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Ron Hornaday
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Ronald Hornaday, Jr. (born in Palmdale, California on June 20, 1958) is a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver. He is the father of former NASCAR driver Ronnie Hornaday, and son of the late Ron Hornaday, Sr., a two time Winston West Champion. Adding on to the family legacy, Ron is a three time champion in the Truck Series, his most recent coming in 2007. He currently drives the #33 Camping World Chevrolet Silverado for Kevin Harvick Incorporated in the Camping World Truck Series.
He was a long-time driver in NASCAR's Winston West Series and Featherlite Southwest Series Champion.
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Encyclopedia
Ronald Hornaday, Jr. (born in Palmdale, California on June 20, 1958) is a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver. He is the father of former NASCAR driver Ronnie Hornaday, and son of the late Ron Hornaday, Sr., a two time Winston West Champion. Adding on to the family legacy, Ron is a three time champion in the Truck Series, his most recent coming in 2007. He currently drives the #33 Camping World Chevrolet Silverado for Kevin Harvick Incorporated in the Camping World Truck Series.
He was a long-time driver in NASCAR's Winston West Series and Featherlite Southwest Series Champion. He was noticed by Dale Earnhardt while participating in the NASCAR Winter Heat Series on ESPN2.
Hornaday is known for introducing the burnout to NASCAR (Former open wheel driver Alex Zanardi was the first professional driver to perform one). After winning Truck races, then-teammate Dale Earnhardt performed the burnout in the cup series, introducing it to many drivers after he won the Daytona 500 in 1998.
Beginnings
Hornaday began racing in go-karts and motorcycles early in his career. Eventually, he moved up to race stock cars at Saugus Speedway. In 1992, he won his first championship in the Southwest Series as well as winning the Most Popular Driver award. He won the Southwest championship the next year as well, becoming the only driver to do so in series history.
He made his Winston Cup debut in 1992 at the Save Mart 300K, where he started seventeenth but finished 32nd in Bob Fisher's #92 Chevrolet. He made another start later that year at Phoenix International Raceway, where he finished 25th. He ran at Phoenix the next year as well, finishing 22nd in the #76 Spears Motorsports car.
1995-1999
Hornaday signed to drive the #16 RCCA Products/Papa John's Pizza Chevrolet Silverado owned by Dale Earnhardt, Inc. for the then-start-up Craftsman Truck Series. In the first season of competition, Hornaday won six races and four poles on his way to a third-place points finish. The next year, with sponsorship from NAPA Auto Parts, Hornaday won four races and the series championship.
In 1997, despite seven wins, two of them came by leading every lap in the race, he finished fifth in points. He was able to re-claim his title in 1998 by garnering six wins. That season, he also made his Busch Series debut, driving four races for ST Motorsports, his best finish an eighth at Pikes Peak International Raceway. He also debuted a Winston Cup car for Tim Beverly at Sonoma, finishing fourteenth in the #17 NAPA Chevy.
In 1999, he was unable to win the championship, and announced he would drive the #3 NAPA Chevy for DEI's Busch program the following year.
2000-2004
Hornaday began racing full-time in the Busch Series in 2000. He picked up wins at Nazareth Speedway and Indianapolis Raceway Park and finished fifth in points, runner-up to Kevin Harvick for Rookie of the Year honors. He was also voted Most Popular Driver. Unfortunately, Earnhardt elected to move Hornaday's team up to the Cup series in 2001, leaving Hornaday without a job.
Hornaday signed with A.J. Foyt Racing in the Cup series, driving the #14 Conseco Pontiac Grand Prix. Despite posting a ninth-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Hornaday struggled throughout the year and finished 36th in points, causing him to lose his job at the end of the year. Hornaday later criticized Foyt for dismissing him so late in the season. During the 2001 season, Hornaday returned to the Busch Series on a part-time basis, running the #11 for High Line Performance Group before finishing out the year with The Curb Agajanian Performance Group, posting three top-tens.
In 2002, he drove for Hendrick Motorsports' truck team at the season-opening Florida Dodge Dealers 250, where he finished 12th. After Hendrick closed the doors to its truck team, Hornaday moved to their Busch program, filling in for an injured Ricky Hendrick in the #5 GMAC Chevy, his best finish 15th at Darlington Raceway. A few races later, he replaced Lyndon Amick in the #26 Dr Pepper car for Carroll Racing. He had eight top-tens and a pole, finishing eighteenth in points despite only running 30 races. He also capped the season off with a win in the truck series at Homestead-Miami Speedway, driving for Xpress Motorsports.
In 2003, Hornaday signed to drive the #2 ACDelco Chevy for Richard Childress Racing. He won at Nazareth and posted seventeen top-tens, finishing third in points. He followed that up with a win at The Milwaukee Mile and a fourth-place points finish the following season.
2005-Present
At the end of 2004, Hornaday was released in favor of Clint Bowyer, and he returned to the Truck Series to drive the #6 GM Goodwrench Chevy for Kevin Harvick. Hornaday soon picked up a win at Atlanta Motor Speedway and finished fifth in points. In 2006, the team lost it's Goodwrench sponsorship and switched to the #33 to yield the #6 to Mark Martin's Roush Racing effort. Running unsponsored for most of the year, Hornaday picked up two victories this year at Mansfield and Kentucky He also has two top-tens in five Busch Series starts that year.
With sponsorship backing from Camping World, he continued his dominance in the Truck Series in 2007, winning races at two tracks for the first time in his career. He took the checkers at Lowe's in the Quaker Steak & Lube 200. Two weeks later, after a what-should-have-been-a-win-weekend at Mansfield, Hornaday outlasted Kyle Busch to win the AAA Insurance 200 at Dover. He continued his chase for a third title with a victory at O'Reilly Raceway Park in the Power Stroke Diesel 200, his 17th win on a short track.
On November 16, 2007 Hornaday won his third NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship by overcoming a 29 point deficit on Mike Skinner.
On September 10, 2008, ESPN's Shaun Assael reports Hornaday Jr. admitted to using testosterone cream. He used it to treat Grave's disease. .
On December 21, 2008, Hornaday's father Ron Hornaday, Sr., passed away due to cancer.
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