Open face helmet, a cigarette in his hand, and living life in the fast lane. One might almost think that we’re talking about Dick Trickle. After all, the ‘winningest short track driver in history’ stood out from the rest of the grid, not just in style but also in his attitude. Widely considered to be tougher than NASCAR icon Dale Earnhardt and a better racer than Richard Petty, the Wisconsin-native was known for drilling a hole in his safety helmet to smoke while racing. He even installed lighters in his racecars. But this story isn’t about him.

As it turns out, he wasn’t the only one who enjoyed lighting up a cigarette while driving a racecar. Ron Hornaday Jr. also enjoyed taking a puff now and then, and the veteran took a trip down memory lane in a candid conversation with Kevin Harvick.

Ron Hornaday Jr. relives NASCAR memories

He didn’t just smoke cigarettes, but also the competition. Ron Hornaday Jr. made quite a name for himself back in the day, earning his stripes at the Southwest Series in the early 90s. He soon earned a move to Dale Earnhardt Inc., where he went on to win two Camping World Truck Series championships while behind the wheel of the No. 16 Chevy. The racing culture was different then, and lighting up a cigarette while tearing up the track wasn’t as frowned upon as it is today.

Revealing how racing has changed over the years, the NASCAR veteran said on Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour podcast, “Back in the day, I smoked in my racecar.” When asked by Harvick how many cigarettes he smoked back in the day, the California native replied, “Just every yellow flag. I just used it when I’m gonna restart, I’d flick them out of the window and hit the other guy’s window behind me. They’d think, ‘Oh, I’m sparking.’”

Trickle was also allowed to smoke during the yellow flag period by NASCAR, and was often seen in the in-car camera lighting up and smoking a cigarette on live television. Perhaps that’s where Ron Hornaday Jr. drew his inspiration from. However, it’s hard to believe that ‘The Intimidator’ knew about this habit in the 90s, and the veteran confirmed the same. When asked if he smoked in Dale Earnhardt’s truck, the 66-year-old set the record straight, going on to say, “No, I was a secret closet smoker back then.” However, it didn’t seem like the habit affected his performances one bit, if results are anything to go by.

During his five years at DEI, Hornaday Jr. didn’t finish lower than seventh, winning the NASCAR Truck Series championships in 1996 and 1998. He then resumed his career in the third-tier with Kevin Harvick Incorporated in the mid-2000s, winning two more titles in 2007 and 2009. And he did it all while holding a cigarette in his hand, channeling the Dick Trickle spirit to dominate the racetrack in style.

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Dick Trickle was truly one of a kind

Back in the day, Alan Kulwicki carried a briefcase full of charts and notes that helped him figure out racing strategies. He wasn’t the only one, as Dick Trickle has a briefcase of his own. But instead of valuable data, the Wisconsin native used it for his sunglasses, ball caps, a racing schedule, and, as you might have probably guessed, a carton of cigarettes.

He was unique, and while younger drivers were seen pumping gas, exhausted after a hard day’s work, Trickle remained cool and collected, with one hand on his Pontiac, smoking away at his Marlboro and ready to race 100 more laps if needed. Recalling the veteran’s swagger, Ned Jarrett and Pressley said, “Dick Trickle would be standing there with a cup of coffee in one hand and a cigarette in the other. He would say that’s all he needed.”

They weren’t the only ones. Former racer Jack Ingram also recalled, “He went from place to place, and people would walk by and he always had a cup of coffee and a cigarette. Racing fans would notice, and they got to saying, ‘There’s old cup of coffee and cigarette.'” The stock car racing world has evolved since then, and while smoking on the racetrack is unfathomable in today’s time, the likes of Trickle and Hornaday Jr. were unapologetically true to themselves back in the day.