News

Sam Hornish Jr. – No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger
Dodge Challenger 500
Darlington Raceway
May 10, 2008

News and Notes
• Sam Hornish Jr., driver of the Penske Racing No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger, earned a 23rd place finish last weekend at Richmond International Raceway. As the Cup Series heads to the famed “Lady in Black,” Hornish Jr. prepares to make his fifth intermediate track start in Cup Series competition. Thus far, he has an average starting position of 21.2 and an average finish of 35.6 at tracks greater than a mile but less that two miles in length.
• Hornish Jr. and the No. 77 Mobil 1 team are currently 35th in the 2008 Cup Series owner points standings. The team sits   just 48 points outside of the 30th position.
• Hornish Jr. is currently second in the 2008 Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings, trailing current leader Regan Smith by one point. He leads third place driver Dario Franchitti by 25 points.
• Penske Racing is just two wins shy of reaching the milestone of 300 victories across a variety of racing series, including NASCAR Cup, IndyCar, American Le Mans and more.


Upcoming Events
5/9/08: Hornish Jr. and the No. 12 Penske Truck Rental team return to racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in the Diamond Hill Plywood 200 at Darlington Raceway.

5/23/08:  The 2008 Penske Racing Fan Fest will be held at Penske Racing Headquarters in Mooresville, N.C.  Hornish Jr. will be on hand to sign autographs from 9:30-11 a.m.


Chassis Chatter
PRS-564: This weekend’s race car is a brand new chassis.

PRS-563: The backup car for this weekend is a brand new racecar.


Sam Hornish Jr. on Darlington Raceway
“I don’t know what to expect this weekend in Darlington because I have never been there before. I drove by the track ten years ago on my way to Myrtle Beach for my senior trip in high school.

“I have watched many Darlington races on television and am excited to race at the legendary track for the first time. As a driver, there are certain tracks where you want to race during your career. Darlington is that type of track to me. I’m looking forward to getting out on the new surface. I hear it is not as bumpy as before and more forgiving. It’s an unknown for most of us and hopefully that will level the playing field somewhat for me.”

Crew Chief Chris Carrier on Darlington Raceway
“This weekend’s race at Darlington Raceway is going to be an adventure. The track has been completely resurfaced but it will still be narrow and unforgiving. It’s just going to be a lot faster.

“They will have to bring a rather hard tire to Darlington and that will make the margin of error pretty small. With the new surface and the different tire, the complexion of racing at Darlington is bound to change. That in turn will change the race strategy that teams will employ on Saturday night.”


2008 Rookie-of-the-Year Standings

Position   Driver                   Points
1.           Regan Smith          97
2.           Sam Hornish Jr.      96
3.           Dario Franchitti       72
4.           Patrick Carpentier   65
5.           Michael McDowell    45
6.           Jacques Villeneuve   1