Ronald Lee Hornaday Jr. (born June 20, 1958) is an American former professionalstock car racing driver and businessman. He currently ownsTeam Hornaday Development, adriver development program as well asHornaday Race Cars aDirt Modified chassis builder. He is also the father of former NASCAR driverRonnie Hornaday and son of the lateRon Hornaday Sr., a two-timeNASCAR Winston West Series Champion. Hornaday himself is a four-time champion in theNASCAR Truck Series, his most recent coming in2009 and is aNASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour Champion. He was noticed byDale Earnhardt while participating in theNASCAR Winter Heat onTNN.

Ron Hornaday Jr.
Hornaday atDarlington Raceway in 2017
Born	Ronald Lee Hornaday Jr. (1958-06-20)June 20, 1958 (age 66) Palmdale, California, U.S.
Achievements	MostNASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championships (4) 1996,1998,2007,2009NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Champion 1992, 1993NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour Champion 1994 NASCAR SuperTruck Series Exhibition Winner 1995Copper World Classic Late Model Winner
Awards	2000NASCAR Busch SeriesMost Popular Driver 1997,2005NASCAR Craftsman Truck SeriesMost Popular Driver 1992NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour Most Popular Driver West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame (2013) NASCAR Hall of Fame (2018) Named one ofNASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023)
NASCARCup Series career
46 races run over 11 years
2015 position	51st
Best finish	38th (2001)
First race	1992Save Mart 300K (Sonoma)
Last race	2015Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (Atlanta)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 1 0
NASCARXfinity Series career
184 races run over 14 years
Best finish	3rd (2003)
First race	1998First Union 200 (Nazareth)
Last race	2011WYPALL 200 (Phoenix)
First win	2000Econo Lodge 200 (Nazareth)
Last win	2004Alan Kulwicki 250 (Milwaukee)
Wins Top tens Poles 4 70 1
NASCARCraftsman Truck Series career
360 races run over 17 years
2014 position	14th
Best finish	1st (1996,1998,2007,2009)
First race	1995Skoal Bandit Copper World Classic (Phoenix)
Last race	2014WinStar World Casino & Resort 350 (Texas)
First win	1995Racing Champions 200 (Tucson)
Last win	2011Smith's 350 (Las Vegas)
Wins Top tens Poles 51 234 27
Statistics current as of July 25, 2023.

Hornaday was born inPalmdale, California, and began racing ingo-karts andmotorcycles early in his career. Eventually, he moved up to racestock cars atSaugus 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 until Jim Pettit won back-to-back titles in 2004–2005. Pettit won the title again in 2011 in the SRL Southwest Tour Series.^{[citation needed]}

He made hisWinston Cup debut in 1992 at theSave Mart 300K, where he started 17th but finished 32nd inBob Fisher's No. 92Chevrolet. He made another start later that year atPhoenix International Raceway, where he finished 25th. He ran at Phoenix the next year as well, finishing 22nd in the No. 76Spears Motorsports car.^{[citation needed]}

Hornaday signed to drive the No. 16RCCA Products /Papa John's PizzaChevrolet C/K owned byDale Earnhardt, Inc. for the then-start-up Super Truck Series. In the first season of competition, Hornaday won six races and four poles on his way to a 3rd-place points finish. The next year, with sponsorship fromNAPA Auto Parts, Hornaday won four races and the series championship.

In 1997, despite seven wins, two of which came by leading every lap in the race, he finished 5th in points. He was able to reclaim his title in 1998 by garnering six wins and 16 Top 5's out of 27 races. AtMemphis 200 he celebrated with aburnout, which was unusual at the time, and made team owner Dale Earnhardt angry for risking damaging the powertrain.

Also in 1998, Hornaday made hisBusch Series debut, driving four races forST Motorsports, his best finish an eighth atPikes Peak International Raceway. He also debuted a Winston Cup car forTim Beverly at Sonoma, finishing 14th in the No. 17 NAPA Chevy. Hornaday came close to a truck victory at Watkins Glen in the 1998 Parts America 150 in which he led all but 12 laps, only to lose the race due to a final-lap penalty for jumping the restart; Hornaday would pull into victory lane post-race only to be told that he had in fact finished 4th.

In 1999, he won the 100th race ran in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series history at the Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington. He was one of four drivers entered in the race that competed in every truck race since its inception at the time for an extra $100,000 if he won, which he did. However, he was unable to capitalize on it and win the championship, finishing 7th in the final standings after an up and down year. Fortunately, he was given an opportunity late in the year to replace Dale Earnhardt Jr. in driving the No. 3 NAPA Chevy for DEI's Busch program with Earnhardt moving up to the Cup Series, and he announced that he would do so the following year.

