Hornaday celebrated at Truck awards ceremony

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. -- Three-time Craftsman Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday and team owners Kevin and DeLana Harvick celebrated a historic moment and a special bond Monday evening at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

Hornaday, 49, who raced against Harvick when his owner was a teenager in their native California, was feted for becoming the series' second three-time champion.

In the process Hornaday, in the No. 33 Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet Silverado, collected a record $370,119 in point fund awards along with special awards of $52,000 to bring his 2007 season total to $1,137,044, a single-season record.

Hornaday, in his third attempt at the championship driving for the Harvicks, also won Truck Series crowns in 1996 -- the first championship for Dale Earnhardt Inc -- and in 1998, again for DEI.

A class act

The drama between Ron Hornaday and Mike Skinner didn't last until the end, but the way the two handled it was typical Truck Series fashion, writes Joe Menzer.

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"I hope this proves that I can still get it done," Hornaday said. "When I drive and get behind the wheel of Kevin and DeLana's truck, it made me feel like I was an 18- or 20-year-old kid -- I just enjoy it, it is so much fun and I have a grin every lap."

The Harvicks, who also field teams in the Busch Series, celebrated their first championship along with champion crew chief Rick Ren, who had finished second, third and fourth over the previous seven seasons.

"This is my sixth championship, and my fifth in NASCAR, along with two in the Southwest Tour," Hornaday said. "To get the call from Dale Earnhardt, and to win their first championship in 1996, was very special.

"But to come to Kevin Harvick Inc. and to win their first [championship], and to come across that start / finish line and get the checkered flag [at Homestead], behind Kevin -- I wanted to see where he was going to go. He stopped over in Turn 2 and got out of his truck, and I stopped and started to get out of mine, and before I even got out -- I had my right leg still in the truck -- and he gave me a big hug with tears in his eyes.

"That moment right there will be the most special moment of my career, because to see the look on Kevin's face after we won that championship. I've got tears in my eyes right now just thinking about it -- because this is what it's all about, the emotion of what Kevin's father has done for him, which is nothing compared to what he's done for me.

"To believe in me at 49 years old and give me my second chance in racing, basically -- and getting [team manager] Rick Carelli and Rick Ren and all the right people over there [is special]."

Hornaday's winnings pushed his career total to $5,297,266, second on the all-time list behind fellow three-time champion Jack Sprague, who'll be his teammate in a No. 2 truck at KHI next season. This season Sprague drove the No. 60 Toyota Tundra for Wyler Racing to ninth in the standings ($6,846,738 in career winnings).

The champion's season winnings include special awards from Chevrolet, Goodyear and Sunoco.

More than $1.8 million in point fund awards were distributed to the top 20 drivers in the final Craftsman Truck Series point standings. Runner-up Mike Skinner (No. 5 Bill Davis Racing Toyota) won $997,980 -- the fourth highest all-time and the highest for a non-champion driver.

Skinner's total race winnings, $737,520, are also a new record. Skinner and Hornaday also established a series record by swapping the points lead six times in the season's last eight races.

Skinner, who is the only driver to compete in all 100 Truck Series races that Toyota has contested, also received awards for the top Toyota, the season Bud Pole Award, Checkers / Rally's Drive-Thru Award and WIX Filters Lap Leader Award, for the third consecutive season.

While Davis' team was able to claim the most victories and pole positions, for the second consecutive year, it finished second in the drivers' championship -- but it keyed Toyota's second consecutive manufacturers' championship.

The top 10 drivers: Hornaday, inaugural 1995 champion Skinner, Johnny Benson, defending series champ Todd Bodine, Rick Crawford, 2003 champ Travis Kvapil, 2005 champ Ted Musgrave, Matt Crafton, Sprague and David Starr were also honored on stage for their seasons.

Willie Allen (No. 13 ThorSport Chevrolet) was the 2007 Raybestos Rookie of the Year, topping Tim Sauter (No. 07 Green Light Racing Chevrolet). Allen became the first rookie to win the award in a Chevrolet since Kvapil in 2001.

Benson (No. 23 Bill Davis Racing Toyota) was named the Most Popular Driver for the second consecutive season, becoming the first driver to repeat, and only the second driver to win the award more than once.

Hornaday was named Most Popular Driver in 1997 and 2005.