All-Time Truck Series Great Is Latest NASCAR Hall-of-Fame Driver In Field
Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) announced today that NASCAR Hall-of-Fame driver and Truck series superstar Ron Hornaday, Jr. will join an impressive field of champion drivers in the “American Racing Legends Charity Pro-Am Presented By RACER Magazine.” The race will take place at Virginia International Raceway September 22. NASCAR Cup Champions Bill Elliott and Bobby Labonte previously announced their entries along with Daytona 500 winner Ward Burton and another Truck series champion, Mike Skinner.
“The field we are assembling is flat out awesome,” said SVRA CEO Tony Parella. “Ron Hornaday is a four-time champion in the NASCAR Truck series and an all-time leader in career wins. With talent like Ron, this is shaping up to be an amazing weekend.”
Hornaday is not only one of the latest members in the NASCAR Hall-of-Fame, but was also voted the most popular driver in the Truck series twice (1997, 2005) and the Busch (now Xfinity) series in 2000. His career 51 race wins ties him with Kyle Busch as the all-time leader in NASCAR Truck series history. He won the championship four times in 1996, 1998, 2007, and 2009, amassing 234 top-ten finishes and 27 poles. Hornaday has competed in all three of NASCAR’s top series, running a full season in Cup for the legendary A.J. Foyt in 2001. He scored four Xfinity Cup victories driving for two other racing legends, Dale Earnhardt, Sr. and Richard Childress. Hornaday’s greatest success in Trucks came when he raced for Earnhardt five years and later for Kevin Harvick across seven seasons.
In addition to the new Pro-Am, the professional Trans Am Series Presented by Pirelli Series will join SVRA at VIR. Trans Am and SVRA continue to leverage growth for both series by sharing the track at eight event weekends in 2018. This approach delivers a motorsports festival atmosphere. Fans can expect more of the Hagerty Insurance “show and shine” car corrals and a marketplace of accessory, memorabilia, art, and apparel vendors. The event includes an entire weekend of racing with hundreds of vintage cars competing in a variety of classifications.
The VIR event will benefit IGNITE – the Autism Society of North Carolina’s community center for young adults with high-functioning autism or Asperger’s syndrome. IGNITE was founded by The Evernham Family Racing for a Reason Foundation – a nonprofit established by legendary NASCAR crew chief Ray Evernham and his family. Evernham will compete in the race as an amateur.