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WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (August 8, 2010) – Sam Hornish Jr., driver of the Penske Racing No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, finished 14th in the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen at Watkins Glen International after a strong road course run on Sunday.

Hornish started the 220-mile race from the 12th spot and reported early on that the Mobil 1 Dodge was a bit tight-handling overall. As the first scheduled green-flag pit stop approached for the No. 77 team, Hornish noted that the car had developed a loose-handling condition on both the entry and exit of the turns.

Running in the 11th position, Hornish came to pit road on lap 23 for four fresh tires and fuel, along with air pressure and track bar adjustments. A caution flag was displayed as green-flag stops were cycling through. When the race restarted on lap 30, Hornish was once again posted in 11th place.

When the yellow flag waved once again on lap 41, Hornish had slipped to the 20th spot and headed to pit road for service. When the race restarted just past its midpoint on lap 45, Hornish was positioned in 23rd place and he prepared to work his way back through the field.

Hornish came to pit road under green-flag conditions for the team’s final scheduled pit stop of the race on lap 56 while running in 20th place. After receiving four tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments, he rejoined the race. Another caution flag was displayed during the round of green-flag stops, and when all competitors received service, Hornish was once again posted in the 20th position.

In the waning laps of the 90-lap race, Hornish was able to avoid involvement in two separate incidents that occurred in front of the Mobil 1 Dodge. Hornish lined up for the final restart of the race with less than 20 laps to go in the 11th spot. When the checkered flag waved, Hornish finished 14th, marking his best NASCAR finish at the 2.45-mile road course.

“That was definitely the best car I’ve had on a road course since I’ve been in the Cup Series,” said Hornish. “I’m really happy about that. We were good for a couple of laps but we need to work on our long-run speed. I felt like I gave up a lot of track position early. I figured out every five or 10 laps, I needed to give more brake to the front to keep from locking the rear up. Once we did that, it was all good.

“If we hadn’t given up those spots early because I kept locking up the rear, I think we had a 10th-place car. I didn’t get a good start on that last restart and gave up a couple of spots. I’m just really proud of the guys on the Mobil 1 Dodge and I’m pretty happy with the day. It went straight all day and the car really isn’t beat up.”

Penske Racing teammates Kurt Busch and Brad Keselowski finished the race in second and 20th place, respectively.

Hornish and the Mobil 1 team head to Michigan International Speedway next weekend for the Carfax 400 on Sunday, August 15, 2010. Racing action will air live on the ESPN television network beginning at 1 p.m. EDT. The race will also be broadcast live on MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio.