News

SAM HORNISH JR.
No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger
Martinsville Speedway – Tums Fast Relief 500    
October 25, 2009

Mobil 1 Team News and Notes of Interest
• Sam Hornish Jr., driver of the Penske Racing No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger, has performed well at short-track venues in his sophomore season of Cup Series competition. Hoping for similar success at Martinsville Speedway, Hornish and the Mobil 1 team recently tested at “Little Rock” at Rockingham Speedway in preparation for Sunday’s 500-lap race at the .526-mile paperclip-shaped oval.
• Hornish has four top-15 finishes, with three top-10 results, this season in short-track competition. Hornish earned his first top-10 finish of the year with a ninth-place effort at Phoenix International Raceway and he has two top-10 finishes at Richmond International Raceway.
• Hornish will once again host the AutoTrader.com Sam Hornish Jr. Celebrity Bowling Tournament during the upcoming race weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. Open to the public, the tournament will take place on Thursday, November 5, 2009 at Main Event in Grapevine, Texas and will benefit Speedway Children’s Charities. Additional information is available at http://bit.ly/1u1MK.
• 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 Martinsville Speedway
“There is a lot of on-track action at Martinsville Speedway. 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. It reminds me of racing go-karts when I was growing up.

“It seems that our short-track program has really been our strong suit this season. We have four top-15 finishes at short tracks this year and I got my first Cup Series career top-10 finish earlier this season at Phoenix International Raceway. We have put a lot of emphasis on Martinsville since we last raced there in March and I hope all of our efforts produce a strong result.”

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. The biggest challenge is being able to get the race car through the tight corners and then being able to accelerate down the drag strips that connect them. Our team is excited about getting back to one of NASCAR’s most historic race tracks.”