Talk about drivers who never made it in Cup.... Ron Hornaday Jr... 51 Truck wins / Zero Cup. Was it talent? or Team? Car?
Personally I really like him, rooted for him all the time, but no Cup Wins. Go Figure !!!
He only ran in Cup one year and that was for A.J. Foyt's team. That team just wasn't good, missing 6 races their first year in 2000 and 4 the second year (when Hornaday drove from them).
He was also 42 when he got the opportunity to race in Cup.
The thing with him sadly is that he got tossed aside. He drove in the Truck Series for DEI, stayed with the team as they moved to Xfinity in 2000 to become the new #3 team (as Junior took his crew with him to the 8), and then got released when the team went to Cup to become the #15 car with Waltrip.
He won championships for DEI in Trucks and was a winner in both Trucks and Xfinity. If he had gone to Cup in the 15 car, it's likely that he would've had better results then what he did in that #14 car. He might've been able to pick up a win or two during that time as well. But Dale wanted Michael Waltrip in that car.
Hornaday was a good driver. The problem was basically when his opportunities came, that they were later in his career. He was released from DEI for Waltrip. He went to RCR and won races in the #2 car, but then got replaced by a younger Clint Bowyer.
By the time he went back to Trucks he was 47. And you saw the success he had in that series after that. I think that right there says that with good equipment - and being able to get there years earlier - that Hornaday might've been a good driver in Cup and likely have some wins.