Hornish Earns Fourth-Place Start at Talladega Superspeedway
April 25, 2009
TALLADEGA, Ala. (April 25, 2009) - Sam Hornish Jr., driver of the Penske Racing No. 77 Penske Truck Rental/AAA Dodge Charger in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, qualified fourth for the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday.
The effort is a career-best qualifying position by Hornish at NASCAR’s elite level and marks the second NASCAR career milestone for the three-time IndyCar Series champion over the past two races. Last weekend at Phoenix International Raceway, Hornish earned his first top-10 finish in the Sprint Cup Series with a ninth-place showing.
The seventh competitor to take the track on Saturday, Hornish posted a fast-lap time of 50.949 seconds at a speed of 187.953 miles per hour. The run placed Hornish on the provisional pole where he remained for a good portion of the morning.
“That was a really good lap and the Penske Truck Rental/AAA Dodge will race well tomorrow afternoon,” said Hornish. “The driver has very little to do with qualifying success here at Talladega and I can’t say enough about this No. 77 team, everyone back at the shop and the entire Penske Racing organization. I’m really proud of the gains we have made collectively and am excited to have such a good race car for tomorrow.”
Coverage of the Aaron’s 499 will air live on Sunday, April 26 on the FOX television network beginning at 1 p.m. EDT and will also broadcast live on MRN at 1:15 p.m. EDT.
Driver: Sam Hornish Jr.
Position: 3
Time: 50.949
Speed: 187.953
Pole: Juan Pablo Montoya
Time: 50.890
Speed: 188.171
Penske Racing Teammates:
28. Kurt Busch
41. David Stremme