Daytona Duel: Sam Hornish Jr preview

Gatorade Duel to Determine Daytona 500 Start for Hornish

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 8, 2009) - Sam Hornish Jr., driver of the Penske Racing No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger, finished 44th during qualifying for the Daytona 500 on Sunday. Due to the unique qualifying format for the "Great American Race," Hornish will race in the first Gatorade Duel on Thursday to determine his final starting position.

"I put the pedal down to the floor and just tried to get the Mobil 1 Dodge to go as fast as it would go," said Hornish. "It's not life or death to be on the pole, but we had hoped to have a better qualifying effort than we did. The Daytona 500 is a long race and you have to save your car to be there in the end. We ran well here last year and gained a lot of valuable experience that I can apply to this year's race. I have a lot of confidence in the Mobil 1 team and I'm sure we'll be able to wrench on our car Wednesday and Thursday and get it to where we want it to be."

The Gatorade Duel qualifying races air live on SPEED on Thursday, February 12, 2009 starting at 2 p.m. EST. Hornish and the Mobil 1 team will compete in the first race lining up in the 23rd starting position. Penske Racing teammate Kurt Busch will also compete in the first Gatorade Duel while David Stremme will line up in the second qualifying race. The combined outcome of both races will determine the final starting order for the Daytona 500.

-credit: pr