Hornaday looks for three in a row at New Hampshire

Ron Hornaday has been untouchable the past two years at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the Camping World Truck Series, leading a combined 323 of 400 laps en route to runaway victories. He'll try for three in a row on the flat 1.058-mile track Saturday in the Heluva Good! 200, and there's every reason to think he'll make it.

Hornaday returns with the key elements intact, driving a Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet under the direction of crew chief Rick Ren.

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"The past two years, Rick Ren and the guys have really gotten a good setup together that I like and is comfortable to me," Hornaday said. "You never know what is going to happen, but I love coming to New Hampshire."

The three-time Truck Series champion has been tough to beat almost everywhere this season. Hornaday established a series record by winning five in a row, the most in a NASCAR national series since 1971, and has six total in 18 races.

Hornaday has a commanding 197-point lead over Matt Crafton and 213 over Mike Skinner, his closest competitors, with seven races remaining.

Hornaday could equal his most single-season wins in the series at New Hampshire. He also had seven in 1997.

"It [winning] would mean a lot to me," Hornaday said. "We have set a lot of records this year. Each one means something to me. It is a special memory I put in the memory bank. Each win at Loudon has been special in its own way. I won the inaugural race [1996] there, which was pretty cool. I led the last and most important lap that year."

Hornaday has gone through four races since his winning streak ended at Bristol, where he finished third, but he had a very strong performance last week at Gateway. Hornaday led 116 of 162 laps and was in front with four laps remaining of the scheduled 156-lap distance when Crafton's contact in the left-rear quarter panel on a restart spun him into the wall. Hornaday finished 17th.

Hornaday was as upset over losing the truck as he was being knocked out of the race. The team had planned to bring that Chevrolet to New Hampshire.

Hornaday will be driving a new truck instead. He's won the first time out in new trucks previously this season.

"That's not racing when you destroy a guy's truck," Hornaday said. "I hope we have a good piece for [New Hampshire]."

Skinner and Kyle Busch are also on two-race winning streaks, of different kinds, heading into Saturday's race. Skinner's Randy Moss Motorsports Toyota has won the last two races; Busch was victorious in his last two races, at Bristol and Chicagoland, in the Billy Ballew Motorsports Toyota.

Kevin Harvick is also entered, in the KHI No. 2. He won at Martinsville in his last Truck Series race in March and was second at Atlanta in his other start in the series this season.