Next Truck Event:  Pocono
                                    Saturday, July 31st   
                                    Race Time:  12:30 p.m.

    

Hornaday wins at ORP
#33-Ron Hornaday Jr. looked as if he were on cruise control as he easily took the checkers to pick up the win for the AAA Insurance 200 at O'Reilly Raceway Park. It was Hornaday's first win in 2010; his 46th career Camping World Truck Series win overall.

 #18-Kyle Busch finished second. Rounding out the top ten were; #88-Matt Crafton, #13-Johnny Sauter, #31-James Buescher, #3-Austin Dillon, #30-Todd Bodine, #90-Brad Sweet, #81-David Starr, #17-Timothy Peters. Eighteen year-old, Johanna Long had an impressive run finishing 17th in her first series start.

Tough night for #51-Aric Almirola, who, following an early-accident wound up with a 31st place finish. As a result, #30-Todd Bodine increased his points lead to 177 points ahead of Almirola, who remains second in the standings, but only 5 points ahead of third place, Johnny Sauter. There were 3 lead changes among 2 drivers, with 5 caution flags for 29 laps.
 

Old Dominion Speedway Race Report
By:  JB Fan - Sue

Johnny was one of several name drivers racing at Old Dominion Speedway in Manassas, VA in a special program to benefit Joe Gibbs’ Youth for Tomorrow program. I got there early figuring there’d be an autograph session, but it turned out I arrived just after it ended. However, I saw Johnny riding on a golf cart that was stopped, so I hustled over to take his picture. I was so happy that I was able to shake his hand and speak to him.

Johnny qualified 15th , just ahead of Curtis Markham, a former Old Dominion champion who is now Denny Hamlin’s spotter. You could tell JB was having trouble in the corners during his qualifying laps, smoking the tires at least once.

JB in the golf cart	JB drove the #81	Driver's introduction

The race itself wasn’t particularly eventful. They ran 100 laps, took a break and then ran 50 more laps. In the first few laps, JB was able to pass on the inside, but then the handle went away and he struggled the rest of the race. He was close to losing a lap when a caution saved him on lap 81. During the break, they had the left side of the car jacked up and it was reported the car wouldn’t turn in the center of the corner and they weren’t sure what to do to fix it. He restarted 18th in the second segment and the car still wouldn’t turn, so he never was a factor. They didn’t announce the complete finishing order, but I think he finished 13th.

Some observations – it was a very hot day, even for July. I felt bad for JB at 10:45 pm when he was signing autographs after the race. I was worn out just from being in the heat and here he’d just driven 150 laps in an ill handling car in addition to cooking in the sun a lot of the day. I know it won’t surprise anyone here that even though he should have been cooling off someplace, he was graciously signing autographs and posing for pictures. I just had to get my picture taken with him and I’m grateful he could hang in there.

I checked on the Gateway truck race sometime after 3:30, before I left for the track and Ron Hornaday and Max Papis were still running. I was amazed when they arrived at Old Dominion at 6:30. That had to have been some fast airplane.

It may sound corny, but I have to say that meeting Johnny last night was a really big deal to me. I was just thrilled to shake his hand and speak to him. And I have a picture of me wearing a Johnny Benson tshirt while I’m standing next to Johnny Benson! Life is good. Thanks JB!     Special thanks to Sue for her report and photos!


Legendary Old Dominion back in the spotlight
Joe Gibbs-backed charity event on off week featuring Benson, Hornaday
By Dave Rodman, NASCAR.COM
July 16, 2010 - 12:38 PM EDT

Vacations -- and time off -- can be a time for a lot of different things, including getaways from the everyday, norm and grind of your daily existence.

But for a lot of people in the motorsports industry, "time off" means a time to give back. And that's exactly what's going to happen Saturday at Old Dominion Speedway, which is located a short hop west of Washington, D.C., in Manassas, Va.

Heck, I'm wondering if I'll see visions of Wendell Scott, Roy Tyner and God bless him, that old NASCAR pace car driver and stalwart owner/driver Elmo Langley, who won the last Grand National race held at Old Dominion in 1966, bouncing it off those rumpled red-and-white guard rails.The Cup Series is off for the weekend and even if those guys weren't in the position of Jimmie Johnson, who's just days beyond becoming a first-time father, for the most part they're nowhere to be found.

But for a handful of guys with national series backgrounds, supporting Old Dominion and NASCAR owner Joe Gibbs' charitable endeavor "Youth for Tomorrow" for a full day of activity followed by a night of short track racing, is what it's all about.

Old Dominion is a 3/8ths-mile asphalt short track that's a legendary NASCAR venue after hosting everything from the forerunner of today's Cup Series, to being the claimed birthplace of the ubiquitous Late Model Stock Car and the home of former NASCAR Weekly Racing Series national champion Mark McFarland.

For me, it's going to be at least the 120th speedway I've visited in my race-watching/working career.

And with such notables as Ron Hornaday, Johnny Benson, Max Papis, David Stremme, Timothy Peters, Andy Lally and fellow Grand-Am Rolex Series GT standout Spencer Pumpelly all scheduled to attend and race in a 150-lap LMSC special, it should be a show.

Even another Old Dominion legend, former Busch Series standout Curtis Markham, who spots Cup races for Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin, will be there. And it's a guarantee it'll create some memories.

Of course, I'm not talking about the ghosts of "Gentleman Ned" Jarrett and Richard Petty and Frankie Schneider -- who all won Grand National races at the track.

Heck, I'm wondering if I'll see visions of Wendell Scott, Roy Tyner and God bless him, that old NASCAR pace car driver and stalwart owner/driver Elmo Langley, who won the last Grand National race held at Old Dominion in 1966, bouncing it off those rumpled red-and-white guard rails.

Oh no, I'd settle for seeing a retro of a more recent Old Dominion event, like Hamlin -- before he became a household name and a Cup championship contender -- giving up a top-four starting position in a historic 250-lap Late Model Stock Car special in October 2004, for a chance at a $5,000 bonus if he could win from the tail.

And I'll be darned if he didn't come close before falling short to winner and multiple Old Dominion track champion McFarland, as well as 2003 track champion Brandon Butler.

I've got to tell you, I looked at the Old Dominion LMSC point chart and I didn't recognize a single name except former Busch Series racer Nathan Buttke -- who isn't a regular there.

But you know, earlier this year in Hamlin's own charity event at Southside Speedway near Richmond, local Late Model standout C.E. Falk knocked Hamlin aside and beat him, adding to Langley Speedway champ Falk's local notoriety. Can one of those locals do that Saturday night at Old Dominion?

You'll have to be there to see -- and I know I'll be spending some time hanging as close to the fence as I can get.

But really, I'm looking forward to seeing if the pizza measures up to the best I've ever had at a short track -- Lebanon Valley Speedway's in upstate New York. Heck, it's in the same state as South Boston, so maybe they have bologna burgers.

But don't worry -- I won't go for 20 -- I wouldn't even do two. I would try one, with extra onions, of course.

And the best part -- you can join in, for a small donation to a pretty worthwhile charity. And as a bonus, you'll get no less than five divisions of racing action. Personally, I can't wait to see the Virginia Sprints in action.

And I bet you wouldn't have to coax Benson or Hornaday -- and heck, even that fast-becoming-a-short-track-nut Papis -- to give one a try.