Another good run in Nashville a few weeks ago only makes me more excited to travel to Kansas this week. We haven’t been to the race track for almost a month now, so it will be nice to get back to racing; however, the time off allowed me the chance to be a part of some pretty cool things.
I finally got my El Camino finished. I drove it to the Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) shop recently and all the guys really seemed to like it. Deep down we are all car guys and appreciate older model and vintage pieces. Even though my father-in-law and I have driven it, Lindy still hasn’t gotten the chance to climb behind the wheel because she’s been really busy at her shop, Miss Estelle’s Place in Mooresville. They have started doing customized photo frames and now she has a children’s division which she calls Nana Giggles. They have some really nice stuff for kids and all sorts of antiques, so if you are ever in downtown Mooresville, stop by and say “Hi.” She loves to chat with customers and race fans.
During the down time, I also traveled back to my hometown of Palmdale, California, in early April. I got a call in December that Palmdale was planning to name a street after me. I was excited because not too many people have a street named after them. I really didn’t expect to get as emotional as I did during the ceremony, but I began to think about the significance of it all. They really memorialized not only me, but my dad and my son, too. The street, which is really five streets that lead into the Antelope Valley Auto Mall, is named “Ron Hornaday Way.” My dad was the original Ron Hornaday who was famous in the Palmdale area. He and my father-in-law, “Wild” Bill Foster, were archrivals on the race track. They are the men who helped me make a name for myself. They are my heroes and to see my Dad’s name on a street sign in a town that he played a part in making famous really makes me proud.
I chose to have the No. 16 truck depicted on the banners that they made for the street. The phone call from Dale Earnhardt is what took me out of Palmdale, but I’ve really never left Palmdale. My heart is still there and these banners now wave daily proving that point. It’s also a nice tribute to Dale. He was a very special man in my life. He taught me a lot of things which I still practice to this day. The street is a nice tribute to a lot of special people. I’m just one of those people who is always shocked when someone calls me up and says, “Hey we want to honor you.” I always ask them “Why?” I haven’t really done anything special - I’ve just been fortunate enough to surround myself with special people who make me look good.
It was a great event. Brian Golden of the Antelope Valley Times, who has followed my career from the beginning, wrote a good week’s worth of feature stories on me and my career for the Antelope Valley Times. The Mayor of Palmdale, Jim Ledford, said a few words as well as Councilman Tom Lackey. I was able to reconnect with Bob Fisher, whose chiropractic business was my first car sponsor. He and I have been friends a long time and I see him annually when we go to Las Vegas to race, but it was special that he could be there to celebrate with me. I’m really glad I was able to be there. So, if any of you happen to be in Palmdale, be sure to head over to the auto mall and check out “Ron Hornaday Way.”
After the street naming, I came home to start mowing some yards as I have several to mow on a weekly basis. Spring is a great time of year in North Carolina; it is warm during the day and cool in the evenings. We usually have a good amount of rain so you never know starting the day how it’s going to turn out, but it’s a nice time of year. I have also started on a new restoration project: a boat. I came across a Chris Craft boat from a gentleman that needed to get it off his hands. I got it rather inexpensive and now I’m working on making a few changes to it. I would like to be able to put it on the lake by the end of the summer.
Right now I’m just ready to go racing. With the last two races at Martinsville and Nashville, the No. 33 team had two solid top-five finishes. We have learned over our championship seasons to get the finish out of the truck that it will give you. We went the wrong way with a chassis decision in Nashville, but we got a third-place finish out of the truck and that was all we were going to get.
I can’t wait for Kansas this weekend. Doug George and the guys are bringing our Atlanta truck, which ended up in the wall after only 26 laps when we lost a tire, but it’s a good truck and they have completely rebuilt it. I know Doug has had it in the wind tunnel and is really pleased at how it ran. I have one win in Kansas and I’m ready to go for a second. I just hope that it stays dry. Last year was a marathon of rain, mist and tornados, and we would much rather race under sunny skies. I’m also looking forward to having a Sunday race. It will be different ending the racing weekend instead of starting it. Who knows what Kansas will hold - hopefully me lifting the trophy at the end of the day!
