by BY STEVE ROGERS ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE , Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Racing in temperatures nearing 100 degrees, Hornaday won Saturday's MemphisTravel. com 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Memphis Motorsports Park. He led 175 of the 201 laps but had to survive a late caution period and green-whitecheckered to become the first driver with three Memphis victories.

"It was hot. Really, really hot," said Hornaday, who also won at Memphis last year and in the track's inaugural event in 1998. "But my guys added a lot of extra hoses and blowers for this race to help keep me cool. If you had seen me right before the race started, my hair was dry. My guys worked to keep me cool." But Hornaday was drenched after the race, as were the rest of the drivers. At race time, shortly after 5 p.m., the temperature was 99 degrees with a heat index of more than 110 degrees.

"The track temperature was 141 degrees in our pit stall right before the race," said Rick Ren, Hornaday's crew chief. "If you would put your hand on the track, it would burn. Tires are the same way - they don't want to grip it either.

"I started early in the week, telling Ron to drink a lot of water, eat some bananas, no alcohol. I knew it was going to be a hot one." Equipment advances help keep drivers cooler. But Hornaday, 51, raced during a time when there weren't helmet blowers or sophisticated ducting to direct air toward the driver.

"That sounds good," Hornaday said, laughing. "If you say so. But that doesn't stop your feet from burning or your butt from burning or your chest from burning.

"But those things help. This was probably the hottest we've had since Topeka in '96 or '97." Hornaday extended his series record with his 42nd career Truck victory, coming in his 236th series start.

Hornaday started on the pole after turning a lap of 116.450 mph around the .750-mile oval during qualifying earlier in the day. He led the opening 53 laps before giving it up to pit under caution. But he passed T.J. Bell less than a lap after the restart to regain the top spot.

Brian Scott took over the lead during another set of yellowflag pit stops and proved to be Hornaday's toughest - perhaps only - competition of the day. He held onto the lead for 20 laps before Hornaday regained it for good with 67 laps remaining.

Hornaday worked under Scott in turns three and four as they split the lapped Truck of Brent Sherman.

"Lap down trucks plagued us all day," said Scott, who was driving with a broken wrist suffered in a crash at Michigan on June 13. "I had no idea which way they were going to go when I got to them. Still, I might have been able to stay in front of Ron for a little longer, but he was going to eventually get by us. We were the second-best Truck." Hornaday had built 12.5-second lead over Scott when Dennis Setzer and Tayler Malsam spun with five laps left to bring out the final caution and the greenwhite-checkered finish.

More often than not at Memphis, the winner has been determined on a late restart with the second-place Truck using his bumper to move the leader.

"I didn't know there was going to be a green-white-checkered," Hornaday said, "and I knew someone was going to bump me. And I couldn't have blamed them if they did. Everybody's hungry out here." But Hornaday's bumper stayed clean this time. He pulled away from Scott on the restart and held an advantage of .65 seconds at the checkered flag.

"I got a good jump," Scott said. "But it was probably too good because my front wouldn't stick in turn one and I slipped up the track a little. Then I had to get back down and settle in front of David [Starr]." Scott held on for second, followed by Starr in third. Aric Almirola was fourth, and Matt Crafton took fifth.

The heat was a factor for all of the drivers.

"It affects you," Scott said. "You work to make it better, but you don't forget it's hot." "But we all work out," Starr said. "Being from Texas, I try to run and work out during the heat of the day. I can't come here and let my team down just because it's hot." Attendance for the race was estimated at 17,000, which is less than half capacity for the track but still enough to impress the drivers.

"In this heat, that was a lot of people out here to watch us race," Scott said. "It's not just hot for the drivers. It's hot for the crews and the safety people and the track staff. But you really have to feel for the fans on a day like this." "Those are aluminum bleachers up there," Hornaday said. "Being an athlete in this sport, it makes me appreciate the people who pay to come see us and cheer for us. Every one of those people up in those stands had opportunities to do something besides sit out in this heat today. I'm thankful for every one of them."

This article was published 06/28/2009

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