Hornaday ducked into the leviathan of a racing hauler and emerged smiling rather than shivering, shrouded by a blue AC Delco down jacket sporting a Richard Childress Racing logo.

The pride of Palmdale wasn't just wearing a jacket.

He was wrapped in the warmth of the best ride of his stock car career.

"I've spent enough time chasing this blue No. 2 AC Delco car," Hornaday said. "I can't wait to sit in the driver's seat.

"This car has a lot of history. I want to add to it this year."

His first chance comes in today's season opener of the Busch Series in the Koolerz 300 at Daytona, where Hornaday will start eighth.

Since Hornaday won his second NASCAR Craftsman Truck title three years in 1998, the entry he now pilots has won three Busch Series titles and hosted two Busch rookies of the year.

The drivers who achieved those feats, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kevin Harvick, were both once tutored by Hornaday.

"This is really a neat thing for me, to finally be Hornaday's teammate," said Harvick, who will go off third today. "Ron gave me my start when I first moved back here from Bakersfield, and I will always be grateful to him for that.

"Now I can welcome him to RCR and hopefully see him win another Busch championship in the No. 2 car."

The view from the inside looking out is total opposite of a year ago this weekend, when Hornaday was on the outside, looking in.

Two young Golden Staters he'd helped get started in North Carolina, Harvick and Jimmie Johnson, were on the front row for the Daytona 500.

But Hornaday was banished to the truck series garage, well outside the main garage area.

He was without a full-time ride for the first time in his career, and uncertain what 2002 would bring.

What it eventually brought was a renaissance.

Taking over the No. 26 Chevrolet two months into the season, Hornaday posted a pole, five top-fives and eight top-10s.

It helped struggling Carroll Racing retain its sponsorship.

It convinced Childress he could trust Hornaday with his history lesson on wheels.

For the first time since he can remember, Hornaday isn't obsessed with proving something to anyone.

All he has to do is drive. Childress is convinced that will be enough.

"This isn't like with Carroll Racing or even the (Winston) Cup car with A.J. Foyt two years ago," Hornaday said. "We're not trying to establish anything with the 2 car.

"It's established. We're just trying to add to it."

His RCR ride is easily Hornaday's best since 2000. He succeeded Earnhardt Jr. in Dale Eernhardt Inc.'s Busch program, winning two races, finishing fifth in points and earning the series' most popular driver award.

When Earnhardt's father shifted DEI's NAPA sponsorship to the Winston Cup series and Michael Waltrip in 2001, it led to the two most difficult seasons of Hornaday's career.

Strange, considering Hornaday presented DEI its first championship with the truck series title in 1996.

"Even at DEI, we were building the company, one brick at a time," said Lindy Hornaday, Ron's wife. "At RCR, the bricks are all in place.

"We're trying write our name across them."

Said Ron: "Dale got the idea to start his own company from seeing what Richard had done with RCR. He relied on Richard for a lot of help in getting his engine program established. A lot of the success they've had in these restrictor plate races is based on what they learned from RCR.

"Richard Childress runs the greatest organization in stock car racing. It is very special that he's asked me to be a part of it."

Hornaday's new crew chief, Rick Viers, plans to de-emphasize all talk of history and expectations. He's convinced it intimidated and limited driver Johnny Saiter and the AC Delco crew in his first year in charge in 2002.

"Ron, being a veteran, understands what we're trying to do," Viers said. "We want to run up front and get consistent top-five finishes. If we do that, the points and the wins will take care of themselves."

Hornaday ran up front the last time he was in Florida, at last November's NCTS finale at Homestead.

He was still wearing the World Series champions cap and chauffeuring the rally monkey given him a week earlier at Phoenix by Valley native Kevin Appier.

"That was a great weekend with Kevin in Phoenix," Hornaday said. "That hat got me thinking about winning a championship.

"I can't ever remember being so confident about that going into a season."