The No. 6 Chevrolet finished 10th last year at Mansfield -- with Matt Crafton at the wheel. Credit: Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

Health, inexperience not a factor for Hornaday

Fully healed from surgery, short-track master ready for Mansfield

After racing in a Craftsman Truck Series race at Gateway International Speedway just days after having his appendix removed, finding his way around Mansfield Motorsports Speedway on Sunday shouldn't be a problem for Ron Hornaday.

	Inside the Numbers Ron Hornaday's NCTS stats Category Stat Starts 130 Wins 27 Top-5s 67 Top-10s 96 Poles 12 Laps Led 4,869 Avg. Start 7.8 Avg. Finish 8.7 Lead-Lap Finishes 99

Hornaday has never raced on the tight, half-mile oval at Mansfield, but that doesn't mean he's unfamiliar with what it will take to win there.

"I have been around tracks like it almost my entire life so I feel like my [truck series] team should be the favorite going into the weekend," Hornaday said.

"I will have to watch some videotaped races that have been run there in the past so I can get a feel for the place, but I don't think it will take long to get comfortable out there driving."

It should be a lot easier for Hornaday to get comfortable this weekend than it was two weeks ago at Gateway, when he took the green flag just days after surgery.

"In St. Louis there was some question of whether or not I was going to be able to drive, but that issue has been resolved," Hornaday said. "I was a little sore after the race, but the fact that our engine blew was way more painful. I am more than fine now."

That blown engine -- and the resulting 30th-place finish -- dropped Hornaday and his No. 6 Goodwrench team two spots to sixth in the series standings. There's no doubt that disappointment is fresh in their minds as they head to Ohio this week.

"There is no question that this is a motivated team right now. Last week before the engine blew we were in fourth position in points and running top-five in the race.

"Everyone involved with this team knows exactly where we stand and exactly what needs to be done."

There should be no shortage of knowledge on the team. Even though Hornaday didn't compete in last year's race at Mansfield, his team did, finishing 10th with Matt Crafton at the wheel.

What's more, of Hornaday's 27 NCTS victories, 15 of them have come on tracks smaller that one mile.

"I absolutely love this kind of racing," Hornaday said. "It reminds me of going to the track with my dad, basically growing up at the track, and deciding that racing is what I wanted to do with my life.

"I think as drivers we enjoy the short tracks as much as anything because you get out there and have a chance to prove what you can do."