Sam Hornish Jr. Starts Eighth in NNS Race at Watkins Glen
August 9, 2008
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (August 9, 2008) – Sam Hornish Jr., driver of the Penske Racing No. 12 Penske Truck Rental Dodge Charger in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, qualified in the eighth position for today’s Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International.
Hornish Jr. took to the track in the seventh group of qualifiers in a rare road race qualifying format. He quickly shot to the fourth position on the leader board and was on pace for an even faster lap before spinning across the inner loop.
Overall, Hornish posted a fast lap time of 73.446 seconds at a speed of 120.088 miles per hour. The effort secured the Penske Truck Rental team the eighth starting position on Saturday afternoon.
“The Penske Truck Rental Dodge was pretty good out there today,” said Hornish. “I had a really good lap going before spinning across the inner loop. It’s unfortunate because I feel it probably cost us about five spots. We still have a good starting position today and we’re ready to give it everything we’ve got this afternoon.”
The Zippo 200 will air live on the ABC television network today beginning at 2:30 p.m. EDT. The race will also be broadcast live on MRN at 3 p.m. EDT.
Driver: Sam Hornish Jr.
Position: 8
Time: 73.446
Speed: 120.088
Pole: Dario Franchitti
Time: 72.696
Speed: 121.327