflect on lessons learned.

“As a proud member of the racing community, Mars and M&M’s brand strong support the partnership we have with Joe Gibbs Racing and are committed to NASCAR,” Debra Sandler, Chief Consumer Officer of Mars Chocolate North America, said. “Yet Kyle’s recent actions are unacceptable and do not reflect the values of Mars.”

“While we do not condone Kyle’s recent actions, we do believe that he has shown remorse and has expressed a desire to change,” Sandler continued. “We believe our decision will have a positive impact on Kyle and will help him return next season ready to win.”

“There’s remorse from my side and to be apologetic to the M&M’s brand and all the folks that put their heart and soul into this NASCAR program for years,” Busch said. “There is an opportunity for me to become a better person, to grow, to learn from this and I’m looking forward to those days.”

“Kyle and all of us are committed to learn from this so that we never have to go through this again,” Joe Gibbs, team owner, said simply.

From the college students participating in the NASCAR Kinetics program to the NASCAR driver sporting the M&M’s brand colors, there is no doubt that Mars, Inc. has become one of the sport’s most important educators as well as sponsors.

And hopefully, all involved under the tutelage of the colorful candy company, will learn their lessons well.

November 12, 2011
Johnny Sauter Hoping to Take Kulwicki Path to Championship

Johnny Sauter, driver of the No. 13 Safe Auto/Curb/Carrier Chevy Silverado for ThorSport Racing, sits third in Camping World Truck championship points, tied with veteran Ron Hornady, just 15 points behind leader Austin Dillon.

[media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”229″][/media-credit]Although many may consider him an underdog, Sauter definitely wants no one to count him out of championship contention for one simple reason. The 33 year old Wisconsin native is simply following the ‘Kulwicki path’ to glory.

“I’m going to use the Alan Kulwicki approach to his championship run in ’92,” Sauter said. “No one even considered him to have a chance but by the end of the day, he was champion.”

“You can’t listen to everybody and what they say,” Sauter continued. “We just have to keep racing hard. Probably some things are going to have to happen, but you never know what will happen.”

Sauter certainly did not know what was going to happen to him last weekend in Talladega. The race weekend started off rocky for the driver, getting hit in the left eye with a piece of debris shortly after practice began.

Sauter was then cleared to race, but had to start mid-pack after experiencing some transmission problems. When he and his teammate Matt Crafton dropped to the rear of the pack to try their hands at some tandem racing, they both went for a spin after the car in front of them blew a tire.

“It was brutal,” Sauter said. “We were playing the strategy of riding around in the back seeing who was going to crash and nobody did, except for us.”

“It was terrible,” Sauter continued. “We were back there doing our own thing trying to run the tandem deal. The guy in front of us cut a tire down and Crafton’s initial reaction was to turn left. When someone was tucked up behind him like we were, it had a bad outcome.”

Yet even after being three laps down, Sauter remained focused and in the hunt. He was able to rebound to finish in the 15^th spot.

“When we originally wrecked, I thought that we were in trouble now,” Sauter said. “At one point, we were two laps down and got in position to get our laps back. We had a truck capable of running in the top ten because I pushed Brendan Gaughan all the way up to the front.”

“That was a solid effort,” Sauter continued. “Obviously I hate the way it turned out through nobody’s fault. But we’re still in the game.”

After surviving one of NASCAR’s fastest, most sweeping tracks, Sauter was excited to put Talladega in his rear view mirror and head to the short track at Martinsville. The track known as the ‘paper clip’ was the site of not only a victory in the spring for the driver, but also the birth of his second child, who arrived right after the race.

“It’s obviously a fond memory, winning the race the way we did, passing Kyle Busch on the last few laps,” Sauter said. “Obviously the birth of our baby girl, it made you feel good.”

“It’s a feel good race track for me,” Sauter continued. “But I’ve been racing long enough to know that was six months ago.”

For Sauter, his race at Martinsville this weekend was all about track position, as well as staying out of other competitors’ way. In spite of tempers flaring often, Sauter was able to bring his race truck home right where he started the race, in fourth place. This was Sauter’s tenth top-5 finish this season.

“Ultimately, it all worked out,” Sauter said after the race. “We found our way to the front. This was fun racing and anytime we see Martinsville on the schedule, I’m a happy guy.”

