News

SAM HORNISH JR.
No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger
Texas Motor Speedway – Samsung 500          
April 5, 2009

Mobil 1 Team News and Notes of Interest
• Sam Hornish Jr., driver of the Penske Racing No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger, has a total of 17 career racing starts at Texas Motor Speedway across the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and IndyCar Series. In total, Hornish has eight top-10 starts with two pole positions at the 1.5-mile quad-oval. He has a total of three wins at Texas with eight top-10 finishes overall.
• Hornish has two Sprint Cup Series starts and two Nationwide Series starts at Texas Motor Speedway. Across both series, Hornish has two top-20 starts and one top-20 finish with a top result of 19th coming last spring in Nationwide Series competition.
• This week, Hornish visited a Mobil 1 Lube Express in Grand Prairie, Texas to promote the Samsung 500 with Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage. Fans that stopped by and purchased a Mobil 1 oil change received two free tickets to the race. A few lucky fans even had their oil changed by Hornish and Gossage that day.

Sam Hornish Jr. on Texas Motor Speedway
“I really like racing at Texas Motor Speedway, especially since I have three wins there in the IndyCar Series. I thought Texas would be a place where our team would’ve been better last season, but we had trouble early in the races and were not on the lead lap near the end. The big thing that I learned about racing in Texas is that you have to be patient during the first 75% of the race in order to be on the lead lap near the end. Also, you don’t want to go too quick too early as tires wear falls off and you may find yourself racing to stay on the lead lap.”

Crew Chief Travis Geisler on Texas Motor Speedway
“Texas Motor Speedway has a reputation for being one of the fastest tracks on the circuit. Sam has a good feel for the track and has had success there in the past. The track surface has aged really well and creates some great racing. We have had good cars at the intermediate tracks this year and I look forward to a strong run with the Mobil 1 Dodge in Texas.”