Hornaday's story is one of health not substance abuse

LOUDON, N.H. -- Ron Hornaday is no villain. In fact, one could argue he is a hero.

In an era when substance abuse indiscriminately invades seemingly every nook and cranny of the sporting world, much to the dismay of serious sports fans everywhere, Hornaday has done no wrong.

His story serves as a reminder that all is not always as it first may appear.

It was in December of 2004 when Hornaday, one of the top drivers in NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series, first noticed something was amiss with his health. He had lost nearly 20 pounds and was experiencing bouts of "the shakes" that had nothing to do with his longtime affection for a frothy brew or three.

"I don't even take aspirin on race day," said Hornaday, the defending Truck Series champion who ranks second in points this season heading into Saturday's Camping World RV Rental 200. "A lot of people know that I do drink beer. I love my beer. But I don't drink the night before a race, and I don't drink when I'm on the racetrack.

In other words, Hornaday is not the kind of guy who would start popping pills to attempt gaining some kind of edge in performance. It's just not in his DNA.

Hornaday speaks

Ron Hornaday addresses the media to discuss his health and what led to his steroid use.

• To watch the video, click here
• Hornaday won't be punished

But he knew something was wrong with his body as early as the latter part of 2004. It would be going on four years, visits to various doctors -- and 92 starts in the Craftsman Truck Series -- before he was forced to share his story with the world.

That came Friday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, when Hornaday revealed that he suffers from Graves' Disease -- described by the Mayo Clinic as "the most common form of hyperthyroidism. It occurs when your immune system mistakenly attacks your thyroid gland and causes it to overproduce the hormone thyroxine."

Hornaday's condition is more commonly known as having a hyperactive thyroid.

What's past is past

Hornaday admits that at one point early in his treatment for what at the time was still his mystery illness, from December of 2004 to January of 2006, he applied a small amount of a testosterone cream daily as prescribed by physicians at the Palm Beach (Fla.) Rejuvenation Center. The anti-aging facility has been in the news recently because it has been linked to drug scandals in other major-league sports.

But the fact is that testosterone wasn't illegal in NASCAR during the time frame when Hornaday used it -- nor would it have given him any kind of competitive advantage then or now. (Continued)