Sauter is also excited about the final two races, one at Texas and the finale in Homestead. Sauter has a good record in the Lone Star state, having finished second in both of last year’s races, as well as leading 56 laps in the spring race before receiving a late race penalty.

“I think we can go there and win the race,” Sauter said of Texas. “We’ve run really well there.”

“We had the truck to beat there but had some trouble in the pits and still finished second,” Sauter continued. “We did everything right and in my mind we won the race.”

Even with his good run at Martinsville and hopefully another at Texas, Sauter is convinced that, just like during Kulwicki’s run, the championship will be decided in the finale at Homestead, where the driver has top 10 finishes in two of four starts.

“I hope it does come down to Homestead,” Sauter said. “That’s what I’ve been saying all year. I think it’s going to.”

Interestingly enough, with two young guns in front of him and the wily veteran Ron Hornaday now tied with him, Sauter has no interest whatsoever in his competition. In fact, he almost relishes the role of underdog and flying under the radar.

“To be honest, I’m not looking out for anybody,” Sauter said. “I’m more focused on what we’ve got to do.”

“Obviously, Hornaday has found something the last month that has got him back on track,” Sauter continued. “But I’m not really concerned about anybody.”

“I think we need to go to the race track and execute and do our own thing and accumulate points,” Sauter said. “Everybody is focused on Dillon and Hornaday the way that they’ve run.”

“I probably would look at us as underdogs right now,” Sauter continued. “That’s fine with me. I don’t need the attention.”

Sauter may not need the attention, but there would be nothing more meaningful to him than to be hoisting that trophy over his head in Florida during the championship race weekend.

“Man, that would be something,” Sauter said about a championship win. “I probably wouldn’t even know until it happened what I’d feel like.”

“Coming from a racing family, that would be a huge accomplishment not only for me, but for my family,” Sauter said. “I’d probably be speechless for a little while. I’d have to just take it all in.”

But for now, with three races in the season left to go, Sauter is just staying the course, as well as hoping to emulate NASCAR champ Alan Kulwicki.

“You just have to keep digging,” Sauter said. “That’s all you can do.”

October 29, 2011
Ron Hornaday Makes Strong Case For Veterans and Experience

At the age of 53, Ron Hornaday won his 50^th NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday night. While a lot of people focus on bringing forth that brand new young talent, an argument could be made that veteran experience is where it’s at.

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”227″][/media-credit]The win marked his third of the season and puts him fifth in points, only 42 points behind Austin Dillon with five races left in the season. The focus on the series standings has been the young guns, Dillon, James Buescher and Timothy Peters, though here Hornaday is ready to capitalize as he’s done other years.

A veteran is also someone that a team can look at to lead them to victories and championships, without having to worry about going through the rookie, young-gun lessons of gaining that experience. However, team owners look beyond that as they want that youth for the future.

Following last season, Hornaday was a driver that many questioned wondered if he should hang it up after he finished seventh in points with only two wins. A season of bad luck and misfortune happens every once and awhile in a driver’s career as you can look at any driver who has been racing for a number of years and see this string. Just the year before in 2009, Hornaday won the championship with six wins.

The comments made were like most in racing, who say that you’re latest results are the only ones who matter. While making those types of comments and articles, Hornaday’s four championships were forgotten along with the wins. On top of that, the strength of Hornaday’s team Kevin Harvick Incorporated (KHI) was misplaced amongst the talk.

Speaking of KHI, they announced last month that they would be shutting down operations at the end of the season as Kevin Harvick considered it a distraction. Truthfully, you could also argue that the issue of being able to find sponsorship in this economy probably played just as big as a factor.

Regardless, the announcement leaves Hornaday without a ride for 2012 with only a month and a half left in the 2011 season. Considering the success that Hornaday has had as of late, a ride is something that he should easily be able to find. However, it’s not a guarantee as Johnny Benson wasn’t able to find a ride and now finds himself back running at the short track level.

One scenario plays that Hornaday could find himself at Kyle Busch Motorsports, running a second truck for the team while Brian Ickler and Kyle Busch split the No. 18. It’s a scenario that has potential as Hornaday and Busch could work together to attract sponsors as Busch has proven that he has a strong team. Hornaday would also be an important asset to the KBM organization as he could possibly bring Busch his first driver’s championship.

Silly Season always brings out the best and worst scenarios like these and in the end, you will probably see Ron Hornaday find a ride or else there will be a lot of fans confused.

