Since he claims his eyesight isn’t good enough to get a real job, Ron Hornaday figures he might as well continue driving.
And with four Truck Series championship trophies in his possession, Hornaday—who turns 52 in June—deserves the right to keep on truckin’.
“I don’t know what I’d do if I did retire,” Hornaday said, who will start fifth in Friday night’s season-opener at Daytona International Speedway. “I don’t know nothing else but racing. I’m getting too old to start welding for Richard [Childress] any more. I’ll have to borrow his glasses to start welding, so he ain’t gonna hire me to work on his stuff. I’m just gonna have to keep driving.”
When you’ve won all there is to win at this level, including six victories in 2009 en route to a dominating championship season, what is out there that keeps Hornaday motivated?
“Just the drive, to get in them trucks,” Hornaday said. “That’s my office. My kids are grown up now and [wife] Lindy and I take this as a vacation. We have a lot of fun doing it.
“I don’t think I could be out there, just riding around, though. As long as I’ve got an opportunity to drive trucks that are fast and win races, I’m going to keep doing it.”
And with Kevin and DeLana Harvick continuing to provide Hornaday with quality equipment, including a brand-new truck for the opener, there’s no reason for him to even consider hanging up the helmet just yet. In order to do that, Hornaday admits he quit thinking about his 2009 championship as soon as he got home with the trophy and the check.
“Right when you put the trophy on the mantle and say, ‘We’ve got to get another one,’ and make room for the next one,” Hornaday said. “I keep saying that’s my job, and Kevin and DeLana keep giving me the equipment to do it with. I’ve been real fortunate in my career to race with some great owners and they’re definitely one of them, to win two championships with them and two with Dale and Teresa [Earnhardt].”
Everything old is new again in 2010, as former champions Johnny Benson and Ted Musgrave return to the series. Benson, who unexpectedly tangled with Hornaday in Thursday’s final practice, was unable to repair his truck and qualify ninth. Musgrave, who turned 55 in December, will roll off 18th in one of Billy Ballew’s Toyotas.
“The only thing I’m scared of is Musgrave, because he’s older than I am,” Hornaday said. “I want to be the oldest champion, so until Musgrave gets out there and wins the thing, I’m going to have to work a little harder and race maybe another 10 years.
“It’s so cool to have them back. We really missed Johnny last year and Ted was in it a couple of years when I was doing the opposite he was. To have them back, those are two champions. That’s pretty cool. All we need is Jack Sprague, but he’s sitting on a couch.”