Motorsports FanHouse

Tony Stewart Wins at Watkins Glen

FanHouse Newswire — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 16:59:00 EST

Filed under: Jeff Gordon, Sam Hornish Jr., Tony Stewart

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (AP) -- Smoke loves it when the Glen heats up.

Tony Stewart won the rain-delayed NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen International on a steamy Monday, holding off Australian Marcos Ambrose over the final 25 laps for his Cup-record fifth victory at the famed road course.

"I love it when it gets slick," Stewart said. "I was watching him (Ambrose). I think we were stronger in the parts we needed to be and we never looked at the fuel."

It was Stewart's third win in his first season as an owner-driver and the seventh road course win of his career, second to Jeff Gordon's NASCAR-record nine. Stewart has seven consecutive top-two finishes at The Glen, also winning in 2002, 2004, 2005, and 2007 and finishing second in 2006 and 2008. He also has finished first or second in eight of the past 11 road races; he was second to Kasey Kahne at Sonoma in June.

The race originally was scheduled for Sunday, but a string of thunderstorms forced it to be postponed until Monday. Last week's race at Pocono also was postponed to Monday because of rain.

Ambrose was second, a career best, and Carl Edwards third. Kyle Busch, Greg Biffle, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kurt Busch, Max Papis, Clint Bowyer and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top 10. Polesitter Jimmie Johnson, seeking his first career road win, finished 12th.

Kyle Busch, 13th in points, closed the gap on 12th-place Matt Kenseth for the cutoff spot in the Chase for the championship. Busch, who entered the race 102 points behind Kenseth, narrowed the gap to 58.

The chaos that everybody was expecting on the double-file restarts never materialized. There were no major incidents in the hard, downhill, 90-degree right-hand first turn.

Ambrose started fourth and ran up front early. But pit strategy dropped him deep in the field midway through the 90-lap race. He stayed out when the rest of the leaders pitted for the first time and was running 22nd on lap 50 after making his first stop. He ducked into the pits on lap 55 for fuel and made up 10 seconds on leader Kyle Busch.

A multicar crash involving Jeff Gordon and Sam Hornish Jr. on lap 63 brought out a 19-minute red flag stoppage and put Ambrose back in the mix.

Kasey Kahne precipitated the crash when he dived inside of Hornish coming out of turn nine on the 11-curve track and sent Hornish into the grass on the left side. Hornish's No. 77 Dodge caromed off a tire barrier and back onto the track, and Gordon's No. 24 slammed head-on into it, spinning violently around into the Armco barrier lining the track.

Both Gordon and Hornish climbed from their cars uninjured. Also involved were Andy Lally, Jeff Burton and Joey Logano.

Stewart cleared leader Kyle Busch on the restart on lap 67. Busch chose the outside line as the leader and Stewart took advantage, getting past him on the first turn and holding him off up through the high-speed esses.

Stewart needed every lap of caution he could get to make it to the end of the 220.5- mile race, and the fifth caution helped. A yellow flag came out on lap 71 for debris, setting up another double-file restart, this time with Ambrose alongside.

Ambrose dived low inside to start lap 74, but Stewart blocked him and maintained the lead, with Kyle Busch and Edwards, who started 33rd, in close pursuit.

Ambrose, running on older tires, never mounted a challenge as Stewart maintained a lead of more than a second over the final 10 laps.

"I threw everything I could at him," said Ambrose, who won the Nationwide race here Saturday with a daring move on Kyle Busch. "We got stuck in the back of the pack and had to make a gamble. The extra laps we had on the tires hurt. I closed in on him, could see him make a few mistakes, but we couldn't quite close the deal."

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Tony Stewart Wins at Watkins Glen originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Mon, 10 Aug 2009 16:59:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sam Hornish Jr.'s Stock Finally Rising in Stock Car

Holly Cain — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sam Hornish Jr., Penske Racing, Sprint Cup, FanHouse Exclusive

Sam Hornish Jr. climbed out of his No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Monday afternoon in Pocono, Pa., allowed himself to crack a smile and looked forward to receiving a call from his boss, Roger Penske.

