No. 12 Alliance Truck Parts Dodge Darlington Preview
May 8, 2012
• Sam Hornish Jr., driver of the Penske Racing No. 12 Alliance Truck Parts Dodge Challenger, will make his ninth start of the 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) season Friday night in the VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway.
• Hornish's return to Darlington represents his fifth start at the venue. He has three NSCS starts and one NNS start.
• This will mark Hornish's second Nationwide Series start at Darlington. In 2008 he started 12th and finished 11th in the Diamond Hill Plywood 200.
• From 2006 to present, Hornish has made a total of 41 NNS starts. He has scored one victory, three top-five and nine top-10 finishes.
• After eight races Hornish and the Alliance Truck Parts Dodge team are fourth in the NNS Championship point standings.
• This weekend the No. 12 Alliance Truck Parts Dodge Challenger will race chassis No. 229; this will be its first appearance of the year.
• Fun fact - Sam has a 1905 Barber Chair that he restored himself.
• Nationwide Insurance offers a feature called Race Buddy which allows you to monitor the Alliance Truck Parts Dodge during the race. It can be accessed at www.nascarnationwideseries.com under Featured tab.
• Penske Racing has 356 all-time race victories with 102 stock car wins and 417 pole positions overall including 129 NASCAR poles.
• Sam will appear on NASCAR Now on ESPN2 this Friday at 3:00 p.m. ET
• Tune in to SpeedTV on Sunday, May 12 to see Hornish as he continues in his first season as an analyst on SPEED Center.
• Follow Hornish at @PenskeRacing, @SamHornish, www.penskeracing.com, www.samhornish.com and the Penske Racing and Sam Hornish, Jr. Facebook pages - www.facebook.com/penskeracing and www.facebook.com/pages/Sam-Hornish-Jr
Sam Hornish Jr. comments about this weekend's VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200
"I like Darlington, it is what I call a compromise track - you have to get the car set-up for one end of the track and then just hustle it through the other end. It has been a couple of years since I have raced there and I am looking forward to it. Our Alliance Truck Parts car has been fast this year and the Penske Dodge crew has been strong lately so we feel good going into this race."
Crew Chief Chad Walter comments about this weekend's VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200
"One of the best tracks on the circuit, Darlington is always a challenge. The key to the race is racing the track, not the competition. If you get too aggressive, you pay the price. As always, track position and great pit stops will be a factor, and our guys have risen to the challenge as of late. Sam will need to re-acquaint himself with "The Lady in Black", and find the necessary rhythm to be successful. The Alliance team has made positive strides in finding Sam a fast, stable car... Sooner, rather than later, we hope it's our turn to visit Victory Lane."