News

BROOKLYN, Mich. (August 15, 2008) – Sam Hornish Jr., driver of the Penske Racing No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger, will line up to start the 3M Performance 400 at Michigan International Speedway in the 23rd position on Sunday afternoon.

After a strong run at the two-mile D-shaped oval in June, Hornish feels that the Mobil 1 team has made marked improvements overall that will translate into success on Sunday.

“We’ve been looking forward to returning to Michigan International Speedway ever since the last race was over,” said Hornish. “We feel like we’ve found some things that have really helped us out over the past couple of races that will hopefully make us even better here this time around.”

In qualifying, Hornish posted a fast lap time of 38.993 seconds at a speed of 184.649 miles per hour. The effort secured the No. 77 team the 23rd starting position on Sunday.

“We basically backed up the time we ran in practice today,” said Hornish. “The closer to the front of the field you can start, the less chances you have to take during the race. Track position is important here because the track is so wide and allows for so much passing it creates less cautions and longer green flag runs. Overall, this was a solid qualifying effort for the Mobil 1 team.”

Coverage of the 3M Performance 400 at Michigan International Speedway will air live on the ESPN television network on Sunday, August 17 beginning at 1 p.m. EDT and will be broadcast live on MRN at 1:15 p.m. EDT.

Driver:  Sam Hornish Jr.
Position: 23rd
Time:  38.993
Speed: 184.649     

Pole:  Brian Vickers
Time:  38.189
Speed: 188.536  

Penske Racing Teammates:
13. Kurt Busch
20. Ryan Newman