October 3, 2011
The Key To Success

There was rain. There were floods. There were even tornado’s in Atlanta. But for the second time in modern history, NASCAR ran on a Tuesday morning.

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”227″][/media-credit]The story that came out of the race was not the Chase points. It wasn’t those that clinched and those that lost all chance of making it. It was the story of persistence. It was the persistence of the fans that stayed and weathered the storm literally. It was the persistence of a 4-time champion who refused to quit. It was the persistence of a 2-time champion who was down and out who lady luck seemed to have forgotten. It was the story of a young man who has seen the bottom over four years and suddenly has found the spark. Persistence was the story of the day.

The race weekend in Atlanta began on Friday. It was hot and humid to the point of being miserable and 87,000 people were there. On Saturday the weather was the same and the fans were still there. On Sunday the skies opened up and delivered a tropical torrential down power and the fans were there until NASCAR finally lost the track about 9 PM. Because of the weather warnings local authorities requested the race be rescheduled for Tuesday morning. Tuesday Morning 16,000 people were in the stands in the cold and damp and endured the on and off heavy mist. The cost of their perseverance was probably very high with 2 missed days of work or more for most. But their dedication to the sport and their favorite drivers was strong and their loyalty unwavering. Their persistence was rewarded with being witness to history being made.

Through the delays there was a burning light. It was a light that had been burning since 1976 in Rio Linda California at a track called Cracker Jack Raceway. A fire that never dimmed and reach heights of greatness that the man it burned inside of only had dreamed of. The 4 time champion had struggled the last 2 years with a long winless streak broken in Texas last spring and punctuated by a crew chief change this winter. It was only two short years ago the media and the fans were talking about Jeff Gordon retiring but he didn’t. Instead he drove hard and on a rainy Tuesday in Atlanta Georgia, Jeff Gordon won his 85^th race and secured third place on the all time win list. He continued to forge ahead, believing in himself and his Hendrick Motorsports team and keeping his eye on the prize, another championship.

Two time champion Tony Stewart has been through the gamut of emotions in the last two years, from becoming the owner of his own team, to winning his first race in his own cars to struggling to get out of his own way this year. Smoke’s luck reached rock bottom with an uncharacteristic 30^th place finish 2 laps down in Bristol last week. Smoke proclaimed in Michigan that they didn’t need to make the chase if they couldn’t perform any better than they were. “There is no use in being in the chase if you can’t challenge for the win.” He said. So when the white flag flew at Atlanta and Smoke made a classic sprint car dive to the inside of Kurt Busch in a Hail Mary move for 3^rd his fans held their breath. Smoke’s talent had never been in question but his luck that was something else. But Smoke held on to the Office Depot Chevrolet and made the move work looking more like the two time daring, devil may care champion that his fans have grown to love. He never gave up. He was frustrated. He was down. But he was never out. He pushed himself and his team harder than he had ever pushed before and he made the decision to succeed and to continue on to the chase.

In June, Dale Earnhardt Jr sat 3^rd in the points and was a picture of consistency. But lady luck would not be on his side. A string of bad finishes and misfortunes hit at absolutely the worse time, the end of the race for the chase. The media began doubting he would make the Chase. The slide was terminal they hinted. Even with all the improvement in the driver and the team there was still something missing. Pit stops were slow. The car had no speed. The qualifying efforts were poor. The race results slipped to top 20 finishes instead of top 10 finishes. The nay sayers pointed their fingers and the negativity flowed like water from a tap. But this time something was different about Dale Jr. This time he didn’t give in to the negativity. Instead he said we are working on the problems. He was honest. He was upfront but he never lost his swagger or his confidence. In Atlanta even with a bad car and handling problems, Earnhardt Jr held on to 9^th place in the points. Going into Richmond he would only have to pull a 20^th or better finish to secure his Chase spot. “That is the job we got, so we will try. I feel confident and you don’t stop trying until it’s over.” Earnhardt said after the race. And that is the secret after all to his being there isn’t it? He never quit trying. He pushed on and in doing so he found that his goal was within his reach.

All of these situations have a common thread. People took control of situations that were not in their control. The fans took control to outlast the weather and show their devotion to their sport. Jeff Gordon took control of his abilities and over came a slump by refusing to accept anything less than being a championship contender. Tony Stewart took a string of bad luck and in true Smoke fashion man handled it until it became something he could out drive. Dale Jr. dug deep inside and reached out for a new voice on the radio and found his confidence and belief in his talents.

