No. 12 Alliance Truck Parts - Wypall 200 Preview
November 8, 2011
• Sam Hornish Jr., driver of the No. 12 Alliance Truck Parts Dodge Challenger, will make his 12th start of the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) season Saturday afternoon in the Wypall 200 at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR).
• This will mark Hornish's third NNS start at Phoenix. He has made seven previous NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) starts and six IZOD IndyCar Series (IICS) starts at PIR.
• Hornish has visited Victory Lane two times at PIR as an IISC driver (2005 & 2001).
• From 2006 to present, Hornish has made a total of 31 NNS starts. He has scored 12 top-15 finishes during that time and has also captured four top-five and 11 top-10 starting positions while competing in a limited NNS schedule over the last five plus seasons.
• This weekend will mark the 11th race together for Hornish and crew chief, Chad Walter, who called the shots for the No. 12 Penske Racing Nationwide Series team in the past and helped guide the No. 12 team to a top-six championship finish in each of the last two seasons.
• Hornish will participate in a Q & A and autograph session at the Nationwide Series display located in the PIR Midway on Friday, November 11 at 4:00 p.m. PT.
Sam Hornish Jr.'s comments on this weekend's Wypall 200
"Phoenix has always been a wildcard place for me. Anytime we go there, I feel like we can qualify in the top-10 and finish in the top-10 as long as we don't have any issues with the car. It will be interesting to see how the car will handle this weekend with the new track configuration. We're excited to be back in the Alliance Truck Parts Dodge this weekend. We've been working on our consistency these last couple of Nationwide Series races, so I'm hoping we can carry the momentum forward this weekend."
Crew Chief Chad Walter's comments on this weekend's Wypall 200
"Phoenix is truly a racer's race track. As a crew chief, it's challenging to find the fine line between a car that turns well and a car that has enough rear grip to manage the exit of the high-speed corner. I'm interested to see how the car will handle on the new surface and configuration of the track, but we've been working hard on our set-ups and the team's chemistry is really starting to gel."