Hornaday, 51, won a record fourth NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship in 2009, blowing away the field in the familiar No. 33 Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet Silverado owned by the Sprint Cup driver and his wife, DeLana.
So dominant was Hornaday that at one point last season he won five consecutive races and clinched the championship in the season's penultimate race at Phoenix International Raceway.
Now, only Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt have won more championships in one of NASCAR's top three divisions than Hornaday has. Heady stuff, to be sure. But that doesn't mean the California native is resting on his laurels. Far from it.
This season, Hornaday's former crew chief Rick Ren has moved on to assume the role of competition director at the new, two-truck Kyle Busch Motorsports team. And with fierce competition from his fellow veterans and a raft of talented newcomers alike, Hornaday figured he has his work cut out for him.
"I've got to still be good, because these young kids want my job really bad," Hornaday said Friday during an appearance at the NASCAR Preseason Thunder fan festival in Daytona Beach. "A lot of people are coming up to Kevin and saying, 'Hey, I'm better than that old guy, let me have a shot.' I've got to keep winning races, keep doing what I do, and Kevin and DeLana believe in me 120 percent."
And make no mistake about it, Hornaday remains as motivated as ever. "Heck, when I retire, I want to sit on that front doorstep and show my grandkids everything I've won," said Hornaday. "I'm not done winning races. I want to win a lot more, and it just makes me drive that much harder. We won six races last year, I've got to win eight this year and maybe 10, and we're going to do whatever we can to win another championship."
Busch's new team, which features the team owner and Brian Ickler splitting time in one truck and Tayler Malsam driving the other, figures to be one of Hornaday's toughest challenges for 2010, especially with Ren moving over there.
"Beating Kyle by himself is a task," said Hornaday. "He's a hard racer every lap, and I don't think — whatever they bring, Rick is just going to bring organization. That's what he's going to bring to the table. He's very sharp. He puts some good people together. We've kept 90 percent of our people together, and we're pretty happy with that."
At KHI, new crew chief Dave Fuge is someone Hornaday has known since his short-track days racing at Mesa Marin in California, so the team should be able to pick up where it left off. "Dave and I kind of go way back," said Hornaday. "We've never had a run-in, so that's a plus. Rick Ren and I had a run-in before, and he became a great crew chief, too."
And while as recently as a year ago people were questioning the health of the Truck Series, Hornaday said he feels the series is in great shape.
"I know of seven new teams that are starting — seven new trucks, not teams," he said. " … The venues and tracks we're going to this year, the new teams coming in, some of the new sponsors, you'll see some neat colors on my truck this year I'm looking forward to. It's truck racing. We just got done doing a great commercial. NASCAR is definitely behind the Truck Series 125 percent. I'm looking forward to 2010. I think we've got some great things coming."
