Ron Hornaday celebrates his victory at the Copart 200 NASCAR Camping World Series race at Milwaukee. (Photo: LAT Photographic) ยป More Photos
While he’ll argue that it’s too early to be predicting who will take home the 2009 title, it’s hard not to acknowledge that Ron Hornaday Jr. (No. 33 Longhorn Chevrolet) is a title contender. The three-time series champion is coming off a dominating win at The Milwaukee Mile, where he nailed a perfect driver rating. He also bumped Matt Crafton (No. 88 Menard’s Chevrolet) from the top spot in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standings.
The win Saturday was his 41st, which extends his hold on the most wins in the series. It also came on his birthday, the second time the veteran driver has won on his date of birth. He also celebrated his birthday in Victory Lane back in 1998 at Bristol Motor Speedway. He is the only driver in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series to do so and one of only three NASCAR drivers to win on their birthday. Kyle Busch recently won on his birthday at Richmond (May 2, 2009) and Cale Yarborough,
like Hornaday, accomplished the feat twice (1977 and 1983).
The series will head to a track this weekend where Hornaday also knows the way to Victory Lane. The driver and his No. 33 team are the defending race winners at Memphis Motorsports Park. Hornaday also won at Memphis in 1998.
This is the last year for the distinctive Elvis trophy before a new design is brought into the fold, and Hornaday would like to make sure he’s the one who takes it home.