Hornaday began racing full-time in the Busch Series in 2000. He picked up wins atNazareth Speedway andIndianapolis Raceway Park and finished 5th in points, runner-up toKevin Harvick forRookie of the Year honors. He was also voted Most Popular Driver. However, Earnhardt elected to move Hornaday's team up to the Cup Series in 2001 and hireMichael Waltrip to drive the car, and Hornaday was released.

Hornaday signed withA.J. Foyt Racing in the Cup Series, driving the No. 14ConsecoPontiac Grand Prix. Despite posting a 9th-place finish atLas Vegas, Hornaday struggled throughout the year and finished 38th in points with just two Top 20 finishes and four DNQ's in the second half of the season. Hornaday later criticized Foyt for dismissing him so late in the season, although Foyt unsuccessfully offered Hornaday a Cup Series return in mid-2002. During the 2001 season, Hornaday returned to the Busch Series on a part-time basis, running the No. 11 forHighLine Performance Group before finishing out the year with TheCurb Agajanian Performance Group, posting three Top 10's.

In 2002, he drove forHendrick Motorsports' truck team at the season-openingFlorida 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 injuredRicky Hendrick in the No. 5GMAC Chevy, his best finish 15th atDarlington Raceway. A few races later, he replacedLyndon Amick in the No. 26Dr Pepper car forCarroll Racing. He had eight Top 10s and a pole, finishing 18th in points despite only running 30 of the 36 races. He also capped the season off with a win in the truck series atHomestead-Miami Speedway, driving forXpress Motorsports.

In 2003, Hornaday signed to drive the No. 2ACDelco Chevy forRichard Childress Racing. He won at Nazareth and posted 17 Top 10's, finishing 3rd in points. Hornaday was noted for his consistency in 2003, as he finished all 34 races and completed all but 30 laps run over the entire season. In 2004, he followed up with a win atThe Milwaukee Mile and 16 more Top 10 finishes. Hornaday again finished all the races he started and finished 4th in points.

At the end of 2004, Hornaday was released in favor ofClint Bowyer, and he returned to the Truck Series full-time. He reunited with a long-time best friend of his,Kevin Harvick, and signed to drive the No. 6GM Goodwrench Chevy for Kevin Harvick Incorporated. Hornaday soon picked up a win atAtlanta Motor Speedway and finished 5th in points. In 2006, the team lost its Goodwrench sponsorship and switched to the No. 33 to yield the No. 6 to Mark Martin's Roush Racing effort. Running unsponsored for most of the year, Hornaday picked up two victories this year atMansfield andKentucky. He also had two Top 10's in five Busch Series starts that year.

With sponsorship backing fromCamping 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 atLowe's in theQuaker Steak & Lube 200. Two weeks later, after a what-should-have-been-a-win-weekend atMansfield, Hornaday outlastedKyle Busch to win theAAA Insurance 200 atDover. He continued his chase for a third title with a victory atO'Reilly Raceway Park in thePower 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'sShaun Assael reported Hornaday admitted to using testosterone cream. He used it to treatGraves' disease.^[1] On December 21, 2008, Hornaday's fatherRon Hornaday Sr., died due to cancer.

On June 20, 2009, Hornaday won theCopart 200 at theMilwaukee Mile on his 51st birthday. He is one of the few racing drivers to win a race on his birthday. On July 24, 2009, Hornaday became the first Camping World Truck Series driver to win four races in a row by winning at O'Reilly Raceway Park. On August 1, 2009, he won theToyota Tundra 200 atNashville Superspeedway, tyingRichard Petty andBobby Allison as the only drivers to win five consecutive races in their NASCAR careers.

On November 13, 2009, he won his fourth Camping World Truck Series championship, joiningJeff Gordon,Richard Petty,Dale Earnhardt, andJimmie Johnson as the only drivers to win 4 or more titles in the three major series of NASCAR. He also became the first driver sinceGreg Biffle in 2000 to clinch the title before the last race of the season.

For the final three races of the2010 Sprint Cup season,Stewart-Haas Racing hired Hornaday as a standby driver should expectant fatherRyan Newman have to leave the track. Newman became a father on November 18, 2010, three days before the season finale.