Fourth place.

It wasn't exactly cause for celebration for Hornish, who owns three IndyCar championships and an Indianapolis 500 ring. But his hard-fought finish was a career best and gives him five top-10 Sprint Cup efforts.

It was progress.

"Well, yes it was [progress],'' Hornish allowed in a telephone interview with FanHouse this week. "But ultimately I want to win. We're getting closer and closer and I do see the light at the end of the tunnel.''

It's a good indication that Hornish the most-decorated, least-hyped of the recent open-wheel defectors is figuring this stock car business out. It's time to go and he knows it.

It's been a rough-and-tumble transition from the IndyCar Series to NASCAR's top Sprint Cup ranks for Hornish, who hasn't gone this long (nearly two full seasons) without a win since he moved from go-karts to Formula Fords as a teenager back in the late-1990s.

As accomplished but less-heralded than other marquee names to convert from open-wheel to NASCAR in the last few seasons, Hornish made the full-time move to NASCAR in 2008 -- the same time as Dario Franchitti and on the heels of Juan Pablo Montoya.

They are both flashy commodities and headline grabbers compared to Hornish, a quiet 30-year old from Bryan, Ohio.

Franchitti, a Scot whose Cup Series ride only lasted a half season, walks Hollywood red carpets with his wife, actress Ashley Judd. Montoya came to NASCAR just after returning from a respectful Formula One foray around the globe.

Hornish, the All-American "kid next door" likes to go bowling in his spare time and still lives near his parents in rural northwestern Ohio, where he is a local hero who has donated almost $2 million dollars to projects, including a senior center in honor of his late grandmother.

When it was time for Hornish to make the high-profile move to NASCAR, it didn't receive nearly the attention of the others despite having a resumé that stacks up to most of open-wheel's best. But Hornish doesn't care about those kind of things. His record speaks for itself.

He has three times the number of IndyCar titles as Tony Stewart and Franchitti and just as many Indy 500 wins (one) and Formula One world championships (zero) as Montoya.

Two years after Hornish left the IndyCar Series, Scott Dixon has just tied his all-time win mark of 19. Two years removed from competition, Hornish still has led more laps than anyone in that series' history.

This is a prodigy who earned two World Karting Association (WKA) national championships, including a 19-win season in 1994, when he finished in the top-five 43 times in 55 starts.

Since making the difficult technical transition to stock cars, Hornish has often been a punch line, his car a punching bag on-track. And people forget how accomplished a racer he is.

What he lacks in flair, he makes up for in substance. That's why the legendary Penske hired him in 2004. Two years later Hornish delivered a championship and Penske's 14th Indy 500 victory. And that's when the pair agreed to let Hornish eventually take the next logical but difficult step in his career -- NASCAR. What more did he have to accomplish in open-wheel?

Hornish made only a handful of Nationwide and ARCA Series starts in 2007 before a full-time Cup Series gig last year. With the testing ban this season, it's been harder to make up ground as driver or team. Few realize that his No. 77 team wasn't an intact operation simply moved up from the Nationwide Series or moved over from another driver.

"We started from the ground up,'' Hornish said. "It was like finding the right pieces of the puzzle wherever we could find them. We've changed some pieces since then and I feel like we have a great team, a lot of young guys, a lot of people learning right with me.''

