Hornish to Start 31st at Martinsville Speedway
Hornish Qualifies in Back-Up Car After Spinning During Practice
October 23, 2009
Martinsville, VA. (October 23, 2009) – Sam Hornish, Jr., driver of the No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charge, will start the Tums Fast Relief 500 from the 31st position at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday.
Rain showers delayed the morning practice session on the famed half-mile short-track forcing NASCAR to revise the schedule pushing everything back 30 minutes. The NASCAR Cup Series began its first practice shortly after noon. During that session, Hornish turned a fast lap of 20.232 seconds at a speed of 93.594 miles-per-hour before spinning and making contact with the wall.
The Penske Racing No. 77 Mobil 1 team immediately pulled out the back-up car and began preparing for qualifying.
“We’ve had a strong short-track program this year so this isn’t the way we had hoped to kick our weekend off,” said Hornish. “The guys did a great job getting the back-up car ready for qualifying today but our focus is really on practice tomorrow. Starting back there will make a long day even longer but hopefully I can keep the Mobil 1 Dodge Charger out of trouble and bring home a strong finish.”
The Tums Fast Relief 500 will air live on the ABC television network as well as MRN Radio on Sunday, October 25 with coverage beginning 1:00 p.m. ET.