News

SAM HORNISH JR.
No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger
Texas Motor Speedway – Samsung Mobile 500
April 18, 2010

Mobil 1 Team News and Notes
• Sam Hornish Jr., driver of the Penske Racing No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger, has two top-20 finishes in NASCAR competition at Texas Motor Speedway. In addition, Hornish has three victories and seven top-five results at the 1.5-mile quad-oval in IndyCar Series competition.
• In 42 Cup Series starts at Texas Motor Speedway, Penske Racing has a total of two wins – one last November with Kurt Busch and one with former driver Ryan Newman. The organization also has three pole positions, eight top-five and 13 top-10 finishes at the 1.5-mile quad-oval track.
• Hornish will appear at the AAA display at Texas Motor Speedway to answer fan questions on Sunday, April 18 from 9:55 – 10:10 a.m. CDT.

Sam Hornish Jr. Quote
How do you feel the spoiler will affect the racing action at Texas Motor Speedway?
With the spoiler, the cars are going to be tighter in traffic than in the past. Unlike the wing, where the air creates downforce on the car behind you, the spoiler kicks air straight up. As a result, the cars should be able to pull up better on the straightaways but they may not be able to run quite as close in the corner. Being able to move around on track will be key this weekend, as well as finding out how cars will run side by side. None of us will know the total effect of the spoiler until the race on Sunday.”

What are your thoughts on Texas Motor Speedway, a place where you have found success in the past?
“The paving at Texas Motor Speedway is starting to get older and bumpier, which makes the cars slide around a little more. I guess you could say it’s becoming more like Atlanta. It's not a normal cookie-cutter track but close to the other 1.5-mile tracks on the circuit. Those are places that have been good to me since coming to NASCAR but we would definitely like to improve our intermediate program. I feel we've been able to be very quick at Texas in the past, we just haven't gotten the finishes we that we really deserve.”
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Crew Chief Travis Geisler Quote
Describe your thoughts for this weekend’s race at Texas Motor Speedway…
“Texas has been a good track for the No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge team in the past. Sam likes the track and there is always a good crowd for the race. This will be the first test of the new spoiler package with the 3.5-inch deck lid fin at a high-speed track. We had an opportunity to test with this at Charlotte Motor Speedway and we feel that we have a handle on the necessary adjustments that need to be made to the setup. The only question mark will be how the car responds in traffic. We are hoping for a good strong run to move ourselves up in the point standings.”