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Latest NASCAR Photos

Amber Bacha of Bradford, Pa., gets out of the Zippo II Car, a 1947 Chrysler New Yorker customized with Zippo lighters, while setting up a merchandise display for the NASCAR Nationwide Series' Zippo 200 at The Glen auto race in Watkins Glen, N.Y., Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009. (AP Photo/ David Duprey)

Latest NASCAR Images

NASCAR fans Dave Flammger, left, and his son Paul Flammger, both of Buffalo, N.Y., shop for souvenirs near a Kyle Busch merchandise trailer during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen auto race weekend in Watkins Glen, N.Y., Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009. (AP Photo/ David Duprey)

In this photo taken on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2009, driver Kyle Busch waits in his car at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., during practice for the NASCAR Pennsylvania 500 auto race. The emotional driver knows he has to get going over the next five races or else he'll be left out of championship contention. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

In this photo taken Monday, Aug. 3, 2009, driver Kyle Busch races through turn three during the NASCAR Pennsylvania 500 auto race at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa. The emotional driver knows he has to get going over the next five races or else he'll be left out of championship contention. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

In this photo taken on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2009, driver Kyle Busch sits in the garage at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., during practice for the NASCAR Pennsylvania 500 auto race. The emotional driver knows he has to get going over the next five races or else he'll be left out of championship contention. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Driver Denny Hamlin makes a pit stop during the NASCAR Pennsylvania 500 auto race at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., Monday, Aug. 3, 2009. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

David Reutimann, left, is bumped by Denny Hamlin coming out of the second turn during the NASCAR Pennsylvania 500 auto race at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., Monday, Aug. 3, 2009. Hamlin won the race and Reutimann finished 29th. (AP Photo/Russ Hamilton Jr.)

Marcos Ambrose (47) drives his wrecked race car back to the pits for repairs as Jimmie Johnson (48) drives past during the NASCAR Pennsylvania 500 auto race Monday, Aug. 3, 2009, at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa. Denny Hamlin won the race. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Sam Hornish Jr. leads Martin Truex Jr. as they race through turn three during the NASCAR Pennsylvania 500 auto race at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., Monday, Aug. 3, 2009. Hornish finished fourth and Truex finished 19th. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

That learning curve has been steep. Last year, he had only two top-20 finishes and failed to qualify for the season-ender at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

He's 27th in the points standings entering Sunday's race in Watkins Glen, N.Y., but has 10 finishes of 30th or worse to go along with his five top-10s. That inconsistency frustrates Hornish most. Each time he's had a top-10 finish, the next race he's finished 29th or worse -- often a victim of tough luck.

"This season there have been quite a few times I felt like he deserved a better finish and something happened out of his control, something would just go wrong,'' Penske Racing president Tim Cindric said. "This weekend was a case where opportunity finally came and he took advantage of it.

"You keep knocking on the door and eventually it's going to open. At the same time, a top-five is great but that should be the expectation not the exception and Sam won't be happy until that happens.''

Hornish's competitors are taking notice of his improved runs and he feels like he's slowly gained the respect needed for the side-by-side give-and-take or to be a drafting partner.

His boss is pleased, too. Penske told reporters earlier this year that he expected a top-25 finish in the points standings for Hornish.

"This is the year, he's got to make it,'' Penske said in April. "Sam's got a lot of pressure on him and 1 of 43 [drivers] is a lot different than 1 in 20. But we have all the confidence in the world in Sam.''

Fortunately for Hornish he also possesses something as necessary as his bosses' blessing and pure talent: great perspective.

"It takes time,'' Hornish said. "I knew it was going to be difficult, but I also knew I wasn't going to give up.''

Sam Hornish Jr.'s Stock Finally Rising in Stock Car originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Thu, 06 Aug 2009 17:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FanHouse Warmup: Allstate 400

Geoffrey Miller — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 10:10:00 EST

Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Juan Pablo Montoya, Kurt Busch, Mark Martin, Sam Hornish Jr., Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Sprint Cup

The Essentials

Race: Allstate 400 @ the Brickyard

Where: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Time: Sunday 2:00pm/EDT
TV/Radio: ESPN, IMS Radio Network
Twitter: Updates @ FanHouseRacing
Forecast: 82 degrees, Partly Cloudy
Distance: 160 laps (400 miles)
Pole Winner: Mark Martin
2008 Winner: Jimmie Johnson

The Storylines

Bill Elliott was probably the happiest guy in Indianapolis Saturday afternoon when the skies cleared and, most importantly, NASCAR chose to avoid canceling qualifying.

