Ron Hornaday, content to let others lead while he saved his tires, surged to the front with 38 laps left in Saturday's Colorado 250 to score a record-tying third consecutive NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory.
Hornaday, who qualified his Chevrolet on the pole, didn't take the lead until the 65th of 250 laps at Colorado National Speedway. Following the mid-race break, the Palmdale, Calif, competitor again chose to conserve tires and let Mike Bliss extend his advantage to more than four seconds before beginning a move back to the front.He caught Bliss in heavy traffic in turn 3 of the 3/8-mile track, as the pair lapped Joe Ruttman's Ford. Bliss, also in a Ford, held on to finish second, 2.29 seconds behind.
Rookie Stacy Compton recorded his best effort of the season, taking third after starting his Ford 13th. Jay Sauter, who banged fenders with Hornaday on the 189th lap while they contested third, took his Chevrolet to fourth. Series championship leader Rich Bickle was fifth in a Chevy.
The virtually caution-free race allowed Hornaday to break Mike Skinner's 1996 record with an average of 62.978 mph. Hornaday's fifth victory of the 1997 season was worth $37,200.
"I wasn't even thinking about three in a row or anything but winning," said the 39-year-old Hornaday, who matched Skinner's consecutive victory mark and became the first series driver to win four times in a five-race stretch. "I was really worried on that last restart (lap 237). I'm glad it wasn't with less than 10 laps, because they would have lined up right behind me. I knew that when I cleared (the lapped) Ruttman, they would have to use up their tires trying to catch me."
The restart followed the race's sixth caution, triggered by Tammie Jo Kirk's crash in turn 2.
A hot afternoon, combined with a slick, aging track surface, saw lap times drop by more than a second from the beginning of the race. Early leader Mike Wallace, who paced the first 61 laps, quickly ran out of traction and was lapped by Hornaday on lap 117.
Four drivers led the race, trading the lead six times. Just 11 of the 26 finishers completed all 250 laps.