It was a championship race you had to see to believe; reading about it on Monday morning would not have sufficed.

Only 77 points separated the drivers in first and third positions and the top three cars in contention either crashed or suffered a set back.

“

Once you get past the pleasantries you can say 'OK, then let's get to making this thing fast.'

”

-- DOUG GEORGE

However, one driver managed to survive the carnage and through a chance happening saved his championship dreams. But it wasn't before the driver and his entire team realized they had to push their stalled car around the track and cross the finish line in order to win the title.

Almost 18 years later, Doug George still questions the legality of it all.

"At first, between the three of us, no one really knew who won the championship at the end of the race," he said.

The winner was Ron Hornaday and the year was 1992.

The "three of us" comprised George, Hornaday and Rick Carelli -- all west-coast racers who competed against one another in NASCAR's Southwest Tour Series and all were crowned champions. But they weren't friends, never even had beers together.

"To be honest we beat the hell out of each other," said Carelli, the tour's 1991 champ.

George, who won the title the year before, said, "We were always the three winning, running up front, but I wouldn't say we were friends. When we showed up it was all business. We respected each other but never took anyone's crap and if someone needed to lean a fender then that's what we would do."

The men parted ways and eventually traveled east to North Carolina where they could ascend the NASCAR ladder further into the Truck Series. Hornaday stayed behind the wheel and has won four Truck Series championships; Carelli retired from driving and went the management route; and George found his niche on top the pit box.

Now, the men are together again working for another championship. Only this time it will be together, not against one another, at Kevin Harvick Inc., the organization owned by fellow west coast native Kevin Harvick.

Hired at KHI in December, George, who last season was crew chief for Kyle Busch, will replace Dave Fuge as crew chief for Hornaday's No. 33 Chevrolet. Carelli is the general manager of KHI and has been for five years.

Hornaday and George worked together for the first time during an offseason truck test in Orlando, Fla. The chemistry was instant.

"The biggest thing is being confident in each other," George said. "That gets rid of a lot of obstacles. When you believe in your driver, that makes a difference. We know each other's past. Once you get past the pleasantries you can say 'OK, then let's get to making this thing fast.' "

Hornaday agreed.

"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. He's a good lookin' guy too, has a good swagger about him and I get along with him," Hornaday said.

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