Hornish to Start 30th at Atlanta Motor Speedway
September 5, 2009
HAMPTON, Ga. (September 5, 2009) - Sam Hornish Jr., driver of the Penske Racing No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger, qualified in the 30th starting position for the Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday night.
Sunday night’s race will mark the first race “under the lights” at Atlanta Motor Speedway and heated competition is expected at the fast 1.54-mile oval. The 15th competitor to make a qualifying attempt, Hornish posted a fast-lap time of 30.729 seconds at a speed of 180.416 miles per hour. The effort secured the 30th starting spot for the No. 77 team.
“The Mobil 1 Dodge was just a little too tight out there today,” said Hornish. “We have been working on it all day and I think we made some good advances during practice this afternoon. Hopefully, we’ll have the car where we want it to be when we race tomorrow night.”
Coverage of the Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway will air live on the ESPN television network on Sunday, September 6, 2009 beginning at 7 p.m. EDT and will also be broadcast live on PRN Radio at 6:30 p.m. EDT.
Driver: Sam Hornish Jr.
Position: 30
Time: 30.729
Speed: 180.416
Pole: Martin Truex Jr.
Time: 30.106
Speed: 184.149
Penske Racing Teammates:
6. Kurt Busch
9. David Stremme