Hornish to Start 36th at Martinsville Speedway
October 17, 2008
MARTINSVILLE, Va. (October 17, 2008) – Sam Hornish Jr., driver of the Penske Racing No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger, will start the TUMS QuikPak 500 at Martinsville Speedway in the 36th position on Sunday 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.
In addition to his normal NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driving duties, Hornish is slated to attempt the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, marking his debut in the series.
“The last time we raced at Martinsville, we didn’t get everything out of it that we could have,” said Hornish. “I feel like our short-track program is coming along but the more practice you can have out there the better off you’re going to be. That’s why I asked to do the truck race. Even though we will be starting 36th on Sunday, I’ll get the advantage of running extra laps in the truck race on Saturday afternoon.”
Coverage of the TUMS QuikPak 500 will air live on the ABC television network on Sunday, October 19 beginning at 1 p.m. EDT and will be broadcast live on MRN at 12:45 p.m. EDT.
Driver: Sam Hornish Jr.
Position: 36
Pole: Jimmie Johnson
Penske Racing Teammates:
16. Ryan Newman
19. Kurt Busch