All could have walked away. All could have said it was a great ride but… Instead they persisted through the storms, the trials, the bad luck, and the negativity. They reached back and found the time tested and true adage of racing…It ain’t over until the checkered flag waves and the check clears the bank. When they did they found the truth in racing. Persistence equals success every single time.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * * * * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Congratulations to Ron Hornaday on his Camping World Truck victory. It was awesome to see the champ in victory lane again.

Congratulations to Carl Edwards on his Nationwide Series win.

Congratulations to Jeff Gordon on his hard fought victory in the Sprint Cup Series and a historical 85^th win to take sole position of 3^rd on the all time win list. Not bad for a kid whose mustache use to be penciled in with eye brow pencil.

Kudos to Tony Stewart for one of the most incredible Hail Mary passes the sport has seen in a long time.

That said, to all the competitors in all the series thanks for giving us everything you have to give, you are our heroes. Most importantly, thanks to all the families who shared their loved ones with us so we could cheer our favorite driver and favorite teams. You are the true heroes of the sport and we are forever in your debt.

September 7, 2011
Headed in the Right Direction: Victory in Atlanta Keeps Hornaday’s Season Alive

Ron Hornaday knew that he got lucky on Friday night in Atlanta and he didn’t care. In fact, he’d rather be lucky the last eight races of the 2011 season compared to what his No. 33 ARMOUR Chevrolet team has been to start the season.

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”247″][/media-credit]“See that trophy? We stole it tonight,” Hornaday said. “But we’ll take it any way we can get it.”

Hornaday’s 49th career victory in 292 Nascar Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) starts was on a fuel mileage gamble. After getting behind early, real early from a lap one incident, Hornaday’s team spent much of the night repairing the damage to the nose of the truck.

“Brain fade on my part,” Hornaday said about lap one. “Billy O [spotter] said everybody was checking up and I ran into the back of the 15 and I locked the brakes up. I do something weird with my brakes on the restarts and I had nothing left, I was already down to the floor and I skid into the back of him.”

Crediting his team with doing and awesome job in the pits, part of Hornaday’s break came from the tape they used to repair the damage. Repeatedly saying it’s amazing what tape does to a truck at Atlanta and that it ended up helping the team with their adjustments.

Crew chief Jeff Hensley and Hornaday thought they had brought a contending truck to the track but after qualifying 17th it appeared to be the start of another frustrating weekend.

Said Hensley, “We had a decent truck in practice and I don’t know why we qualify as slow as we have on these bigger tracks.”

Because of the damage and having to pit numerous times, Hornaday went into fuel conservation mode after pitting for the final time on lap 75. Then as the dominant trucks made their final stops he found himself out front during the final 16 laps.

Their second win of the season wasn’t unexpected for the team, but how they earned it was. Just like in Texas when leader Johnny Sauter was black-flagged and Hornaday inherited the lead and the win. For Hornaday, those have been the only two times that things finally went right for the team.

In a season that’s has been hit or miss for the Kevin Harvick Inc team, they never gave up on the championship fight but have been busy climbing out of an early hole.

“Well, we go back to where we lost 25 points for the gear [following Charlotte] and me having brain fade about four races and wrecking trucks, puts us where we’re at,” said Hornaday.

In the early part of July, Hornaday finishes 17th or worse in three straight races, knocking him to ninth in points where he had been entering Atlanta. Since then the team has finished no worse than 24th in the last five races with four top nine finishes, including Friday’s win.

“Once I can put my head back on straight, get the trucks driving little bit better we’ll be fine. This right here is a boost,” said Hornaday.

Now sitting fifth in points, only 48 markers behind leader James Buescher, the four-time series champion could become a player. The veteran who was counted out early is working toward becoming the favorite through better the truck and himself.

This week he says he’s looking at putting a new seat in the truck. Right now he’s using a carbon fiber one but he’s looking to use something different heading forward.

“Maybe I can feel these trucks better these next couple of races, something I’m going to try differently for myself,” Hornaday said and in turn, “hopefully that will keep the front of the truck from bouncing.”

