Hornish to Start 36th in Bank of America 500 at Charlotte
October 9, 2008
CONCORD, N.C. (October 9, 2008) – Sam Hornish Jr., driver of the Penske Racing No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger, will start the Bank of America 500 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in the 36th position on Saturday night after both practice and qualifying were cancelled today due to rain.
With the cancellation of qualifying, the field was set by 2008 owner points per the NASCAR rule book. Currently 37th in the standings, the No. 77 team will line up in the 36th starting position on Saturday since it acquired the owner points from Penske Racing’s No. 2 entry at the beginning of the season. With Kurt Busch claiming victories last year at Pocono and Richmond, the transferred points allow Hornish to start ahead of any past champions or other competitors currently outside of the top-35 in owner points.
“We had a strong test here recently and I feel that the Mobil 1 Dodge would have qualified better than 36th place,” said Hornish. “We’re now tasked with having to work our way through the field but we have two practice sessions tomorrow to fine tune the race car. I’m confident that this Mobil 1 team will have a strong run here at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on Saturday night.”
Coverage of the Bank of America 500 will air live on the ABC television network on Saturday, October 11 beginning at 7 p.m. EDT and will be broadcast live on PRN at 7:25 p.m. EDT.
Driver: Sam Hornish Jr.
Position: 36
Pole: Jimmie Johnson
Penske Racing Teammates:
16. Ryan Newman
19. Kurt Busch