News

No. 12 WURTH Dodge Team News and Notes
• Sam Hornish Jr., driver of the No. 12 WURTH Dodge Challenger, will make his 20th start of the 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) season Saturday evening in the U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway
• This race marks the sixth appearance of the season for Wurth as the primary sponsor of the No. 12 Penske Racing Dodge in NNS competition. The Wurth Companies of North America provide customers with everything they need to succeed in the Automotive, Industrial and Woodworking Industries. Whether it is a small body shop or nationwide fleet maintenance company, Wurth USA offers the unparalleled selection and unbeatable service that is synonymous with the Wurth brand
• This will mark Hornish's third Nationwide Series start at Iowa Speedway - his best finish came in May of this year (12th) and it marks his fourth start all-time at the venue
• Hornish will be doing double-duty this weekend driving at Pocono in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race and in Iowa in the Nationwide Series race - this will entail a fairly complex travel schedule which will include a plane, a helicopter, car and a golf cart
• This event will mark Hornish second race as a Nationwide Dash4Cash eligible driver - if he is the top finisher of the four eligible drivers he will earn a $100,000 bonus
• Hornish has 52 NNS starts. He has scored one victory, seven top-five and 18 top-10 finishes
• After 19 races Hornish and the Wurth Dodge team are fourth in the NNS Championship point standings.
• This weekend the No. 12 WURTH Dodge Challenger will race with chassis PRS-223 which Hornish last drove at Dover
• Local talent - Penske Racing No. 12 Dodge shop-based set-up mechanic, Kyle Pinkerton is from Grinnell, Iowa
• Consistency has been a key for Hornish this season as he has completed 3318 of 3320 laps thus far (99.9%)
• Fun fact - Sam attended a Dale Carnegie seminar early in his career to bolster his public speaking skills
• Penske Racing has 361 all-time race victories with 100 NASCAR wins and 419 pole positions overall including 126 NASCAR poles
• Follow Hornish at @PenskeRacing, @SamHornish, www.penskeracing.com, www.samhornish.com and the Penske Racing Facebook page - www.facebook.com/penskeracing and www.facebook.com/pages/Sam-Hornish-Jr
• #PenskePride - each race weekend fans will have the opportunity to Tweet @PenskeRacing pictures showing their support of the Penske Racing organization, their favorite Penske Racing driver(s) or teams in unique and creative ways, using the hashtag #PenskePride. The best weekly photo will be named Fan Photo of the Week. At the end of each month, a Fan Photo of the Month will be selected from the weekly winners. The best monthly photos will be voted on by @PenskeRacing followers to be named Fan Photo of the Year. The winner of Photo of the Year will receive the Ultimate Penske Racing Fan Experience including tickets and hot passes to the 2013 NASCAR All-Star Race, autographed items and a tour of the Penske Racing facility with a Penske driver

Sam Hornish Jr. comments about this weekend's U.S. Cellular 250
"Our Wurth Dodge team is in a very good place heading into Iowa. We have been consistently improving our performance throughout the year - our Penske Dodges have been fast, we have had terrific reliability and the pit crew has been strong. We have qualified well in the past at Iowa - we just haven't put it all together and this weekend we are poised to do just that. We feel like we've built some strong momentum and we are looking forward to finishing this one on top."

Crew Chief Chad Walter comments about this weekend's U.S. Cellular 250
"We have been looking forward to returning to Iowa as we feel as though we have unfinished business there. We've had fast race cars there, but we have not executed to the level of which we are capable. It is a short oval that tends to drive more like an intermediate, which favors Sam's driving style and he's had some strong runs there the past couple of races. The Wurth Dodge team is on a roll and we are ready to bring home another strong finish."