September 5, 2011
Jason White Hits Lottery Again for Joe Denette Motorsports with Best Team Finish

With his Mega Millions lottery winnings in hand, Joe Denette has been living the NASCAR dream , creating his own Camping World Truck Series team, Joe Denette Motorsports, this season.

But Denette’s driver, Jason White, behind the wheel of the No. 23 BunBroker.com Chevrolet, hit the lottery again for him, scoring the team’s best finish ever at Kentucky Speedway this past weekend.

[media-credit name=”Photo credit joedenettemotorsports.com” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]After battling eventual race winner Kyle Busch in the final restart, White was able to score his first top-5 finish in 2011 and a career best finish for Joe Denette Motorsports.

“It’s huge,” White said of his finish. “To drive for Joe Denette Motorsports is awesome.”

“The guy was a huge NASCAR fan and hit the lottery and now for his first season to be able to come out and be competitive and to have a chance to win a race was big for him and us,” White continued. “It’s exciting for the team.”

White credits the career best team finish with testing that he and his crew did at Rockingham the week before, along with fellow driver and competitor Ron Hornaday.

“We went testing the week before with Ron Hornaday and we learned a lot, what not to do and what to do,” White said. “I ended up being just as fast as him so the team was all excited about that.”

“We took what we learned there and took it to Kentucky,” White continued. “So, with the setup we came up with at Rockingham, we just fine tuned it.”

White practiced in the top-10 and told his team that he thought they had at least a top-five truck and potentially could win the race.

“I ended up qualifying ninth and even took the lead, going back and forth with Austin Dillon,” White said. “So, that was pretty exciting.”

Unfortunately, White and his team had a problem with the jack during one of the pit stops later in the race and came out in seventh. He was, however, able to charge back to the front of the field, before the caution flew yet again.

“That last restart, we were fourth and so basically went to second in the first turn and came up to Kyle (Busch) and was about to pass him for the lead with three to go and the caution came back out for that big wreck,” White said. “I was like ‘oh, man, I didn’t need that.’

White also knew that the bottom of the track had limited grip and was very slick. On the restart, the young driver spun his tires, allowing Kyle Busch to go on to win the race.

“I would have been OK but Elliott (Sadler) made it three wide and that really hurt us bad,” White said. “He was doing what he had to do, but looking back, if he would have just pushed me or stayed in line, we could have both had a chance on Kyle (Busch).”

“We ended up fifth but it was a great weekend for the entire team,” White continued. “To be able to compete for the win was definitely exciting and we will be able to continue that throughout the rest of the season.”

White was also pleased that he got to lead a few laps at Kentucky Speedway. And, although he has led before, particularly at Bristol, this meant a lot to the young driver.

“I’ve led laps the last couple of years here and there but this year, we’ve got better equipment and better stuff,” White said. “We’re trying to be able to continue on with that for the rest of the season.”

As for race winner and competitor Kyle Busch, White and his team are just a bit tired of continuing to run behind him.

“I learned from him, but I’m just ready to beat him,” White said. “I’m at the point now that I can beat him.”

“If we could have restarted the race the time before, I think we could have gotten him,” White continued. “We had a lot of fun and we learned what we did wrong and will fix it for next time.”

White is definitely looking forward to his next chance, which will come this weekend in the Camping World Truck Series Coca-Cola 200 presented by Hy-Vee at Iowa Speedway.

“I always liked the track,” White said. “We’ve always been fast there.”

“I think we’ll be top-five and contending for the win,” White continued. “If we’re not, I’ll be disappointed.”

“I really believe that with what we learned last week, we should be able to go out and continue to do what we did last week.”

While Joe Denette most definitely feels like he won the lottery twice now after the team’s best career finish, White has reserved his judgment.

“I don’t necessarily feel like I’ve won the lottery yet,” White said. “I need to win a race first.”

“This weekend was a great shot in the arm, it was great for me and it was great for the team,” White continued. “But I want to be able to win. We need to win.”

“This is the momentum we needed to continue for the next few races so we can prove we can go out there and do it,” White said. “Once I win a race, then I’ll say ‘I’ve won the lottery.’

July 11, 2011
Chad Hackenbracht’s Biggest Hurdle Not the Racing But His Own Last Name

Chad Hackenbracht had his best ever career finish in this past weekend’s ARCA race, scoring a fourth place in his family-owned No. 58 Tastee Apple CGH Motorsports Chevrolet at Michigan International Speedway.

