Sam Hornish Jr.
No. 12 Mobil 1 Dodge
California Advance
NBS Notes:
Sam Hornish, Jr., driver of the No. 12 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger, will attempt to qualify for his second NASCAR Busch Series event this season at the California Speedway on Saturday, February 24th, and his fourth in the series.
Although Hornish has no experience behind the wheel of a NASCAR Busch Series car at the 2-mile, D-shaped oval, he has won two Indy Car races in four events at the track. Hornish's first victory at California came in 2002. En route to his second win in the 2003 IndyCar Series event, Hornish averaged 207.151 mph, the fastest race ever recorded on a closed course.
Hornish finished 11th in the track’s IROC event in 2002.
Matt Gimbel, crew chief of the No. 12 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger and the Mobil 1 team will take chassis PBC-3 to this weekend's Stater Bros. 300. This car was last driven by Ryan Newman at Atlanta in 2006, but did not finish the race due to a cut right-front tire. Newman also drove this car to victory lane three times in 2005 at Homestead, Dover and Michigan and it finished third at Chicago.
PBC-13 will be the backup car for Fontana. This is a new car and was tested at Las Vegas.
Hornish on California Speedway:
“I’m really excited to get out to California Speedway because I have some special memories there in open wheel. With the limited experience I have in the Busch car, it’s going to be nice to go to a track that I know and feel comfortable at. We had a tough weekend at Daytona but it was a great opportunity for me to learn more about the car and how it needs to feel for the race. Everything is still fresh in mind and I’m looking forward to getting back in the Mobil 1 Dodge.”