Elliott put his No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford fourth on the starting grid for Sunday's race at the Brickyard with a lap of 180.357 mph. Had NASCAR chose to allow the rain to cancel qualifying and set the grid by points, Elliott and his part-time team would have packed up and gone home because they wouldn't have been one of the eight cars eligible per the rule book.

Instead, the 53-year-old former Brickyard winner is in the race and is hoping to make headlines as the 'other' graybeard in the field.

"I'm gonna give it my best shot," said Elliott. "If a 50-year-old can win, I think a few more years ain't gonna hurt a thing."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. may have been battling a nasty case of the stomach flu on Friday, but his hopes for Sunday's race seem to be raised thanks to the confidence he's seen this weekend in crew chief Lance McGrew. Sunday's 400-miler will mark the first race for the No. 88 team with a car that was prepared completely by McGrew.

"He seemed real excited the last couple of weeks talking about the car, some of the advantages the car seemed to have over what we've been using," Earnhardt Jr. said Saturday after qualifying 3rd -- his first Top-10 start of the entire 2009 season. "I guess I like it because if he feels this way or feels that much confidence and he knows the car as well as he does, then I have the ability to feel a little more confident in his decisions during practice and during the race on what to change, what's he's trying to do to improve the car.

"I feel like he'll know the car better."

As for Earnhardt Jr.'s health, it's apparently improved considerably from Friday as the team won't have Brad Keselowski or any other driver standing by in the pits during Sunday's race for relief.

NASCAR, and more narrowly, Goodyear need to be commended for the fantastic work they've done to make the tire right for racing Sunday at Allstate 400.

Words like debacle, disaster and anything else to describe the ugliness of last year's Allstate 400 Miles of 10-lap Feature Sprints have been completely erased from the stories of the media pool, and instead Sunday's race is promising to be a darn good show. The tires have rubbered in the track very well and most importantly, they are showing signs of wearing evenly throughout a run.

In fact, the tires have been so good that drivers have commented about being able drive more aggressively in the corners than in previous years and the possibility of making two-tire stops.

Anybody that's planning the build a new race track doesn't need to look at Richmond International Raceway as the ideal layout for stock car racing. Instead, they need to look no further than the .686-mile track just down the road from IMS at O'Reilly Raceway Park.

Both the Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series competed at the mostly flat but variably-banked on Friday and Saturday night and the racing was just fantastic. ORP is different than any other short track because the fastest groove is often up top, which opens the inside lane for passing.

The only problem? It's not too easy to make a move on the low, flat part of the track and that creates a side effect that every race fan loves -- side-by-side racing nearly all night long.

ORP proves that flat tracks can be fun to watch, and before we get another 1.5-miler added to any NASCAR series, the brain trust of track designers need to take a good hard look at what their doing out at ORP. It's one heckuva show, every single year.

Kurt Busch's car bumped and bucked like a bronco Saturday afternoon during his qualifying run, and it was feat in itself that the backup wasn't rolling off of the No. 2 hauler to replace the primary machine. There was an obvious problem with the car's suspension, but the team wasn't saying much.

Busch surmised after his lap that it was an issue with the shocks or bump stops, but when his crew chief Pat Tryson was asked later about the issue, he declined to specify what the problem was. Team owner Roger Penske appeared on Sunday morning's ESPN NASCAR NOW and mentioned that the team had "tried" something in qualifying that didn't work, but didn't elaborate.

Generally, if the issue was a problem, a team will divulge the information, but it seems that Busch's team was trying something from way out in left field and didn't want the rest of the competition to know about it. Busch lines up 40th for Sunday's race.

There's plenty of storylines for Sunday's 400-miler, and each of those are making this race an appealing one to watch.