[media-credit name=”Photo Credit: CGH Motorsports” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]But even greater than the challenge of the intense competition on the track is the 19 year old driver’s challenge in just getting folks to pronounce his last name correctly.

In addition to being on a quest for name recognition, the driver is having a little fun with it all. His team has just developed T-shirts, which say “What’s a Chad Hacken-something?”

The correct pronunciation of that all important last name is in parentheses (hock en bra) on the new T-shirts, which are on sale on Hackenbracht’s website www.cghmotorsports.com for just $19.95.

“That actually was started by my marketing guy who is looking for sponsorship for us,” Hackenbracht said of the T-shirt venture. “It has turned into a really big hit.”

Hackenbracht, however, is focused solely on his racing and was thrilled with his good performance at Michigan.

“We wound up getting a fourth place out of it which wasn’t too bad,” Hackenbracht said. “We were up there in contention.”

“It’s a career best for us,” Hackenbracht said. “It was really good.”

The young driver from New Philadelphia, Ohio has been on a tear even before the career best finish in Michigan. He scored an 11^th place finish at Toledo in May, a ninth-place finish at New Jersey and seventh place finish at Pocono Raceway.

This is Hackenbracht’s first full year in the ARCA Series, after running a limited schedule in 2010, with just the televised races on the docket. Prior to that, the young driver ran the Legends series, scoring 18 wins and the national championship.

Hackenbracht is a bit unusual as far as his driving pedigree. He is not from a traditional racing family, but instead caught the racing bug by seeing it on television.

“I basically was watching the Daytona or Talladega Cup race and I saw it and said to my parents, ‘Hey, I want to race.’ Hackenbracht said. “I don’t think they took me seriously but they said to come up with different options.”

“I came up with four-wheelers and go karts and my mom said no to both of them,” Hackenbracht continued. “So, then we saw quarter-midgets and started with that.”

The young driver has been moving on up the ranks ever since, with his eye eventually on a Truck or Nationwide ride. Like so many others, Hackenbracht definitely sees himself in the Cup Series sometime in the near future, with just the economy standing in his way.

“I’m in the perfect age range,” Hackenbracht said. “But just the wrong economic time.”

“In a couple years, you’ll have a lot of rides opening up,” Hackenbracht continued. “But you’ve got to survive until then.”

Hackenbracht survives with a little help from his friends, particularly those in the Cup garage, as well as good friend and mentor Ron Hornaday, Jr.

“ARCA is kind of like a big family,” Hackenbracht said. “All the teams work with you.”

“I’ve got a connection with Ron Hornaday in the Truck garage,” Hackenbracht continued. “He’ll stop in the shop after a race and we’ll talk a little bit.”

Hackenbracht does follow one particular Cup driver, one in fact that he has inherited from his mother.

“My mom’s driver is Jeff Gordon,” Hackenbracht said. “I follow him just because of my mom and dad.”

“But I really like Mark Martin myself,” Hackenbracht continued. “He races hard but he races clean. That’s what I do and what I want to be.”

In addition to the racers that Hackenbracht follows on the track, he also models himself after the premiere drivers in the sport as far as putting time in at the shop and at the gym. But he does have one other duty that has led to yet another name for the young driver.

“The guys at the shop call me ‘Sticker Boy’ because I put all the details on the car,” Hackenbracht said. “That’s kind of my thing.”

Whether you call him ‘Hacken-something’ or ‘Sticker Boy’, Hackenbracht will next be doing his thing in the ARCA Racing Series on Saturday, June 25^th in the Winchester ARCA 200 presented by Federated Auto Parts at Winchester Speedway in Indiana.

“We came to Michigan and showed our performance was no fluke,” Hackenbracht said. “I’m anxious to get to Winchester as I feel we have a shot at our first career win.”

June 22, 2011
Ron Hornaday Wins the WinStar World Casino 400k at Texas Motor Speedway

In a race that had a record number of leaders and lead changes, it was Ron Hornaday winning the WinStar World Casino 400k after a controversial call on the last lap.

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”272″][/media-credit]On the final green white checkered finish, Johnny Sauter had the lead and chose to start on the outside. Before crossing the start finish line, Sauter came down in front of Hornaday, which is a no-no as according to the NASCAR rulebook. Rules states clearly that you must stay in your lane until you cross the line. As a result, Sauter was black flagged, handing the win over to Hornaday.

