News

Sam Hornish Jr. – No. 12 Penske Truck Rental Dodge Charger
Diamond Hill Plywood 200
Darlington Raceway
May 9, 2008

News and Notes
• Sam Hornish Jr., driver of the No. 12 Penske Truck Rental Dodge Charger for Penske Racing, will once again pull “double duty” this weekend competing in both the NASCAR Nationwide Series and Cup Series events at Darlington Raceway. He will also run the upcoming Nationwide Series races at Lowe’s Motor Speedway (5/24) and Dover International Speedway (5/31), along with the ARCA Series event at Pocono Raceway (6/7).
• The Diamond Hill Plywood 200 will mark Hornish Jr.’s fourth Nationwide Series start of the 2008 season. With a total of three top-20 finishes, he has an average start of 27.3 and an average finishing position of 15.7. His best finish came at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, on April 20, with a 13th place spot.
• In a total of six intermediate track starts in Nationwide Series competition, Hornish Jr. has an average starting position of 18.3 and an average finishing spot of 27.3.
• Penske Racing is just two wins shy of reaching the milestone of 300 victories across a variety of racing series, including NASCAR Cup, Indy car, American Le Mans and more.

Upcoming Events
5/23/08:  The 2008 Penske Racing Fan Fest will be held at Penske Racing Headquarters in Mooresville, N.C.  Hornish Jr. will be on hand to sign autographs from 9:30-11 a.m.

5/24/08: Hornish Jr. and the Penske Truck Rental team will compete in the Carquest Auto Parts 300 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C.

Chassis Chatter
PBC-018: This weekend’s car was last driven by Hornish Jr. at Texas Motor Speedway in April. After starting in the 43rd position, he captured a 19th place finish.

PBC-008: The backup car for this weekend was last driven by Ryan Newman at Bristol Motor Speedway in August 2007.

Sam Hornish Jr. on Darlington Raceway
“I really don’t know what to expect at Darlington Raceway as I have never raced there before. I’m excited to go to such a legendary track and hopefully will do well there.

“Our Nationwide Series team has done a fantastic job with the partial-season campaign we are running this year. This month will be busy as we are running the next three Nationwide Series races and the ARCA Series race at Pocono. I’m looking forward to having extra seat time at some of these tracks that I’ve never been to, especially this weekend at Darlington. It will definitely benefit our Cup Series efforts.”

Crew Chief Matt Gimbel on Richmond International Raceway
“I’m excited about this weekend’s race at Darlington Raceway. The Penske Racing organization has historically done well at Darlington and we hope to build upon that success this weekend with Sam (Hornish Jr.).

“With the new track resurfacing, the tire wear during the race is going to be much different. It will definitely affect both race and practice strategy. With the anticipated reduction in tire wear, our team and driver will more time during practice to get acclimated to the new surface. That is definitely a positive thing.”