NASCAR is a permanent vacation for grandfather and Truck champion Ron Hornaday
By Bob Pockrass - Associate Editor
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Kevin Harvick Inc.'s Ron Hornaday holds up four fingers to show how many championships his won competing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
David Griffin
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MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Ron Hornaday has raced in a NASCAR national touring series for 15 years, and at age 51 with a record four Truck series championships, it might seem that he might want to start taking it a little easy.
But Hornaday has no plans to hang up the helmet as long as team owners Kevin and DeLana Harvick are giving him a truck to drive. Their standard quip is that Hornaday will always have a job at Kevin Harvick Inc., but that doesn’t mean it will be a paying job.
“I could wash windows for Kevin and DeLana and still have fun,” Hornaday says. “So if I can’t get it done and I see that, they’ll put somebody in there, and I’ll work with them and do whatever I’ve got to do to make the company a success and winning championships.”
That time probably isn’t coming soon. Hornaday has won two championships in the last three years. He is a grandfather, but he’s a racer. He vows he will keep racing as long as he’s competitive.
“When I go out there and start riding around for a paycheck is when it’s time to quit,” Hornaday says.
Hornaday credits good equipment from the Harvicks and crew chief Rick Ren for making his job easy.
“There’s never a dull moment with Ron Hornaday,” Ren says. “There are some things he’s set in his ways about. He knows what he wants it to feel like, and it’s our job to get that feel for him. He’s pretty open-minded.
“If I sit and talk to him about I want to try [something] so he has an idea in what direction we’re going, he’s open-minded because we always know we can put it back to how we know it races good.”
That wasn’t always the case, Hornaday says. There was a time when he was close-minded.
“Ten years ago, I was,” Hornaday says. “Rick Ren and I probably couldn’t work together. I knew what I wanted in a truck. I knew what I had to have, and now it’s …, ‘You’re the crew chief, I’m the driver, and I’m just going to tell you what it does.’”
Harvick says there are advantages inherent in having a veteran driver behind the wheel.
“The big difference is you’re not in teaching mode – it’s all a matter of making sure that they have the stuff they need underneath them to drive,” Harvick says. “The hardest part with the young guys is getting over the fact that they have to learn race tracks, and when they first go out, they don’t really know what they need, and by the end of the day, they have the thing totally turned upside down, and you don’t really know where to go from there.”
NASCAR’s trucks handle so well that it’s more a mental challenge than a physical challenge, Hornaday says.
“I feel good still doing it,” the four-time series champion says “Every time I get behind the steering wheel, I feel like a kid. Other than these last few races being sick, I have never been drained, I’ve never been mentally confused in my race truck.
“When that stuff starts happening, that’s when it’s time to quit. Right now, I feel good when I drive, and I have fun doing it. … I can do it for another 20 years, I hope.”
That would take him to 71. And why not race that long? What’s he going to do – retire and see the country? His kids are grown, and he already gets to see the country.
“Racing now is fun,” Hornaday says. “We traveled before and got in the truck and had to hurry home, make sure that everything was all right in the house. Now, we feed the dogs, and every race is a vacation for us. I have a lot of fun doing it.”
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5 responses to "NASCAR is a permanent vacation for grandfather and Truck champion Ron Hornaday ". Post a Comment.
pevans9157 said:
Nov 25, 2009 at 4:13 PMFinally a guy that gets it. He says every race is a vacation. It is work as well and everyone knows that. He is smart to view it as he does and acknowledge he is lucky to be a race car driver and have a company that respects his ability.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportmanzytrophygirl said:
Nov 25, 2009 at 6:09 PMLuv ya, Ron!...been watching you race since the old Southwest Series and ALWAYS cheering for you. Congratulations on the fourth Championship to a terrific racer/person/family man who loves racing every lap around the track.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportwmvjr1960 said:
Nov 25, 2009 at 8:39 PMGobble, gobble ! Hornaday got 'discovered' at 35 yrs old by Dale Sr. Now we have a bunch of legend kids going straight to Cup. There is no substitute for experience, which Ron had plenty of when he 'started' in 1995. Teams should hire more pros and less brats.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportwmvjr1960 said:
Nov 25, 2009 at 8:44 PMAlso, Hornaday was dominating SoCal when Harvick was a teen, RH was one of Kevin's idols, along with Rick Mears. Now Ron drives for KHI..pretty cool how that worked out.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportBill8848 said:
Nov 26, 2009 at 11:06 AMPost #3 I agree with you 100%.
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