Pit strategy puts Hornish at the front, costs him a shot at win
By Jeff Gluck - Associate Editor
Monday, June 16, 2008
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Chris Graythen / Getty Images
BROOKLYN, Mich. – There were so many ways that things could have turned out differently for Sam Hornish Jr.
A top-five finish seemed within reach. A top-10 would have been nice for that matter – considering Hornish’s career-best NASCAR Sprint Cup result is 13th.
It appeared as if it was going to be a stellar day. Instead, Hornish stood squeezed between haulers looking somewhat dejected as the crowd roared for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s victory-lane celebration Sunday at Michigan International Speedway.
A 22nd-place finish was hardly the result he and his team thought they deserved. Not after running up front thanks to what seemed like a smart pit call. Not after threatening to pass race leader Jimmie Johnson under green in the last quarter of the race.
Circumstances just didn’t fall the way they needed to for crew chief Chris Carrier’s strategy to work.
“You can do one thing this week and you may look like a hero, and you can do the exact same thing next week, and something a little bit different turns out, and you look like an idiot,” Carrier said.
On lap 148, when most of the field made a final pit stop, Hornish stayed out along with Johnson. Even on his old tires, Hornish maintained second place and raced Johnson hard for the top spot.
At one point, Johnson’s crew chief Chad Knaus radioed into his driver and urged him to leave Hornish’s Penske Racing car in the dust.
“I’m doing all I can,” Johnson responded.
Hornish was that strong, that solid when he had track position.
“It was a lot of fun,” Hornish said of racing up front. “It shows you how much track position is worth, how much strategy is worth. I could tell Jimmie was trying hard. The back end was moving around.”
But Hornish’s car began to overheat, and he couldn’t afford to risk a blown engine. So he gave up second place to pit under the green flag with 22 laps to go, taking just two tires to avoid getting lapped.
As it turned out, that may have been the wrong move.
Hornish said the car was so difficult to drive with the two-old, two-new tire combination that he almost spun out every time he tried to touch the gas.
Still, the strategy almost worked out as other drivers began to make green-flag pit stops. But with four laps left, Hornish spun out and caused a caution as he drove out of Turn 4.
It was more misfortune at a track that Hornish said was unkind to him during his IndyCar days.
“We need to keep the driver calm and get a little bit of luck, I guess,” Hornish said. “I’ve always loved running at California and Michigan, and I’ve always been able to have a lot of luck at California – but never here.”
It was tough to know what the right call would have been. If Carrier had elected to take four tires under green, a caution would have trapped Hornish a lap down. As it was, the car was undrivable with two new tires.
“I’ve got a lot of faith in what they’re trying to do out there, and sometimes I second-guess them a little too much,” Hornish said. “We’re still all learning each other, still trying to do the best we can and get the most out of it. I feel like I’ve let them down a lot more than they’ve let me down.”
Said Carrier: “Sometimes, these things are just gambles.”
Carrier said the team accomplished its immediate goal of ensuring a locked-in, top-35 owner points spot for Sonoma. His No. 77 moved up two spots to 33rd in owner points, 28 points ahead of the 36th-place Haas CNC Racing No. 66 team.
- Mentioned Drivers:
- Sam Hornish Jr.
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