News

Sam Hornish Jr. – No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger
Chevy Rock & Roll 400
Richmond International Raceway
September 6, 2008

News and Notes
• Sam Hornish Jr., driver of the Penske Racing No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger, will make his second Sprint Cup Series start at Richmond International Raceway in the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 this Saturday night. Earlier this season, Hornish started 35th and secured a 23rd place finish at the .75-mile D-shaped oval.
• Hornish also has one career Nationwide Series start (May 4, 2007) and seven IndyCar Series races at Richmond International Raceway. In the open-wheel series, he has a total of two victories, one pole award and four top-five finishes at Richmond.
• Hornish has a total of seven short track starts in Sprint Cup Series competition. He has an average start of 25.1, with a best starting position of seventh (Bristol), and an average finish of 26.7 with a best finish of 18th (Dover).
• Hornish is currently ranked second in the 2008 Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings. He trails leader Regan Smith by just one point and leads third place driver Patrick Carpentier by seven points.
• Hornish and the No. 77 Mobil 1 team are currently 36th in the 2008 NASCAR Cup Series owner points standings following the race at Auto Club Speedway.

Upcoming Events
9/6/08: Hornish will be on hand to sign autographs at his souvenir trailer on Saturday from 4 to 4:30 p.m.
10/30/08: Hornish will host the fourth annual Sam Hornish Jr. Celebrity Bowling Tournament during the NASCAR Sprint Cup race weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. Over the past three years, the tournament has raised $307,000 to benefit the Texas chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities.

Chassis Chatter
PRS-563: The primary car for this weekend was raced by Hornish in June at Pocono Raceway (finished 42nd).
PRS-562: The backup car for this weekend also served as backup earlier this season in Indianapolis and Michigan.

Sam Hornish Jr. on Richmond International Raceway
“Richmond International Raceway is a track where I’ve always enjoyed racing. I’ve had success there in the IndyCar Series and hope to achieve the same amount of success there one day in the Sprint Cup Series.

“We will have to focus on having a good qualifying run this Friday as we are out of the top-35 in owner points. Unfortunately, our race in California did not go the way we needed it to and we now have to qualify on time. We’ve come a long way in our short track program since the first race this season at Richmond. Hopefully, we will have the run we need to gain valuable points.”

Crew Chief Travis Geisler on Richmond International Raceway
“The Saturday night race at Richmond is one that I always look forward to, and with it being the final race before the playoffs, it seems that everyone gets a little more excited for it. 

“It is a challenging track, and with only one practice to work on both the race and qualifying setup, it only makes it that much more difficult. Our qualifying effort will be very important this weekend so we will focus on it a little more than usual, but I know our Mobil 1 team is strong enough to have a good run Saturday night.”

2008 Rookie-of-the-Year Standings
Pos.  Driver                Points
1.     Regan Smith       182
2.     Sam Hornish Jr.   181
3.     Patrick Carpentier 174
4.     Michael McDowell  156
5.     Dario Franchitti      97