In 2011, Hornaday won four races. However, in the later stages of the season, he struggled with consistency, compared to his other seasons. As a result, Hornaday drove three races in the #2 KHI truck, to help the team catch up in the standings. By the time he was back in the #33 truck, Hornaday was second in the series being 15 points behind Austin Dillon when he reached thepenultimate race of the year at Texas. There Hornaday raced behind rivalKyle Busch and reached second place. When Hornaday passed by Busch on lap 13, he made contact with Busch to avoid a slowing truck ofJohnny Chapman and in the next turn under a caution, Busch intentionally slammed into Hornaday pushing him head-on into the wall. Hornaday was mathematically eliminated from contention for the Truck title. Busch received suspension from the NNS and NSCS race that weekend as a result.^[2] Hornaday later said that after hearing Busch's arrogance after the incident, he was going to settle matters with Busch at the end of the race, but was restrained and instead had a phone call with Busch a couple days after that sizzled the feud.^[3]

During the 2011 season, it was announced that Hornaday would drive forJoe Denette Motorsports for the 2012 season in the No. 9 Anderson's Maple Syrup Chevrolet.^[4]

Before the 2013 season, Hornaday returned to JDM, nowNTS Motorsports, to drive the No. 9 truck. Hornaday started off on a high note in his finishes with a few Top 10's in the first few races. In the third race of the season atRockingham Speedway, Hornaday intentionally wrecked rookieDarrell Wallace Jr. under caution to retaliate for prior contact. He was penalized during the race to restart in 37th spot. For his actions, Hornaday was fined $25,000, lost 25 points and was placed on probation byNASCAR until June 12. The penalty dropped him from 4th to 15th in the Truck Series standings. Although many called for Hornaday to be suspended the same wayKyle Busch was in 2011, NASCAR did not implement a suspension, ruling that although Hornaday's actions were similar, the circumstances between both cases were different.^[5][6]

With one race remaining in the season, Hornaday was released from the No. 9 truck by NTS Motorsports; in the season finale he drove a sixth truck forTurner Scott Motorsports, finishing 5th.^[7] He started the2014 season once again driving for TSM in the No. 30 truck atDaytona International Speedway, with formerKHI sponsorRheem backing the team.^[8] Due to an internal dispute within TSM, Hornaday did not race atCanadian Tire Motorsport Park, after it was initially reported that all three truck teams would shut down.^[9]

Two days later on September 2, Hornaday was released and Turner Scott Motorsports dissolved the 30 team, with owners Steve Turner and Harry Scott Jr. in the process of filing lawsuits against each other. Hornaday was 4th in points prior to the Canada race, and still 6th in points when he was released. On September 13, it was announced thatRheem would partner again with Hornaday at Las Vegas and Texas later that year withNTS Motorsports, the team that had released him in 2013.^[10] He missed 6 races late in the season and was 14th in points at the season's end.

On January 21, 2015,Curtis Key'sThe Motorsports Group announced that Hornaday would be their primary driver for 2015, running the No. 30 Chevy in theSprint Cup Series.^[11] It marked Hornaday's first return to the Cup Series since 2003. The primary sponsor was announced as Hornaday's Truck sponsor, Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff.

In his first attempt, Hornaday failed to qualify for theDaytona 500 after posting the slowest time in qualifying and then lacking the necessary speed to stay in the draft in his Budweiser Duel race. In his second attempt, Hornaday qualified and made his first race in 12 years. Hornaday finished 42nd due to a breaking in his rear gear. His team skipped the next three races in the West Coast swing to prepare for Martinsville. He did not qualify after wrecking his car during qualifying. After Hornaday once again failed to qualify atBristol, he and the team parted ways.

On his brief return to Sprint Cup competition and his sudden retirement, Hornaday said in a 2016 interview,"That was helping a team get started and all that stuff. It didn’t seem to work out. I was always the guy, I told my wife that I’m not going to go out there and ride around just for a paycheck. If I wasn’t competitive I wasn’t going to do it. That (opportunity) didn’t work out. But I’ve got a lot of opportunities. People call me and say, ‘Hey, do you want to drive Martinsville?’ I said ‘Yeah, I’d love to.’ And they’d say, ‘Well, how much money can you bring?’ That ain’t racing to me anymore so…it’s back to dirt racing and having fun.”

Hornaday has not raced in NASCAR since. He is currently a dirt modified chassis builder, owning Hornaday Race Cars.^[12]

April 8, 2010 was declaredRon Hornaday Jr. Day inPalmdale, Hornaday's hometown. A roundabout in the PalmdaleAuto Mall was also named after Hornaday on April 8.^[13] On May 24, 2017, Hornaday was named in theNASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2018, becoming the first Truck Series driver to earn this honor.^[14]

Before his racing career took off, Hornaday worked at a couple transmission shops and his father's car dealership.^[3] He got married at age 20.^[3] During his time racing forKevin Harvick Inc. in the Truck Series, Hornaday lost a significant amount of weight in a short period of time, and was taken by Kevin Harvick to a local doctor where he was diagnosed withGraves' disease.^[3]

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

^* Season still in progress
¹ Ineligible for series points

• Official website
• Ron Hornaday Jr. driver statistics at Racing-Reference