News

Sam Hornish Jr. - No. 12 Penske Truck Rental Dodge Charger

O'Reilly 300

Texas Motor Speedway

April 5, 2008

News and Notes

• Sam Hornish Jr., driver of the No. 12 Penske Truck Rental Dodge Charger for Penske Racing, has one previous NASCAR Nationwide Series start at Texas Motor Speedway. Last fall, he started the O'Reilly Challenge in the 16th position and finished the race in 31st place.
• Hornish Jr. has a career total of 11 Nationwide Series (formerly Busch Series) starts. His best finish of 15th came at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March of 2007.
• In a total of five intermediate-track starts in Nationwide Series competition, Hornish Jr. has an average starting position of 13.4 and an average finishing spot of 29.0.
• Hornish Jr. has a total of 15 IndyCar Series starts at Texas Motor Speedway. In that series, he has a total of three wins, two poles, seven top-5 and eight top-10 finishes.
• Hornish Jr. will be honored with the Texas Motor Speedway Sportsmanship Award at the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame Gala on Wednesday, April 2, 2008, in recognition of his annual celebrity bowling tournament benefiting Speedway Children's Charities. Over the past three years, the tournament has raised $308,500. Penske Racing Director of Marketing Wally McCarty will accept on Hornish Jr.'s behalf.

Upcoming Events

4/2/08: Hornish Jr. will receive the 2008 Sportsmanship Award by the Texas Motor Speedway Hall of Fame.

4/20/08: Hornish Jr. and the No. 12 Penske Truck Rental team will head south of the border for the NASCAR Nationwide Series road course event in Mexico City, Mexico.

5/23/08: The annual Penske Racing Fan Fest will be held at the Penske Racing Headquarters in Mooresville, N.C.

Chassis Chatter

PBC-016: This weekend's race car was last driven by Ryan Newman at Chicagoland Speedway in July 2007.

PBC-018: The backup car for this weekend is a brand new race car.

Sam Hornish Jr. on Texas Motor Speedway

"I'm definitely familiar with Texas Motor Speedway because I've raced there in the IndyCar Series. However, there are a lot of differences between Indy cars and stock cars, so knowing the track only goes so far.

"We've gotten off to a slow start in our Nationwide Series schedule this season but I feel that we will have a strong qualifying run and a solid race. We have been testing quite a bit and are eager to get on track with the Penske Truck Rental Dodge."

Crew Chief Matt Gimbel on Texas Motor Speedway

"Last November, we had a decent qualifying run but battled a loose racecar during the race. Unfortunately, a spin that led to a blown tire took us out of contention.

"We are bringing a better car to Texas this weekend than the one we raced in the fall and we expect much better results. Texas is one of the faster intermediate tracks, and with the new rules package, carrying speed into the corners is the most important factor to a successful run."