“I’m not going to go down that way and judge,” he said. “I saw him sliding down and once he figured it out, he went back up there. I kind of saved my stuff just in case that happened there. It’s just an unbelievable day. I’ll take it.”

The win marks the 48th career win for Hornaday and his third win at Texas Motor Speedway.

“The way our year has been going, we’re gaining on them, but we’re still not right yet,” he added. “These guys never lay back. Thanks to Kevin and Delana for believing in me.”

Sauter, meanwhile, was credited with a 22nd place finish as the last truck on the lead lap.

“He’s got a lane to race down there,” Sauter said of NASCAR’s call. “We both spun the tires. I was just trying to save the truck.”

Parker Kligermann, meanwhile, came home second as he scored his best career finish in 10 starts.

“I just wanna thank these guys right here,” Kligermann said. “We don’t go to the wind tunnel; we don’t do shake-rig testing. They gave me an awesome truck and its about making the best of these opportunities. I owe to them since Phoenix and to know that we’re one spot away from right there (victory lane), is good.”

David Mayhew also scored his best career finish in five starts as he finished third in his first start with Kevin Harvick Incorporated.

“We had a really good truck,” Mayhew said. “I gotta thank Kevin and Delana Harvick and all these guys at KHI. Without this opportunity, you won’t be able to run like guys like that. Those guys made awesome adjustments on pit road and kept working on it.”

For Brian Ickler, he was able to rebound to finish fourth after spinning out on lap 50 after contact with Todd Bodine.

“We had a good truck all weekend,” Ickler said. “Bodine and I got into it in there and we spun out but we came back up there. I gotta thank Kyle and Samantha for the opportunity. I get to this one more time at Iowa and can’t wait.”

Joey Coulter rounded out the top-five in fifth, matching the fifth place finish last week at Kansas. Ricky Carmichael finished sixth, followed by Ryan Sieg, Miguel Paludo, Justin Lofton and pole sitter James Buescher. Buescher came back to finish 10th after getting frontend damage midway through the race.

Buescher started the race from the pole, though on lap four, Austin Dillon took the lead before the first caution for oil on the track at lap five. The restart would come at lap 10 and Buescher would jump back to first, till lap 15 when Dillon grabbed it back.

The second caution came out on lap 23 for Chase Mattiolli going for a spin and all the leaders pitted with Steve Arpin, who was making his first ever Camping World Truck Series start, coming off pit road first. The restart came at lap 27 and by lap 31, Dillon was already back in the lead.

The third caution came out at lap 51 for Brian Ickler spinning and the leaders would pit again, though Dillon would hold serve. The restart came at lap 56, though another caution would come out at lap 59 for Ryan Sieg spinning. The restart would come at lap 63 and on lap 64, Johnny Sauter jumped into the lead.

The fifth caution came out at lap 66 for David Starr and Todd Bodine making contact.

“I shouldn’t had been back there racing them,” Bodine said. “I could’ve stayed behind him or went under and I chose the wrong one of the two.”

Some of the lead trucks pitted while nine didn’t, which handed the lead to Nelson Piquet Jr. when the restart came at lap 72. He was able to hold the lead till lap 75 when Miguel Paludo would take over the top spot, till he got passed by Joey Coulter at lap 83.

The sixth caution would come at lap 90 when Austin Dillon and Matt Crafton made contact as Crafton tried to slide up in front of Dillon, thinking he was clear.

“I guess he just got a run there the last second,” Crafton said. “He wasn’t there, he wasn’t there and then he was there and I tried to back off and tried to turn left, but couldn’t cause I was free and then I got hooked on the front straightaway. Kind of a hard way to go down.”

Once again, some drivers pitted while others stayed out, which handed the lead over to Ron Hornaday for the lap 95 restart, though he’d only hold it till lap 100 when Sauter would once again take it over.

The seventh caution would come out when Cole Whitt would blow up and everybody pitted, except Ryan Sieg who stayed out. The restart came with 55 to go and the race would only stay green for five laps as the eighth caution would fly when Justin Marks would go for a spin. Sieg pitted under the caution, giving the lead back to Hornaday. The restart came with 45 to go and with 37 to go, Sauter would go back to the front.

