NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Hornaday To Win 5th Championship

Ron Hornaday Jr. made history in 2009 as NASCAR’s oldest national champion at age 51. Members of the media voting in this year’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series pre-season poll expect him to make even more history in 2010.

Hornaday, who captured a record fourth series championship a year ago, is the overwhelming pick to join Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt as NASCAR national series competitors with five titles.
And in doing so, Hornaday would become the first driver in the 16 years of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series to win back-to-back championships. He finished first, second and first in his past three seasons driving the No. 33 Longhorn/Georgia Boot Chevrolet for Kevin Harvick Inc.

Hornaday also was chosen to win the title in last year’s poll – the first conducted.
Following Hornaday in the poll was 2009 runner-up Matt Crafton, former champions Mike Skinner and Todd Bodine, and 2009 Raybestos Rookie of the Year Johnny Sauter.

“I’m very honored they (the media) chose me to repeat as champion but there (will be) 35 other trucks out there for us to compete against,” said Hornaday, a 45-time winner in the series. “We are not going to go out there and race for second, that’s for sure, but I’m honored that they’ve chose me out of the other competitive teams in the series. We are going to do what we have to do to keep their prediction true.”

Voters said that 19-year-old Austin Dillon is slated to become the series’ second-youngest Raybestos Rookie of the Year. Dillon, a North Carolina college student, will drive the historic No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet for his grandfather, Richard Childress. The team, with Skinner behind the wheel, won the series’ first championship in 1995, and returns to full-time NASCAR Camping World Truck competition after a decade-long absence.

Runner-up in the rookie balloting was 2009 Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) champion Justin Lofton, followed by Jennifer Jo Cobb and Dillon Oliver.