News

SAM HORNISH JR.
No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger
Auto Club Speedway – Pepsi 500
October 11, 2009

Mobil 1 Team News and Notes of Interest
• Sam Hornish Jr., driver of the Penske Racing No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger, posted a solid top-20 finish last weekend at Kansas Speedway with an 18th-place showing at the 1.5-mile track. The finish marked the 13th top-20 result for Hornish this season.
• Last February at Auto Club Speedway, Hornish finished 23rd in the Auto Club 500. No stranger to the Fontana, Calif. track, Hornish has a total of two wins and four top-five finishes, along with five top-10 starts, at the two-mile oval across IndyCar Series and NASCAR Cup Series competition.
• Hornish will attend the Stater Bros. Racefest on Thursday, October 8 at Auto Club Speedway. He will sign autographs at the AAA display from 6:15 – 7:45 p.m. Hornish will also be on hand at the AAA display to sign autographs on Sunday, October 11 from 8:30 – 9 a.m.
• Fans can now follow Sam Hornish Jr. on Twitter at www.twitter.com/SamHornish. Fans can get a glimpse inside his everyday life while keeping up-to-date on the latest news for the No. 77 team.

Sam Hornish Jr. on Auto Club Speedway
“I have had success at Auto Club Speedway in the IndyCar Series and really enjoy racing there. We are anxious to return to Fontana and hopefully improve on our result there in February. We had a pretty good race car, but our finish didn’t really reflect it. It’s a long race, so you have to be patient and position yourself to race hard at the end when it counts. Another important factor to success there is tire wear as tires tend to go away over the long runs at Auto Club Speedway.”

Crew Chief Travis Geisler on Auto Club Speedway
“The two races at Auto Club Speedway are so far apart it almost feels like the first race was a year ago. We had a pretty good car in February, but I expect that we will have a pretty different setup for this weekend. With the level of competition in the Cup Series, you have to constantly push forward. There are certain things like tire pressures and camber settings that still apply from the first race, but springs and shocks will likely be pretty different. I am excited about getting the Mobil 1 Dodge back on track with what we have learned since February.”