Check out Ron’s full restored 1966 El Camino at Another good run in Nashville a few weeks ago only makes me more excited to travel to Kansas this week. We haven’t been to the race track for almost a month now, so it will be nice to get back to racing; however, the time off allowed me the chance to be a part of some pretty cool things.
I finally got my El Camino finished. I drove it to the Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) shop recently and all the guys really seemed to like it. Deep down we are all car guys and appreciate older model and vintage pieces. Even though my father-in-law and I have driven it, Lindy still hasn’t gotten the chance to climb behind the wheel because she’s been really busy at her shop, Miss Estelle’s Place in Mooresville. They have started doing customized photo frames and now she has a children’s division which she calls Nana Giggles. They have some really nice stuff for kids and all sorts of antiques, so if you are ever in downtown Mooresville, stop by and say “Hi.” She loves to chat with customers and race fans.
During the down time, I also traveled back to my hometown of Palmdale, California, in early April. I got a call in December that Palmdale was planning to name a street after me. I was excited because not too many people have a street named after them. I really didn’t expect to get as emotional as I did during the ceremony, but I began to think about the significance of it all. They really memorialized not only me, but my dad and my son, too. The street, which is really five streets that lead into the Antelope Valley Auto Mall, is named “Ron Hornaday Way.” My dad was the original Ron Hornaday who was famous in the Palmdale area. He and my father-in-law, “Wild” Bill Foster, were archrivals on the race track. They are the men who helped me make a name for myself. They are my heroes and to see my Dad’s name on a street sign in a town that he played a part in making famous really makes me proud.
I chose to have the No. 16 truck depicted on the banners that they made for the street. The phone call from Dale Earnhardt is what took me out of Palmdale, but I’ve really never left Palmdale. My heart is still there and these banners now wave daily proving that point. It’s also a nice tribute to Dale. He was a very special man in my life. He taught me a lot of things which I still practice to this day. The street is a nice tribute to a lot of special people. I’m just one of those people who is always shocked when someone calls me up and says, “Hey we want to honor you.” I always ask them “Why?” I haven’t really done anything special - I’ve just been fortunate enough to surround myself with special people who make me look good.
It was a great event. Brian Golden of the Antelope Valley Times, who has followed my career from the beginning, wrote a good week’s worth of feature stories on me and my career for the Antelope Valley Times. The Mayor of Palmdale, Jim Ledford, said a few words as well as Councilman Tom Lackey. I was able to reconnect with Bob Fisher, whose chiropractic business was my first car sponsor. He and I have been friends a long time and I see him annually when we go to Las Vegas to race, but it was special that he could be there to celebrate with me. I’m really glad I was able to be there. So, if any of you happen to be in Palmdale, be sure to head over to the auto mall and check out “Ron Hornaday Way.”
After the street naming, I came home to start mowing some yards as I have several to mow on a weekly basis. Spring is a great time of year in North Carolina; it is warm during the day and cool in the evenings. We usually have a good amount of rain so you never know starting the day how it’s going to turn out, but it’s a nice time of year. I have also started on a new restoration project: a boat. I came across a Chris Craft boat from a gentleman that needed to get it off his hands. I got it rather inexpensive and now I’m working on making a few changes to it. I would like to be able to put it on the lake by the end of the summer.
Right now I’m just ready to go racing. With the last two races at Martinsville and Nashville, the No. 33 team had two solid top-five finishes. We have learned over our championship seasons to get the finish out of the truck that it will give you. We went the wrong way with a chassis decision in Nashville, but we got a third-place finish out of the truck and that was all we were going to get.
I can’t wait for Kansas this weekend. Doug George and the guys are bringing our Atlanta truck, which ended up in the wall after only 26 laps when we lost a tire, but it’s a good truck and they have completely rebuilt it. I know Doug has had it in the wind tunnel and is really pleased at how it ran. I have one win in Kansas and I’m ready to go for a second. I just hope that it stays dry. Last year was a marathon of rain, mist and tornados, and we would much rather race under sunny skies. I’m also looking forward to having a Sunday race. It will be different ending the racing weekend instead of starting it. Who knows what Kansas will hold - hopefully me lifting the trophy at the end of the day!
Click HERE to check out a photo gallery of Ron’s fully restored 1966 El Camino