"I hate that I am going to miss races," said Hendrick, who had arthroscopic surgery in Charlotte March 6 to repair ligament damage in his right shoulder. "Racing is what I love, I can't even imagine missing one race and I will be out for four. That is the toughest part of this deal." Hornaday, a two-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion, has plenty of Busch Series experience totaling 52 division starts from 1998-2001. In 2000, the Palmdale, CA driver piloted Dale Earnhardt's No. 3 Busch Series entry to a pair of victories and a fifth-place finish in the final season standings, In all, Hornaday has sevenTop-5's and 18 Top-10 finishes in his Busch Series career.

"I couldn't be more proud to drive for Hendrick Motorsports," said Hornaday. "I'm just filling the seat for Ricky while he recovers. I want to do my job and do it well so we can get some points and Ricky can have a good spot in the garage when he gets back. I am not taking his place. I am just filling his seat until he's healthy and can race again."

The relief stint for Hendrick will also team Hornaday with former NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series rival and good friend, Jack Sprague, the driver of the Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 NetZero Chevy NBS entry. While the two drivers staged several epic battles in the Truck Series, they will now be teammates for a number of races.

"I've always enjoyed racing against Jack and now we get to compete at teammates," said Hornaday. "That's pretty cool. Jack's a great competitor and I know we're going to have a good time racing together. I'm sure we'll still race like heck against each other, but that will be half the fun."