| call
from
the
legendary
Dale
Earnhardt,
who
wanted
Ron
to
polite
his
Craftsman
Truck,
in
the
series'
inaugural
year.
"That
call
from
Dale
changed
my
families
life"
commented
Hornaday.
To
date,
Ron
has
driven
in
the
top
three
touring
series
of
the
NASCAR
organization,
for
three
of
the
most
legendary
car
owner's,
Earnhardt,
Foyt
and
Hendrick.
"It's
great
coming
here
with
the
Hendrick
Team,
they
have
put
me
in
top
equipment,
with
minimal
pressure".
stated
Hornaday.
"This
team
put
together
a
top
10
qualifier,
unfortunately
we
didn't
get
to
show
it.
Their
work
during
pit-stops
only
shows
the
caliber
of
this
team.
I
know
if
the
weather
was
better
our
finish
would
have
been
too".
Hornaday
started
the
Car
Quest
/
GMAC
Chevrolet
from
the
27th
position
based
on
owners
points
after
qualifying
was
rained
out
on
Friday.
For
most
of
the
day,
Hornaday
was
running
in
the
top
10,
and
the
Team's
pit
stops
brought
high
fives
on
pit
road.
On
the
track,
Hornaday
was
as
high
as
3rd
in
the
Auto
Club
300,
but
a
five
lap
shoot-out
was
to
determine
the
race
finish.
At
the
drop
of
the
green,
Hornaday
wanted
to
go
high
but
was
blocked,
so
he
dropped
to
the
bottom,
3
wide,
yet
was
unable
to
get
back
to
the
top
ten
and
finished
17th.
This
might
be
Ron
Hornaday's
last
run
in
the
#5
Hendrick
Motorsports
Busch
Series
machine.
"Ricky
will
be
testing
on
Tuesday",
stated
Hornaday.
"If
he
and
the
doctors
agree
he
is
ready,
then
he
will
be
in
the
car
next
week".
"It
has
been
great
having
Ron
in
the
car",
said
Ricky
Hendrick
after
spotting
Ron
in
Busch
Series
final
practice.
"The
team
and
I
have
learned
a-lot
from
Ron,
his
experience
and
knowledge
has
helped
us
a
great
deal.
We
are
a
young
team
and
our
goal
is
improvement".
What's
next
for
Hornaday
?
"We
need
to
wait
and
see
what
the
Doctors
say
about
Ricky's
shoulder,
and
we
will
go
from
there",
Hornaday
continued,
"There
is
a-lot
of
talk,
but
we'll
just
wait
and
see".
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