Does Juan Pablo Montoya or Sam Hornish Jr. have a chance to be the first crossover winner in Speedway history? Can Jeff Gordon become a 5-time winner at IMS? Is there a driver lurking the shadows that we haven't talked about ready to make a run at history? And -- gasp -- does Dale Earnhardt Jr. really have a car that can compete for a win today?

We'll know in just 160 laps. Until then, enjoy the race and we'll see you right here after the race for extensive post-race coverage, live from Brickyard.

FanHouse Warmup: Allstate 400 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 26 Jul 2009 10:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Live Chat With Sam Hornish Jr.

Holly Cain — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sam Hornish Jr., Indianapolis Motor Speedway

INDIANAPOLIS -- He won the Indy 500 in 2006. So the question is, can he repeat that success this year in a stock car?

Sam Hornish Jr. joined FanHouse for a live chat from the Brickyard at Indy. Hornish discussed several topics, including how he likes his chances at Indy.

You can read the entire chat wrap after the jump.

Also, don't forget that myself (Holly Cain) and blogger Geoffrey Miller will be checking in all weekend live from Indy with race coverage, behind-the-scenes reports, and more.

And we've also got one more chats set up for Friday, with Dale Jarrett (4:30 PM ET). We also chatted with Jimmie Johnson earlier today. Stay with FanHouse all weekend for great NASCAR coverage.

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Live Chat With Sam Hornish Jr. originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chat with Jimmie Johnson, Sam Hornish Jr., Dale Jarrett on Friday

Holly Cain — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 21:00:00 EST

Filed under: Dale Jarrett, Dave Blaney, Jimmie Johnson, Sam Hornish Jr., Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Join FanHouse for a NASCAR "Chat with Champions" on Friday from the world famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway, site of this week's AllState 400 at the Brickyard.

Jimmie Johnson, the three-time defending Sprint Cup champion and defending AllState 400 winner, will chat live at 11:15AM Friday, followed by 2006 Indianapolis 500 winner Sam Hornish Jr., at 12:15 PM ET.

Two-time Brickyard 400 winner Dale Jarrett, NASCAR's 1999 Cup champion and current ESPN race analyst, will chat at 4:30 PM ET.

NASCAR's visit to racing's hallowed Indianapolis Motor Speedway is one of the most anticipated events on the schedule, and FanHouse has you covered. In addition to the interactive chats, Holly Cain will provide on-site coverage beginning Thursday with Geoffrey Miller joining her on race day.

Chat with Jimmie Johnson, Sam Hornish Jr., Dale Jarrett on Friday originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Wed, 22 Jul 2009 21:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint Cup Notes & Quotes: Richmond

Geoffrey Miller — Sun, 03 May 2009 18:47:00 EST

Filed under: Jamie McMurray, Jimmie Johnson, Sam Hornish Jr., Sprint Cup

Let's take a quick glance at some of the Richmond post-race storylines:

"We lost the brakes."

Jimmie Johnson, as Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway proved, isn't the racing robot with a switch stuck on "Dominate" we've come to think he is after three-straight Sprint Cup titles. Nope, not even at a track where he's won three of the last four events before Saturday night's race.

In fact, it was an all-around miserable night for the No. 48 after brake problems caused him to spin once, get caught up in another crash and then race the rest of the way with a damaged race car. Unfortunately for the rest of the competition, his 36th-place finish won't be a barometer of his 2009 season.

McMurray still leads Roush short track attack

I've pretty much beat the statistic saying that Jamie McMurray's 10th-place Bristol finish was the highest for any Roush-Fenway car at a short track this season to a pulp, but the Missouri driver led the the RFR pack again Saturday night with his 7th-place finish.

"I joked around and said, 'I don't want to have bad luck. I want to have some great luck,' and tonight we got to have some great luck with the way the cautions fell," said McMurray. "It couldn't have went much better for us."

