MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Dawson Cram has always had a NASCAR giant as one of his career mentors, but that teacher takes on a little extra importance this weekend at Martinsville Speedway.
Cram, who has been guided up the ranks by four-time Gander Outdoors Truck Series champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer Ron Hornaday, will make his fourth Truck Series start on Saturday at the .526-mile paper clip, with Hornaday offering words of advice just as he has for much of Cram’s youth.
“It’s pretty amazing to have one of the greatest behind you, backing you helping you out,” Cram told SPEED SPORT. “Ron is actually my mom’s godfather, so that’s how I met him. He came over from California back in the 90s, around the same time my grandpa came over. My dad (Kevin Cram) was actually his crew chief on the No. 16 NAPA truck at DEI back in the day, so there’s a lot of cool ties.
“It’s just neat to be able to say I have someone like him in my corner. He’s a great mentor.”
The fact that this weekend’s race is the NASCAR Hall of Fame 200 wasn’t lost on Cram, either.
As soon as he heard about the Hall’s sponsorship of the event, he immediately picked up the phone and called Hornaday, wanting to recognize the man who has helped him “immensely” in a very special way.
“We actually put a ‘Ron Hornaday: seven-time champion, NASCAR Hall of Famer’ sticker on the bed of the truck. When I found out that the race was going to be the Hall of Fame 200, then I immediately gave Ron a shout and asked him if I could put his name on the bed of the truck with the Hall of Fame logo,” Cram explained. “He gave me his blessing to do just that and I’m very thankful to have him on there and give him some payback for all the help he’s given me over the years.
“He’ll also be the Grand Marshal tomorrow, so that’s pretty cool too.”
True to the decal adorning Cram’s No. 33 Chevrolet – appropriately the same number that Hornaday won his final two Truck Series titles in with Kevin Harvick Inc. in 2007 and 2009 – the Palmdale, Calif., native has seven overall NASCAR championships, which includes his four Truck crowns (1996, ’98, 2007, ’09) and back-to-back Featherlite Southwest Tour titles in 1992 and 1993, the first to do so in that series.
Cram appreciates the fact that, driving for Reaume Brothers Racing this weekend at Martinsville, he has a chance to carry the same number as the driver that helped propel him to where he’s at today.
“That’s an honor for me,” Cram said. “It’s a cool parallel now that we’ll get to share together.”
The good news for Cram is that with only 32 trucks entered for this weekend’s race, he doesn’t have to worry about failing to qualify, which happened to him during the spring Martinsville truck race in April.
Instead, he can focus on what he needs to be successful in Saturday’s race, which the 18-year-old did throughout a pair of 50-minute practice sessions Friday afternoon at Martinsville.
“We’re just looking at long-run speed for the third stage,” Cram noted. “It’s just trying to get it figured out, making sure the thing handles good and then about making changes throughout tomorrow’s race. We don’t really have an angle except to keep it in one piece and keep all four tires on it.
“It’s Martinsville,” Cram chuckled. “If you can do those two things, you’ll have a pretty decent day.”