News

SAM HORNISH JR.
No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger
Martinsville Speedway – Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500          
March 29, 2009

Mobil 1 Team News and Notes of Interest
• Sam Hornish Jr., driver of the Penske Racing No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger, finished 31st in last Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Hornish is currently 32nd in the NASCAR Cup Series driver point standings and the No. 77 team is currently locked inside the top-35 in 2009 owner points in 32nd place.
• Hornish has two Sprint Cup Series starts and one Camping World Truck Series start at Martinsville Speedway. Across both series, Hornish has one top-20 start and one top-10 finish at the paperclip-shaped oval. In his Camping World Truck Series debut last fall, Hornish captured his best short-track result in NASCAR competition with an impressive ninth-place finish.
• Hornish will visit the Mobil 1 Lube Express in Grand Prairie, Texas on Tuesday, March 31 from 12-3 p.m. to promote the upcoming Samsung 500 with Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage. Fans that stop by and purchase a Mobil 1 oil change from 12-3 p.m. will get two free tickets to the race on Sunday, April 5. A few lucky fans will even have their oil changed by Hornish and Gossage that day.
• The Mobil 1 team will unload PRS-553 this weekend at Martinsville Speedway. This chassis was raced by Hornish in 2008 at the first Richmond race (finished 23rd) and at both New Hampshire races (finished 39th and 30th respectively). The backup car, PRS-591, is a brand new race car.
• Hornish will be on hand to sign autographs at the Penske Racing souvenir trailer on Sunday, March 29 from 10:30 -11 a.m. EDT at Martinsville Speedway.

Sam Hornish Jr. on Martinsville Speedway
“Racing at Martinsville Speedway reminds me of racing go-karts when I was growing up. We used to run indoor hockey venues. Martinsville always reminds me of those smaller tracks like that. You can count on there being a lot of ‘beating and banging’ on every restart at Martinsville and there is always someone right there on your inside.

“After a few races at Martinsville, I feel much better heading into this weekend than I did this time last season. This Mobil 1 team continues to make gains and I am proud of the work all the guys put in every week.”

Crew Chief Travis Geisler on Martinsville Speedway
“Martinsville Speedway is one of the most unique tracks on the NASCAR circuit. It’s an endurance race of sorts because you need your brakes to last until the end of the race and both the driver and team need to be patient in order to be there at the end. We’ve tested the Mobil 1 Dodge down at Rockingham recently and feel that we are well prepared headed into this weekend’s race.”