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| Born | May 25, 1923 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Died | June 13, 2002 (age 79) Baltimore, Maryland |
| Cause of death | Stomach cancer |
| Organization | Lucky Hornick Enterprises |
| Title | Owner |
| Predecessor | Founder |
| Successor | John Hornick |
| Spouse(s) | Yvonne Hornick |
| Children | John Hornick Susanne Hornick |
Michael Delmer "Lucky" Hornick (May 25, 1923 - June 13, 2002) was an American mechanic, crew chief, and car owner widely associated with stock car racing. Hornick is most widely known for his role in the early days of the sport, particularly his role as the first car owner to receive official backing from a major automaker, which he did with Hudson prior to the beginning of the 1951 season.
Hornick was a notoriously stubborn and opinionated character who was nonetheless renowned in the garage; Emmett Newton, who drove for Hornick on two separate occasions, regarded Hornick as "the finest engineer in the sport"
Early Life[edit | edit source]
The son of Czech immigrants, Hornick grew up in Philadelphia. His father, a banker at a larger firm in the city, was an early automotive enthusiast and dedicated much of his time to tinkering on cars. Hornick would join his father in the garage starting when he turned 10, and began building and tuning engines when he was 14. Hornick would enlist in the U.S. Army Air Forces in 1941, shortly before the United States entered World War II.
Hornick's reputation as a gifted mechanic grew during his time in the military, as it was here that he earned the nickname "Lucky". His knack at repairing and rebuilding engines (and other support vehicles) astounded fellow airmen, who viewed him as the "Lucky Mechanic" who helped get their planes back in the air. After the war, Hornick returned to his native Philadelphia and opened an automotive repair shop, which he operated with his father until the latter's death in 1947.
Lucky's Garage[edit | edit source]
Hornick ran "Lucky's Best Garage Around" in Philadelphia from 1946, when he opened it as a truck repair shop, until 1995 when he retired from the garage to fully run the racing and automotive museum on the property; his son John and grandson Mike currently run the shop, with Mike also controlling the day-to-day operations of the race team. The original garage was renovated to a modernized take on its 1950 configuration, a callback to the year Hornick fully joined the stock car racing scene, in 2004.