Following a second place finish in points last season with Penske Racing, Sam Hornish Jr. was left without a ride due to lack of sponsorship. However, the past Indianapolis 500 champion has landed his feet as announced today.
Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Sam Hornish Jr. will drive the No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota in seven NASCAR Nationwide Series races in 2014. Hornish’s first race of the season with in April at Talladega Superspeedway.
“I’m excited about driving the No. 54 Monster Energy car this year. It’s a great opportunity for me,” Hornish said. “It’s the best possible situation for me to jump into great equipment and have the opportunity to go right out and win. After working with Penske for 10 years and now to have the opportunity to partner with Joe Gibbs Racing, I couldn’t have asked for anything better. These are great people, top notch. To partner with Kyle, and all this team provides, with the support of Joe and J.D., it provides me with everything I need to succeed. It’s also a phenomenal opportunity for me to partner with a market leader such as Monster Energy. The brand identity and fan following that goes along with this sponsor is super. I can’t wait to get into that car!”
Last season, Hornish had his best year in Nationwide to date – scoring a win (Las Vegas), 16 top fives and 25 top 10s. In 99 career starts, Hornish has two wins, 28 top-five and 53 top-ten finishes. He also has made 130 career starts in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Kyle Busch will be running the other 26 races on the schedule while Adams Stevens once again will be calling the shots from the pit box for the No. 54 Monster Energy team.
“This year will be fun with Sam and me behind the wheel of our Monster Energy Camry,” Busch said. “Last year we lost the chance for another Owner’s Championship by a slim margin and I think you can expect a close battle again this season. Having an experienced guy in there to fill the role on a regular basis when I’m not there, gives Adam (Stevens, crew chief) the opportunity for real consistency. Sam was a strong competitor last year and I look forward to having him on our side this season.”
The goal will be to win the Owner’s Points Championship, in which the No. 54 team finished second in the standings to Penske Racing’s No. 22 team last year.
“We’re excited to have someone of Sam’s caliber joining Kyle behind the wheel of the Monster Energy Camry this year,” J.D. Gibbs, President of Joe Gibbs Racing said. “We think we have a great team there with Monster Energy and Sam will be an outstanding addition. We lost out on the owner’s championship by just one point last year so our focus will be on trying to get that title back in 2014.”
