News

Sam Hornish Jr. – No. 77 Penske Truck Rental Dodge Charger
Best Buy 400
Dover International Speedway
June 1, 2008

News and Notes
• Sam Hornish Jr., driver of the Penske Racing No. 77 Penske Truck Rental Dodge Charger, capped off an impressive two weeks at Lowe’s Motor Speedway with a career-best 13th place NASCAR Sprint Cup Series finish in the Coca-Cola 600. The previous week, Hornish Jr. raced his way into the All-Star Race and finished 7th in that event.
• Hornish Jr. and the No. 77 Penske Truck Rental team are currently 36th in the 2008 NASCAR Cup Series owner points standings. The team sits just three points outside of the 35th position.
• Hornish Jr. is currently second in the 2008 Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings, trailing current leader Regan Smith by one point. For his strong performance in the Coca-Cola 600, Hornish Jr. earned Rookie-of-the-Race honors.
• Hornish Jr. will pull “double duty” once again this weekend, competing in both the Heluva Good! 200 Nationwide Series race as well as the Best Buy 400 Cup Series event.
• Penske Racing is just one win shy of reaching the milestone of 300 victories since 1966 across a variety of racing series, including the NASCAR Cup Series, IndyCar Series, American Le Mans Series and more. 

Upcoming Events
5/31/08 - 6/1/08:  Hornish Jr. will pull “double duty” at Dover International Speedway competing in both the NASCAR Nationwide and Cup Series events.

6/1/08: Hornish Jr. will be on hand to sign autographs at his souvenir rig on Sunday, June 1 from 9:45 to 10:15 a.m.

Chassis Chatter
PRS-562: This primary car for this weekend was last driven by Hornish Jr. at Phoenix International Raceway in April 2008. He finished 20th in that race.
PRS-563: The backup car for this weekend recently served as the backup for races at Richmond, Darlington, and Charlotte.

Sam Hornish Jr. on Dover International Speedway
“Dover is one of the races we attempted last year. After 20 laps of practice, we were the first car to qualify and didn’t make the race. I like the track and feel that we will have better luck in qualifying for the race this weekend."

“I feel that I have really learned a lot over the past couple of months through testing and racing in both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series. I think this weekend will go smooth. Our teammates Kurt (Busch) and Ryan (Newman) ran well at Dover last year and I think that will help the entire Penske Racing organization have a successful weekend.”

Crew Chief Chris Carrier on Dover International Speedway
“I love racing at Dover. You can stand on the end of pit road in turn one during qualifying and actually see the whites of the drivers’ eyes. It’s a track that definitely separates the big dogs from the pack.

“We have learned quite a bit over the past few weeks at Lowe’s Motor Speedway that I feel will transfer over to Dover. The groove moves at Dover and the driver has to move with it. I think that fits Sam’s (Hornish Jr.) style perfectly. I think it will be a good, solid race for the Penske Truck Rental team."

2008 Rookie-of-the-Year Standings

Position   Driver                    Points
1.           Regan Smith          117
2.           Sam Hornish Jr.      116
3.           Dario Franchitti       81
4.           Patrick Carpentier   72
5.           Michael McDowell    65
6.           Jacques Villeneuve 1