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.

So that, as misguided as some other attempts to make it so, is not Ron Hornaday's story. Jim Hunter, speaking for NASCAR, said that after consulting with doctors it was determined that the testosterone "did not enhance his performance, nor impair his judgment on the track." Hunter added that it is in the past and Hornaday faces no disciplinary actions from the governing body.

"It's over and done with. He's been cleared to race," Hunter said. "We don't see where Ron did anything wrong."

No one with an ounce of common sense can see that Hornaday did anything wrong. He simply was attempting to regain his health, which did not occur until his truck team owner, Sprint Cup driver Kevin Harvick, forced Hornaday to see Harvick's own personal physician.

“

This whole situation is not about driving. This is about someone's personal health. Ron was trying to make his health better.

”

KEVIN HARVICK

That happened in late February of 2006. By then Hornaday had been to see yet another physician who told him that he basically had gas, and had undergone an emergency appendectomy that further complicated matters. He had lost 30 pounds and, according to Harvick, looked terrible.

He wasn't feeling very good, either.

Prior to the season-opening Truck race at Daytona, Hornaday needed to take intravenous fluids prior to running in the event. He needed IV's again before participating in the next Truck race in California, upon which Harvick decided he had witnessed enough.

"From a friend's standpoint, when you see Ron's health start to deteriorate, it's not about driving," Harvick said. "This whole situation is not about driving. This is about someone's personal health. Ron was trying to make his health better.

"After he went through being misdiagnosed twice, and pretty much after that California race, I said, 'That's it. You're done until you figure out what's wrong.' From an owner's standpoint maybe that's not what I should have done or how I should have done it; but from a friend's standpoint, that's how I did it."

The morning after Hornaday's return to Charlotte, N.C., Harvick called him on the telephone.

"What are you doing?" Harvick asked.

"I'm coming up to the shop this afternoon. Why?" Hornaday replied.

Harvick did not mince words. "I need you up here now."

When Hornaday arrived at the team's shop shortly thereafter, team manager Rick Carelli was waiting at the door for him.

"We have an appointment," said Carelli, who then proceeded to attempt dragging Hornaday to Harvick's doctor.

Hornaday did not want to go. He had been to all the doctors he could stand. What else could yet another quack tell him?

"I kind of told Carelli a couple of foul words and told him I didn't think this was fair and all that," Hornaday said.

He was angry, and Harvick was smart. Harvick stayed away -- or as Hornaday charged Friday, "You hid from me."

Harvick did not deny it. Nor did not care in the least that Hornaday was upset with him.

Celebrate, don't denigrate

It didn't take Harvick's physician long to figure out what was wrong with Hornaday, once Hornaday finally agreed to go with Carelli.

"Just walking in the door," said Hornaday, "I think Kevin had been explaining to him my feelings and what I had been going through, and the guy said, 'I think I already know what it is. I can see it in your eyes.' He took my hat off and felt my hair. Then he did all the blood work and everything and said, 'I'll let you know this afternoon.'

When the call came, Hornaday got a crash course to educate himself about Graves' Disease. Treatment was recommended right away. Hornaday's response as a hard-core racer was predictable.

"Can it wait until after the season?" he asked.

The answer was an emphatic no.

In fact, Harvick said they were told "it was a life-or-death issue." While Graves' Disease rarely is life-threatening, it can be so if it goes misdiagnosed and untreated -- or at least not treated properly -- over time.

In other words, Hornaday never would have even taken testosterone in the first place had he known what really was wrong with him -- because it wasn't the right stuff to correct his problem. At the same time, he now takes another drug that Harvick said "is actually a form of steroids that he has to take care of his thyroid. If he doesn't take that, he pretty much dies. ... There are just a lot of different health reasons that you have to use steroids for. These are personal health issues."

The moral of the story is that all is not always as it first seems when it comes to steroids and testosterone and drug centers and lists of folks who have visited them, no matter what the initial public perception may be of what they may or may not have done wrong. Each case is different -- and it can be a serious mistake to make premature assumptions.

Now the world knows the truth about Hornaday, who should be celebrated as a man who has battled through serious illness to become a champion -- not vilified for smearing pea-sized dots of testosterone cream on himself years ago in a logical attempt to merely get himself healthy again.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.