Rea White: Ron Hornaday inching closer to fourth Truck title at Kevin Harvick Inc.
Kevin Harvick Inc.'s Ron Hornaday does a burnout after winning the N.C. Education Lottery 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in May. // David Griffin, NASCAR Scene
COMMENTARY
While much has been made of Jimmie Johnson and his Hendrick Motorsports team's stellar season - and rightly so - there's another team that has also enjoyed a record-setting season in its series.
Kevin Harvick Inc.'s Ron Hornaday is on track for a record fourth series crown during a Camping World Truck Series season in which he had a stunning summer stretch. Hornaday joined the ranks of drivers such as Richard Petty and Bobby Allison when he won five consecutive races this summer. He's only the third driver to ever do so in one of NASCAR's three national touring series and the first to do so in the Truck ranks. Petty won 10 Cup races in a row in 1967 and five in a row in 1971. Allison also won five Cup races in a row in 1971.
Now, Hornaday is trying to capitalize on that and add a fourth title to those he won in 1996, 1998 and 2007.
And he seems to be handily doing just that. With three races left in the season, Hornaday has a 202-point lead over ThorSport Racing's Matt Crafton. For a series accustomed to tight points battles that often go down to the wire, Hornaday's dominance is both stunning and somewhat disturbing to the competition.
It’s been an amazing season for the group.
In many seasons, the Truck teams have headed to Homestead with the championship still on the line. This year, they could go already knowing that Hornaday has snared the trophy. And he has done so in stunning fashion.
The 51-year-old driver and crew chief Rick Ren have clearly figured out this series and have become perennial championship contenders.
Last season, Hornaday battled Johnny Benson to the end, finishing second by seven points in the closest points race in series history.
This year, he’s been running away with the battle.
It’s yet another sign of the strength of the KHI organization.
Hornaday has been a cornerstone in building the team owned by Kevin and DeLana Harvick. He has finished no worse than seventh in the standings since joining the group in 2005 and gave the organization its first title in 2007. The group has worked together to earn 19 wins during the span, and Hornaday has become the series-leading winner with 45 victories.
It's a testament to the work and dedication of both the driver and the team owners. Both Hornaday and Ren continually point out the Harvicks' work ethic and their commitment to looking forward instead of backwards when it comes to making changes or recovering from a setback. They simply refuse to dwell on what might have been. Instead, they look over any mechanical failures, dismiss any incidents that were out of their control and move on to the next race.
And then Hornaday goes out and drives like the veteran and champion he is.
It has clearly been a winning formula. Hornaday has 82 top-10 finishes since joining the team, 55 of them top fives, as well as the wins.
Now, he's looking to give them their second title in three seasons. To do that, he and Ren have put together a stellar season. They have six wins, 13 top-five and 17 top-10 finishes in 22 series starts.
At Texas Motor Speedway, site of this weekend's race, Hornaday has a pair of victories but finished 19th in this year's spring race there. He has led 392 laps in the last five races there. Could this be just another piece of the championship puzzle for him and his KHI group?
It certainly could.
And Hornaday and his group could once more reap the rewards of a stellar season.
