Balance what keeps No. 33 at championship form

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- Before he got the call to come drive for Dale Earnhardt nearly 15 seasons ago, Ron Hornaday made his living building race cars. So he knows the importance of having quality equipment on which to place his trust.

At the same time, you can never rest on your laurels -- or your current chassis -- which is why team owner Kevin Harvick has been in the process of upgrading the team's stable of trucks throughout the season. If Hornaday was this dominant on his way to the 2009 Camping World Truck Series title, how much better could the No. 33 Chevrolet be in 2010?

Turning point

After winning at The Milwaukee Mile in dominating fashion, Ron Hornaday went on a tear winning five in a row, putting the Truck Series title out of reach from the rest of the field.

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Could an unprecedented fifth series championship be in the works? Why not? Hornaday made winning five consecutive races look easy this summer.

"Five wins in a row is remarkable, and that's because of Rick Ren and all the guys and Kevin and DeLana letting us build new trucks week in and week out," Hornaday said. "I went up there probably two months ago and I had like 11 trucks done. I went back up there two weeks ago and only had four trucks. So Kevin keeps selling my trucks and building new ones. I'm not going to complain because they're faster than anything you drive."

In fact, Harvick went on to win the series finale in one of Hornaday's 2010 models. But that's part of what makes the bond between owner and driver different in this instance.

"I don't need to tell you guys, and you all know, but it's more of a personal relationship between Ron and myself and, you know, it it's very gratifying to see him be able to win," Harvick said. "That means as much to me as winning the races or winning the championships is to see Ron happy and winning races and winning the championship. You know, the personal relationship is more important than anything else."

In the span of less than two months last fall, Hornaday lost the championship and his father and mentor. So becoming the oldest driver to win a NASCAR national series title after turning 51 this year was both redemption and reassurance.

"It's your dream," he said. "And I lost my father a year ago and he gave me a token before he passed away he said had room for three or four more championships. And he said, 'Don't quit until you fill that up.' As long as Kevin and DeLana will have me, I will keep putting engravings on that."

It helps that crew chief Rick Ren fits nicely in the equation, both with experience and temperament.

"First of all, we respect each other," Ren said. "And respect is a big word in this business. Second of all, you know, him and I just have an agreement. He tells me what it's doing and he wants me to fix it, and we work it out.

"We don't argue with each other or fight with each other. We just go out and do our thing, you know. Everybody growls at each other once in a while, but that's part of this business. I don't know. It's just fun. I think we get along great."

The only thing that seemed to be able to slow down Hornaday during the final weekend was a touch of the flu.

"It all started when I got off the airplane," he said. "You know, my mother-in-law's been sick, and we went to the hospital and saw her. Then we jumped on an airplane. Must have gotten the flu or something. The tickle in the throat, the head ready to blow off. The drippy nose.

"The only good thing about it -- I didn't get the fever or anything. They say if you get the fever, you have the swine flu. So I didn't get that. [So I get to] sit down here in good old Miami for three days, sitting in the motorhome, sweating to death."