By Gary Graves, USA TODAY
His name already on four NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship trophies, Ron Hornaday Jr. can now claim a street in his hometown.
Rookie Truck driver Narain Karthikeyan meanwhile joined a select group in his native India on Wednesday.
Hornaday, the defending series champion, will be honored Thursday in his native Palmdale, Calif., with roads to the Antelope Valley Auto Center to be renamed Ron Hornaday Way. City officials will also present Hornaday with a key to the city.
“I’m pretty excited about the whole deal,” Hornaday said in a release. “I always love going back home and to have five entrances named after you is really an honor. I know there are quite a few people who have been trying to make this happen for a few years now so I just want to thank all of them.
“I’ve made a great living as a race car driver and I owe a lot to Palmdale and the people there. Palmdale is where I met my wife and we had our kids, so it will always be home to [wife] Lindy and me.”
In New Delhi, Karthikeyan received the prestigious Padma Shri Award recognizing a citizen’s exceptional and distinguished contribution in various activities. The first Indian native to compete in Formula One was honored along with countrymen Virender Sehwag and Ramakant Vithal Achrekar (cricket), Saina Nehwal (badminton), Ignace Tirkey (field hockey) and Vijender Singh (boxing).
Karthikeyan debuted with a 13th-place finish in the No. 60 Toyota last month at Martinsville, Va. His next scheduled race is May 2 at Kansas Speedway.