KHI reaches back in time with west coast pipeline (cont'd)

And while Carelli is part of the management team he isn't afraid to get his hands dirty at the track and will be a major presence in the pits.

"When Rick used to be my spotter, he was my biggest cheerleader," Hornaday said. "So I think we're all going to work well together. It's really a small world when you think about how everyone ended up in the same place working for the same guy."

“

Doug has been a driver before, he knows what it takes and he knows how to treat people. I like the way he acts, his demeanor, he's a people person and I like that.

”

-- RON HORNADAY

Carelli is in place to give the No. 33 team the tools it needs to win races. Last season Hornaday won six races.

"The biggest thing here is we have three different personalities but they're all strong and hard headed like. That parts works because we are the types not to accept failure," Carelli said. "No one ever says no."

Carelli said plugging George into the equation adds a different kind of confidence and new comfort level for Hornaday.

"But it's still a familiar face," he added.

Everyone is eager to get to the next truck race in Atlanta to see what magic results when the three west coast attitudes converge in the south.

Still, on Monday mornings when all the guys at the KHI shop in Kernersville, N.C., are discussing race results, George, Carelli and Hornaday can't help but reminisce about their days in the Southwest Tour and that crazy championship battle 18 years ago in Phoenix.

"That's the story everyone likes to tell," Hornaday said. "The one when Carelli, Doug and I raced for the championship."

Hornaday said George had the thing pretty much wrapped up, but George contends any of the three drivers could have won it once the green flag dropped. Hornaday lead the series with a 57-point advantage over George. Carelli, the tour's defending champion at the time, was third, 77 points behind Hornaday.

Early in the race, Hornaday thought his championship campaign was over when another driver's exhaust pipe went through his windshield and broke the bone in his right arm.

"I spent every penny to go win this championship and I thought it had vanished," Hornaday recalled. He went behind the wall to make repairs. Meanwhile, George was running third and appeared to be in a position to win the championship with about 10 laps to go.

"But someone chopped down on the nose of my car and sent me spinning hard enough into the fence that we couldn't continue. I was done. I should've been more conservative but Rick was behind me," George said. "If I would've finished the race right there I would've won the championship."

And just when you thought Carelli was going to win, he blew a tire, hit the wall and was seriously injured. He sustained five broken ribs after another driver slammed into his door. The wreck caused a major pile-up.

Guess who made it through the melee?

Hornaday.

"So here I am with a busted windshield and roof, brakes that barely work and it looks like I'm going to win [the championship] but coming to the checkered flag, I broke a gear in the transmission; I burned out the clutch," Hornaday said.

His crew told him to get out and start pushing.

"I hadn't had a DNF [Did Not Finish] all year, so everyone started pushing the car around the track," he said.

Hornaday won the championship by three points.

If history is any indication, trust this west coast creation will be in the championship battle together again at the end of this season.

Related:
• George named crew chief for Hornaday, No. 33 truck