That enthusiasm followed a night where McMurray got wrecked with teammate Carl Edwards, lost a lap, got the free pass and ended up in the Top-5 at one point.

Edwards struggled home to a 26th-place finish with teammates Matt Kenseth in 13th, Greg Biffle in 17th and David Ragan in 23rd.

Hornish Jr. knows how to start the month of May

Almost as if he's turning up the wick before the illustrious Month of May in Indianapolis ahead of the Indy 500, Sam Hornish Jr. has turned in some very nice results lately, including Saturday night's 400-lapper at Richmond.

Hornish, despite a tangle with Kevin Harvick in the middle of the race, drove to a 6th-place finish that included passing a fading Jeff Gordon in the closing laps.

Last week at Talladega, Hornish stuck out the race despite not feeling well at all before getting caught in the second "Big One" and finishing 34th. A week before, he was 9th to earn what was then his only Top-10 finish.

Don't think this is a start of any Hornish-to-Indy speculation, though, as he'll be heading to Charlotte with what promises to be a good outlook. In fact, before getting loose and wrecking in a Nationwide race there last year, he led early.

Sadler: "Lot of work ahead of us"

You could nearly throw a blanket over the Richard Petty Motorsports cars on Saturday night as they crossed the finish line and that, unfortunately, wasn't a good thing.

Reed Sorenson led the team with a 20th, A.J. Allmendinger in 21st, Elliott Sadler in 25th and Kasey Kahne in 29th.

"It's disappointing," said Sadler. "We got behind early and had to battle the entire night trying to get it back. We were back there with our teammates, so there's a lot of work ahead of us."

Right now, that team is a long way from keeping Kasey Kahne and Budweiser around.

Sprint Cup Notes & Quotes: Richmond originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 03 May 2009 18:47:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Roger Penske Discusses Economy, Danica and a NASCAR Title

Holly Cain — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 14:37:00 EST

Filed under: Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, Penske Racing, Sprint Cup, IRL

Roger Penske is the most successful team owner in Indy car history with driver Ryan Briscoe earning Penske's 139th victory two weeks ago in the IndyCar Series opener at St. Petersburg. Penske has won the Indy 500 a staggering 14 times. His NASCAR team has 63 victories, including the 2008 Daytona 500. His sports car team won the historic 12 Hours of Sebring last year.

Penske sat down in his motor coach for a wide-ranging interview on topics as diverse as what keeps him motivated to Danica Patrick's flirt with NASCAR to the future of his NASCAR driver Sam Hornish Jr.

Excerpts from my interview with Penske after the jump.

On what continues to motivate him after 50 years in the sport:

Roger Penske: "I love to go racing. The juices that flow on a weekend when you're racing and the competitive spirit. ... And what I like is the strategy. You're getting your quarterly earnings every weekend. You either make the right calls or you don't. This isn't a case where you can wait until next month to solve the problem. I'd say competitive juices are paramount but it ties right into the business benefits."

On the situation with the "Big Three" auto manufacturers:

Penske: "Number one, it would be really tough on teams if we lost the 'Big Three' support in NASCAR. (It would be) tough from a team perspective, a track perspective. I don't know what's going to happen.

"I do think once the government and companies come to an agreement on to how they'll go forward and what mode, I think they'll look at exactly what does racing mean to their customer base. And I'd have to say, in most cases, racing will get a vote of confidence because of the notoriety racing has with the drivers, the teams, the markets. You might see some things cut out of the promotional and marketing budget.

"But I will say this, we're with Dodge and they have supported us right to the letter of the contract. I've spoken with Rick Hendrick and other people and we've seen no indication of backing down on support so that's positive.''

On Danica Patrick's impending "free agency" potential and whether he thinks NASCAR is a good fit for her:

Penske: "I don't know what the economics are (for her). She's done a terrific job and I think people underestimate her driving capability. I mean, it's so close here. She gets frustrated because she's not up there where she wants to be. But I think Andretti Green have a real asset with her.

