Hornish Hopes to Top Spell of Runner-Up Finishes with Trip to Victory Lane
As his home track, Sam Hornish Jr. has many fond memories of Michigan International Speedway – both on-and-off the track. Even before Hornish made it to the elite ranks of racing, he frequented the two-mile track with his family and friends as a spectator. Now, Hornish will be making his eighth Sprint Cup Series start at Michigan.
While Hornish has yet to secure a trip to Victory Lane at the two-mile track, he’s finished in the runner-up spot in three of the four major racing series that he’s competed in at Michigan, including the NASCAR XFINITY Series, IndyCar and the ARCA Racing Series. He’s looking to take the next step this weekend in the No. 9 Medallion Bank Ford.
In his seven previous Cup Series starts at the two-mile track, Hornish earned his best finish of fifth in August of 2009. In the XFINITY Series, Hornish has one Top-Five and two Top-10 finishes, including a second-place finish in 2014. He also finished second in his lone ARCA Series start in 2007. In his six IndyCar starts at the two-mile track, Hornish has an average finish of 7.7 and scored his best finish of second in 2003.
“I love going to Michigan. It’s my home track. I’ve finished second there in three or four different series so the next step is to win a race there. It’s a fun place, and some of my fondest memories are sitting in the grandstands watching races there with my family when I was growing up. Even when I was in the IndyCar Series, if we had an off-weekend, I would go there and watch the NASCAR race.
“Michigan is a lot different than the two tracks that lead up to this race. Michigan is just so wide. Now, saying that, since they repaved the track it’s not as wide as what it used to be, but I think we’ll see more and more racing grooves this weekend. Kansas was repaved just before Michigan and last fall it finally started to widen out and it allowed us to be able to move around more on the track.
“Everyone at RPM is ready to get back to the track. When you have a weekend like Pocono, you just want to get back out there and race. We’re all working hard and want to see better results. Any time you go to a track you like, it makes you anticipate the race weekend more. We’re really focused on getting better as well. We have high hopes for Sunday.”
No. 9 Medallion Bank Ford
A performance and marketing driven company, Richard Petty Motorsports, co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty and successful business entrepreneur Andrew Murstein, is one of the most recognized brands in all of motorsports. With a history of over 200 wins and business partnerships with national and global leaders, today the race operation fields two teams in competition in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Aric Almirola pilots the famous No. 43 Ford Fusion with primary partners Smithfield Foods, U.S. Air Force, STP and Fresh From Florida, and Sam Hornish Jr. drives the No. 9 machine with primary partners Medallion Bank and Twisted Tea. In addition, Dakoda Armstrong wheels the No. 43 WinField Ford Mustang full-time in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. The team is headquartered in Mooresville, N.C.
