TRUCKS: Harvick Wins, Hornaday Clinches Written by: Tom Jensen
Avondale, AZ
Kevin Harvick won the battle Friday night, and Ron Hornaday Jr. won the war.
Harvick won Friday night’s Lucas Oil 150 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Phoenix International Raceway, while Hornaday, who drives a Kevin Harvick Inc.-owned truck, clinched his record fourth Truck Series championship with a fourth-place finish behind his boss, Kyle Busch and Aric Almirola.
As evenings go, this one couldn’t have gone better for Harvick, though it sure didn’t seem like it would be early on.
Johnny Sauter started from the pole in his Fun Sand Chevrolet Silverado, and was immediately challenged by Harvick’s Longhorn Chevy. But Harvick got loose and quickly fell back, spinning in oil coming out of Turn 4 and hitting the No. 15 Graceway Toyota Tundra of Aric Almirola to bring out a caution on Lap 8.
Soon after the Lap 13 restart, a familiar face was out front — Kyle Busch’s No. 51 Miccosukee Resorts Toyota, winner the last five times Busch has raced it.
On Lap 34, Brad Sweet spun his Great Clips Toyota at the entrance of Turn 3 to bring out the second caution of the evening. That sent the field down pit road, Hornaday earning a penalty for refueling before the catchcan was installed on
the truck. Hornaday, who had been running third behind Busch and Sauter, rejoined the race in 21st place, as Busch, Colin Braun and Stacy Compton led.
Shortly after the green flag flew on Lap 39, Almirola was back up to second to make it 1-2 for truck owner Billy Ballew. And on Lap 44, it was Almirola’s turn to lead as he blew by Busch, who took only fuel on his stop while Almirola took fuel and tires.
At Lap 50, the one-third mark in the race, the top five was Almirola, Busch, Harvick, Sauter and Braun, with Hornaday 16th. Twenty laps later, Harvick and Sauter both went past Busch to take second and third, respectively.
The top three remained unchanged at the halfway point, with Almirola 3.952 seconds ahead of Harvick. Championship protagonists Matt Crafton and Hornaday were fifth and 14th, respectively.
By Lap 88, though, Hornaday was up to 10th, putting himself in a better position to clinch the championship.
Wheeler Boys stalled on Lap 90 to bring out the third caution of the evening and setting up what was expected to be the final pit stop of the evening for most of the leaders. Almirola held the lead through two rounds of pit stops, followed by Harvick, Busch, Mike Bliss and Mike Skinner.
But the key was that Hornaday moved up to seventh, one spot ahead of Crafton, who had a dropped lugnut on his second pit stop.
The green flew on Lap 96, and a lap later, it was Harvick to the lead ahead of the two Billy Ballew Toyotas. On Lap 98, Busch moved by his teammate for second place behind Harvick. But three laps later, Almirola retook second.
With 30 laps to go, Tim George Jr. crashed to bring out another caution.
On the Lap 127 restart, Harvick led Almirola, Busch, Hornaday and Bliss, with Crafton in eighth. Busch quickly moved up to second, but Hornaday already was easing well ahead.
Then, Kevin Conway cracked the wall on Lap 134 after contact from Crafton, bringing out the fifth caution of the evening. Crafton was seventh at this point, but still behind Harvick.
The track went green with 11 laps to go, Busch putting the pressure on Harvick immediately.
With five laps to go, James Buescher crashed in between Turns 3 and 4, setting up a green-white-checkered finish and another chance for Busch to get past Hornaday.
But although Busch got close to Harvick on the restart, he could not get past, as Harvick drove to victory and Hornaday drove to a spot in history with his fourth series championship.
TRUCKS: Hornaday A Worthy Champion Written by: Tom Jensen
Hornaday became just the fourth four-time champion in one of NASCAR’s top three divisions Friday night, with a fourth-place finish in the Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway. In the process, at the ripe old age of 51, he also become the oldest champion in a top NASCAR division.
It was a moment of supreme triumph for Hornaday, who previously won Truck Series titles in 1996, ’98 and 2007 and narrowly missed last season, when he lost by a mere 7 points to Johnny Benson.
In 24 races this season, Hornaday has amassed impressive numbers, with four poles, six victories, 15 top-five and 19 top-10 finishes.
More than that, though, the 51-year-old California native has created a body of work over his career that’s earned him a place with NASCAR’s greats and the respect of his fellow drivers.
There are 45 Truck Series victories in 249 starts on Hornaday’s resume, and now, of course, the four titles.
“I think if you look at just the Truck Series alone, he'll go down in history as probably the best, the greatest ever,” said Jimmie Johnson,
who himself is pursuing a fourth NASCAR championship. “When you look at what he has done in the sport in general, from Winston West racing and the late models on the West Coast all the way through Truck, Cup and Nationwide, he has done it all and was very competitive in all of those series.”
But as much as he’s accomplished on the track, what Hornaday’s accomplished off the track is equally impressive.
In the Hornaday household, the family’s well worn black leather couch doubled as a bed for many an aspiring racer.
Johnson, of course, is a California native like Hornaday and Hornaday’s boss, Kevin Harvick, who won Friday night’s race. According to Johnson, Hornaday’s generosity and willingness to help young racers is well known to other drivers.
“I think his legacy is going to be better defined as time goes on, but he's going to be known for more than just what he has done in the Truck Series,” Johnson said of Hornaday. “I see guys today that talk about late models that he built for them. … There are so many people that you affect and touch and work with over time, that I think Ron ... Ron will be known as the greatest ever … but he has done so much more. I think people that are close to him respect him more for the man he is than just what he has accomplished in a car.”
Harvick said that Hornaday is still active helping other drivers. “I don’t think that’s quit,” said Harvick of Hornaday and Hornaday’s wife, Lindy. “You go over there and there’s still a lot of people that they nurture and their house is always open. It’s always been that way. What you see is what you get with Ron and Lindy and the whole family. It’s always been one big family and if you want to be a part of it, then come on over. That’s just the way they’ve always been.”
As for Hornaday, he was typically modest about his accomplishment. Asked how he felt, the first thing he said was that he was still racing hard for the owner’s championship in the Truck Series, where the Kevin Harvick Inc. No. 33 Chevrolet Silverado is 60 points ahead of Billy Ballew’s No. 51 Toyota that Kyle Busch has driven for much of the season.
“It’s not over by far,” Hornaday said. “We’re racing Kyle Busch for owner’s points and that’s the true goal. It shows how great our team is and Kyle’s been really running strong. He’s got what, six, seven wins this year? So we’re going to do everything we can to hold him off.”
And thing that Hornaday seemed happiest about with his fourth championship was that it broke a tie with his old nemesis and friend Jack Sprague, as three-time champions. But more than that, Hornaday said he hoped to see Sprague back racing one day.
“I’ve got one up on Sprague, that’s all that counts,” laughed Hornaday. “ … I told Sprague, ‘Now you’ve got to come
back and try to get a fourth one and keep me racing. … It’s been a fun battle with Jack and I wish he was still out here.”
But on this night, and for the foreseeable future, Hornaday’s accomplishments stand alone, as they should.
“It’s been fun,” said Hornaday. “And we’re not done. As long as Kevin and Delana will still have me, we’re going to win some more.”
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