"I read about her going Formula One, but I think she's in the right place. She's an American. She's a woman. There's sponsor interest and the fans love her. A lot of folks want to see her succeed. As long as she runs competitively I think she'll be fine. I have no idea what she can attract from sponsorship, but I can tell you if I was Andretti Green I wouldn't let her go."

On open-wheel drivers' recent struggles in NASCAR:

Penske: "I think anyone -- and we're going through same situation with Sam (Hornish) and (Dario) Franchitti did -- these guys are good race car drivers, but when (Jeff) Gordon and (Tony) Stewart and (Ryan) Newman came up they all could go and practice. Now, there's no testing. You walk in there cold. You're in a car twice the weight of the car you've been running, there's so many nuances to drafting. ... It's experience. The question is jumping right from here to there. I think you have to go through the Nationwide (Series).

"Even (Joey) Logano, he jumped right in (to Sprint Cup Series) and saw what it's like. Experience is just so important there and the new cars are tougher. I think it would be a big step. For me, if I had to do it again, I'd say do a full year in Nationwide and then move up."

On not winning a NASCAR championship:

Penske: "When you talk about winning a NASCAR championship, we've been close two or three times, a number of years ago with Rusty (Wallace). One year we won 10 races and didn't win the championship. It's something that's out there we really wanted to do. We wanted to win the Daytona 500 and we did that. We wanted to win Sebring and we did that. Those are all goals that are out there. The key thing is, the consistency of winning in these markets is important to us. At the end of the year, if you add it all up, the championship is just the crown on top. We're involved in multiple sports activities. Some people have said if you were in NASCAR by itself, would you have more wins. I say no, but some might say yes."

On former Indy 500 winner Sam Hornish Jr., who has struggled in NASCAR:

Penske: "Look, this is his final year that he's got to make it. We're in the top-35 in points, he's raced well. He's got to make it. He's got a lot of pressure on him. When you're one in 42 people it's a lot different than when you're one in 20. We want to see him be successful where he is. He's a charged-up guy, but he doesn't show the emotions like Kurt does.''

"This is a year -- and Sam knows it too -- we've got to see some good progress here and he's got to see it. He's run better than where he's finished."

On economy and its effect on racing season:

Penske: "The tracks feel more of the pain because of the general economy and people not being able to travel. One thing I see of being a real negative in this meltdown is the perception that if anyone sponsors something, 'that's bad.' ... They're getting pressure to take their names off things. That's going to have a tough effect.

"Hopefully there will be some rational thinking going on here ... What we have to do now is get the auto industry squared away. We've got to get banks lending money to companies and we've got to get the consumer fired up.

"Hopefully there will be some better times."

Roger Penske Discusses Economy, Danica and a NASCAR Title originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Mon, 13 Apr 2009 14:37:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lap 83 Brings Watkins Glen Demolition Derby

Geoffrey Miller — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 16:26:00 EST

Filed under: Bobby Labonte, David Gilliland, Ryan Newman, Sam Hornish Jr., NASCAR Crashes, Sprint Cup

A huge wreck coming off of Turn 11 at Watkins Glen International Raceway put the Sprint Cup Series' Centurion Boats at the Glen under the red flag with just eight laps to go Sunday.

Nine cars were involved in the big crash that saw David Gililland and Bobby Labonte take some of the hardest hits the NASCAR world has seen at a road course in a long time. Labonte walked away from his car but will be transferred to a local hospital for further evaluation.

The incident started after Michael McDowell got bumped by David Gilliland coming into the final corner of the course. McDowell responded by bumping Gilliland, sending the No. 38 into the tire wall at the exit of the corner.

Because of the nature of the wall, Gilliland's car dug in and then shot back sideways across the track into the path of Labonte who T-boned the Yates Ford. With the track blocked, the back part of the field had nowhere to go after coming off the blind corner, causing multiple cars to get heavily damaged and No. 38 to take a few more hits.

