This was only the second time Ron has raced at Nashville Superspeedway and the first with Carroll Racing at the 1.333-mile concrete egg-shaped oval.   The Dr Pepper Racing Team utilized the first practice session to get the race trim worked on for Saturday night’s main event.  The end of the practice was plagued with a couple of accidents that effected the available time to test the qualifying set-up of the Dr Pepper Monte Carlo.  Hornaday’s qualifying attempt posted a lap of 30.232 sec (158.732 mph) that ranked 19^th.

The Happy Hour Practice Session time sheet had the Dr Pepper Racing Team in the 21^st position.  After reviewing the car’s performance throughout the day, the team decided that it would change motors before the 300-mile race.  This is an infraction of the one-engine rule NASCAR as mandated and as a result the #26 Dr Pepper Chevy would be relegated to the back of the field before the start of the race.

Hornaday proved that the loss in track position would not be a hindrance as he propelled himself from 43^rd to 28^th in the first two laps.  The racing groove at Nashville is narrow, therefore passing needs to be developed and strategically planned and executed.  The Inside Traxx 300 began smoother than many expected and went Caution-free for 61 laps.  By this time, Hornaday worked the Dr Pepper Chevy into 19^th position and was on his way to Pit Road for some “Thirst Crew” service.  Todd Lohse, Crew Chief, called for fresh tires, fuel and the removal of a spring rubber out of the Right Rear shock; the crew responded by picking up 2 spots and sending Ron out in 17^th place.

Throughout the next 45 laps, Hornaday picked up a few more spots moving into 15^th position when the third caution flag of the event was waved on Lap 110.  Ron mentioned the car was a little tight, so Todd called for some air pressure and wedge adjustments to combat the handling problems.  

On Lap 160, the Dr Pepper Monte Carlo was brought back down Pit Road during a yellow flag to readjust the air pressure and wedge adjustments on the four tire stop.  Hornaday entered the pits in 16^th, however some of the race teams gambled and took two tires and therefore beat the #26 Dr Pepper Chevy out of the pits, placing Ron in 16^th. 

Within two laps, the slower lapped cars and the teams with only two tires began banging around up front and resulted in a caution; Hornaday picked up four spots and was now in 12^th with some slower cars ahead.  On Lap 182, Ron was running side by side with a couple cars when the car broke loose in Turns 3 and 4, despite a valiant effort to save the Dr Pepper Chevy the front right nicked the wall and damaged the radiator and duct work.  The “Thirst Crew” brought the car behind the wall and repaired it enough to run a few laps and secure a 31^st place finish that dropped the team back two spots in the points standings to 26^th.

Jack Sprague captured his first victory in the Busch Series with a trailing Bobby Hamilton Jr. and Greg Biffle rounding out the Top-3.