Charlotte II: Sam Hornish Jr preview

Sam Hornish Jr. -- No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger
Bank of America 500
Lowe's Motor Speedway October 11, 2008

News and Notes

* Sam Hornish Jr., driver of the Penske Racing No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger, will make his second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start at Lowe's Motor Speedway in the Bank of America 500 this coming Saturday night. In May, Hornish garnered attention after racing his way into the All-Star Race where he finished seventh. The next week, he captured a season-best finish of 13th in the Coca-Cola 600.

* Hornish is currently ranked second in the 2008 Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings. He trails leader Regan Smith by four points and leads third place driver Patrick Carpentier by four points.

* Hornish and the No. 77 Mobil 1 team are currently 37th in the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series owner points standings, 177 points out of 35th place following the race at Talladega Superspeedway.

* Hornish makes his animation and preschool television debut as the voice of the narrator in the new series Roary the Racing Car which will premiere on Sprout on Monday, October 13, 2008. The show follows the adventures of Roary™, a bright, loveable and energetic single-seat race car, and his amazing and diverse group of race car friends at the Silver Hatch race track.

Upcoming Events

10/9/08: Hornish will be on hand to sign autographs at Concord Mills Mall from noon to 12:30 p.m. at the Dodge display.

10/11/08: Hornish will sign autographs at his souvenir trailer from 3:45 - 4:15 p.m. prior to Saturday night's race.

10/30/08: Hornish will host the fourth annual Sam Hornish Jr. Celebrity Bowling Tournament during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race weekend at Texas Motor Speedway on October 30, 2008. Over the past three years, the tournament has raised $307,000 to benefit the Texas chapter of Speedway Children's Charities.

Chassis Chatter

PRS-572: The primary car for the No. 77 Mobil 1 team this weekend is a brand new race car.

PRS-530: The backup car for this weekend served as the primary car for the Mobil 1 team earlier this season at Lowe's Motor Speedway (finished 13th).

Sam Hornish Jr. on Lowe's Motor Speedway

"The Mobil 1 Dodge ran well at the recent test session at Lowe's Motor Speedway. In the spring race, we could only run the high line but we are now able to use the bottom of the track as well.

"If there's one place you want to do well at, it's Lowe's Motor Speedway because it hosts three big races each year. We have two starts there this season, and we were able to capture top-15 finishes in both the All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600. I think this Mobil 1 team is at least 50% better than we were at Charlotte in the spring, and I hope to improve on our 13th-place finish from the May race."

Crew Chief Travis Geisler on Lowe's Motor Speedway

"We all look forward to racing at Lowe's Motor Speedway. It is one of two home games during the season. We had a good test with the Mobil 1 Dodge a couple of weeks ago and are looking forward to getting back on track this weekend.

"Sam demonstrated a lot of talent during the race weeks at Charlotte in May and got a lot of attention for his performance in both the All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600. This team has made a lot of progress at 1.5-mile tracks since then and we are expecting strong results on Saturday night."

-credit: pr