In the mess, Sam Hornish Jr. slid and impacted the end of the pit road wall, sending water-filled drums flying everywhere -- including a lid that nailed the pit road entrance light standard that caused it to sway wildly as the NASCAR official nearby dove for cover and photographers scattered.

Included in the wreck were Labonte, Gilliland, Hornish Jr., Dave Blaney, Max Papis, Reed Sorenson, Michael Waltrip, Ryan Newman, Joe Nemecheck.

As a result of the wreck, the red flag was for over 40 minutes as track workers collected the ruined race cars and cleaned the water up from the canisters at the entrance of pit lane. Gilliland and McDowell were asked to come to the NASCAR hauler at the conclusion of the event to discuss their actions -- though I didn't necessarily see any action from the two that was out of the ordinary for the last ten laps of the race.

Lap 83 Brings Watkins Glen Demolition Derby originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 10 Aug 2008 16:26:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stremme With Penske? Hornish Might Run 500

Geoffrey Miller — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:26:00 EST

Filed under: Penske Racing, Sprint Cup, Sam Hornish Jr.

It seems that former-Indy 500 champion Sam Hornish Jr. might find his way back to the brickyard in May, despite his new career as a driver of the No. 77 Penske Racing Dodge in the Sprint Cup Series.

According to this report from the Sporting News, David Stremme is expected to sign on with Penske Racing as a test driver for the organization this week, leave a door open for Hornish to sneak back to the Indianapolis 500 in May if both he and team owner Roger Penske decide on it.

Penske's entry blank for the Indy 500 reportedly lists Helio Castroneves in the No. 3 car and Ryan Briscoe in the No. 6, but there's a big "TBA" beside the No. 77. It's all speculation at this point, but if Hornish should decide he'd rather run up front in the reunified IndyCar Series (he's a three-time IndyCar champion) than fight to stay on the lead lap in a stock car, Penske would have a test driver -- Stremme -- ready to fill the void.

I really should point out in this situation the use of the word "speculation". There's really nothing in this that states that this is a done deal.

Sam's definitely had some struggles this season in the Sprint Cup Series, and going off to race at Indy certainly wouldn't help that too much, but then again, Hornish will undoubtedly have a much better chance to win again there than he would at Charlotte in May.

Stremme With Penske? Hornish Might Run 500 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:26:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint Cup Races Monday After Long Sunday

Geoffrey Miller — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 09:19:00 EST

Filed under: Casey Mears, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Reed Sorenson, Denny Hamlin, Sprint Cup, Sam Hornish Jr.

Nearly 10 hours after the scheduled start of the Sprint Cup Auto Club 500, NASCAR officials finally ceded to the weather and track and decided the race on Monday.

It was Sunday night in California and Monday morning on the east coast when the postponement was declared just after 2:00am/ET.

Rain at the Auto Club Speedway had stopped much before that and most of the track indeed was dry. However, the battle that NASCAR and speedway officials have been battling all week with water seeping from the seams on the pavement reared its ugly head.

Before that, though, the action was exciting -- if not a tad unfair for some drivers.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., Casey Mears, Denny Hamlin, Reed Sorenson & Sam Hornish Jr. were caught up in wrecks less than 25 laps in to the event that appeared on television to be directly caused by the water seeping on to the track. Earnhardt Jr. was particularly unhappy about the race conditions.

Jimmie Johnson currently leads Travis Kvapil in the running order.

Monday promises to be a better day of racing -- if the seeping water can be corrected -- with a sunny day planned and a high of 67 degrees.

Tune in to FOX at 1pm/ET (10am/PT) to catch the resumption of the race from lap 87. The Nationwide Series race postponed from Saturday will be ran immediately in its entirety following that event on ESPN2.

Sprint Cup Races Monday After Long Sunday originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Mon, 25 Feb 2008 09:19:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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