The ninth caution came out with 30 to go with Steve Arpin would get loose, making contact with Austin Dillon, sending them both into the grass. The restart came five laps later and Sauter would lead all the way to the final caution with seven to go when Clay Rogers got into the wall.

The race would go back to green with the green-white-checkered, which is where the call was made against Sauter. On the final lap, Travis Kvapil and Johanna Long made heavy contact with the wall as Kvapil got loose coming off of turn four.

Sauter now leads Whitt in the point standings by 12 points as they’re followed by Dillon, Crafton and Timothy Peters.

The next race for the Camping World Truck Series is on Thursday July 7th at Kentucky Speedway.

June 11, 2011
Kyle Busch Wins Monster of a Truck Race; Nemesis Kevin Harvick Finishes Fifth

Kyle Busch, behind the wheel of No. 18 Traxxas Toyota, put the controversy and trash talking with Kevin Harvick from last week’s Darlington race behind him to win the Lucas Oil 200 Truck Series race at the Monster Mile in Dover, Delaware.

[media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”264″][/media-credit]Busch’s win also tied him with Mark Martin for the most wins in all three series, with both drivers now at 96 victories. He is also the first two-time winner in the Camping World Truck Series at Dover International Speedway.

This was Busch’s 27^th victory in 90 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races. The win also was his third victory and fifth top-10 finish in 2011.

“It was a really good truck,” Busch said. “I can’t say enough about this Toyota.”

While Busch seemed to dominate most of the race, he affirmed that it was not as easy as it seemed.

“Overall the race went pretty well for us,” Busch said. “It wasn’t quite the walk in the park it seemed. This place is so difficult and so challenging and you feel like you’re always on edge.”

Busch said that he and his nemesis Harvick managed to race each other clean and without issues.

“I thought today’s race was good,” Busch said of his competition with Harvick. “We had some close moments and we raced each other hard but it was fine. All is good as far as I know.”

For his part, Kevin Harvick finished fifth after an eventful race. Harvick, piloting the No. 2 Bad Boy Buggies Chevrolet, had to rebound from a speeding penalty to work his way back through the field to score that top five finish.

Red Bull rookie Cole Whitt had almost as good a race as winner Kyle Busch, finishing in the runner up position. The driver of the No. 60 Red Bull/Fuel Doctor Chevrolet posted his first top-10 finish, his first top five and his career best finish.

“It’s crazy,” Whitt said. “I’m happy to be here in the first place. Trying to live the dream and chase it and drive door to door with half these guys, let alone Kyle Busch, is pretty cool.”

“We had a great truck all weekend and this thing’s been pretty spot on,” Whitt said. “We’ve just been turning things around from the way the season started.”

“Early in the race, we were good on long runs and our truck just couldn’t do it on short runs,” Whitt said, crediting that issue to his runner up status. “That’s what it just turned in to be. It was all short runs after that.”

Whitt also acknowledged that he went to school at the feet of Kyle Busch, especially on those late race restarts.

“Kyle is one of the best in the business on restarts,” Whitt said. “He definitely schooled me a few times and then I felt like I got a good one there at the end but it wasn’t good enough.”

“We’re all small team trying to make it big.”

Matt Crafton, driver of the No. 88 Menards/Certain Teed Chevrolet, came in third but that was good enough for him to claim the points lead in the Truck Series.

“At the beginning of the race, I couldn’t fire off and I was really, really loose,” Crafton said. “But at the end of the run, we’d be one of the best trucks on the race track.”

This was Crafton’s sixth top-10 finish in 11 races at the Monster Mile. He is now leading the points by five over teammate Johnny Sauter.

“It’s great to be the points leader,” Crafton continued. “We just need to keeping doing what we’re doing and running top five every week and having these top three finishes and throw a couple of wins off and see where we are at Homestead.”

Austin Dillon, behind the wheel of the No. 3 BassProShops/Remington/Tracker Boats Chevrolet, finished in the fourth spot. Harvick rounded out the top five.

Another notable in the race finishing order was rookie Joey Coulter, who qualified fifth and finished sixth in his No. 22 RCR/Rip-It Chevrolet. This was Coulter’s first trip to the Monster Mile and the driver and his family were thrilled with the result.

Brendan Gaughan, James Buescher, Ron Hornaday, Jr. and Justin Marks, the pole sitter rounded out the top ten.

May 13, 2011