page_title: Ron Hornaday Jr.
section_title: 1995–1999
hierarchical_section_title: Ron Hornaday Jr. / Racing career / 1995–1999
caption_attribution_description: w:Ron Hornaday celebrate his championship with owner w:Dale Earnhardt.
context_page_description: Ronald Lee Hornaday Jr. is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He is the father of former NASCAR driver Ronnie Hornaday, and son of the late Ron Hornaday Sr., a two-time Winston West Champion. Hornaday is a four-time champion in the Camping World Truck Series, his most recent coming in 2009. He was a long-time driver in NASCAR's Winston West Series, and is a Featherlite Southwest Tour Champion. He was noticed by Dale Earnhardt while participating in the NASCAR Winter Heat on TNN.
context_section_description: Hornaday signed to drive the No. 16 RCCA Products/Papa John's Pizza-sponsored Chevrolet C/K owned by Dale Earnhardt, Inc. for the then-start-up Super Truck Series. In the first season of competition, Hornaday won six races and four poles on his way to a third-place points finish. The next year, with sponsorship from NAPA Auto Parts, Hornaday won four races and the series championship.
  In 1997, despite seven wins, two of which came by leading every lap in the race, he finished fifth in points. He was able to reclaim his title in 1998 by garnering six wins and 16 top fives out of 27 races. At Memphis 200 he celebrated with a burnout, which was unusual at the time, and made team owner Dale Earnhardt angry for risking damaging the powertrain.
  Also in 1998, Hornaday made his Busch Series debut, driving four races for ST Motorsports, his best finish an eighth at Pikes Peak International Raceway. He also debuted a Winston Cup car for Tim Beverly at Sonoma, finishing fourteenth in the No. 17 NAPA-sponsored Chevy. Hornaday came close to a truck victory at Watkins Glen in the 1998 Parts America 150 in which he led all but 12 laps, only to lose the race due to a final-lap penalty for jumping the restart; Hornaday would pull into victory lane post-race only to be told that he had in fact finished fourth.
  In 1999, he won the 100th race ran in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series history at the Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington. He was one of four drivers entered in the race that competed in every truck race since its inception at the time for an extra $100,000 if he won, which he did. However, he was unable to capitalize on it and win the championship, finishing seventh in the final standings after an up and down year. Fortunately, he was given an opportunity late in the year to replace Dale Earnhardt Jr. in driving the No. 3 NAPA-sponsored Chevy for DEI's Busch program with Earnhardt moving up to the cup series, and he announced that he would do so the following year.
caption: Hornaday celebrating his championship with owner Dale Earnhardt
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