Top 35 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers: No. 28 - Sam Hornish Jr.
Penske Racing's Sam Hornish Jr. gained ground in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this season, finishing the year 28th in the standings. // JIm Fluharty, NASCAR Scene
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Sam Hornish Jr.’s second full NASCAR Sprint Cup season was an improvement over his rookie campaign of 2008, but the Penske Racing driver still has plenty of room to get better.
While Hornish posted more top-fives (two) and top-10s (seven) in 2009 than the year before, when he finished no better than 13th, the former open-wheel star seemed to grow more accident-prone as the season wore on.
Three DNFs in the last five races and eight overall left Hornish 28th in the standings and with a disappointing end to a year that had at one time shown more promise.
Hornish, who finished 35th in points as a rookie and failed to qualify for two races that season, made each event in 2009 and started a career-best fourth on two occasions. The 30-year-old posted twice as many DNFs in his sophomore campaign, however.
In his first full season with crew chief Travis Geisler, Hornish earned $3,998,567 in prize money. Still, the performance of Hornish’s No. 77 team wasn’t in the same league as that of teammate Kurt Busch, who finished fourth in the standings on the strength of two wins with his No. 2 group.
During the offseason, SceneDaily is taking a look at the top 35 in 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup driver points. Here’s how Hornish’s season unfolded:
By the numbers: Hornish recorded two top-fives and seven top-10s in 36 starts. He led three laps and completed 88.8 percent of all laps run. Six of his eight DNFs were the result of crashes, while the other two were for engine failures. Hornish finished 28th in the standings and had a top finish of fourth.
Season highlights: It took Hornish eight races to net his first top-10 of the season. but he followed up that initial ninth-place finish at Phoenix International Raceway with several more solid runs over the next several weeks. Despite being plagued by inconsistency, Hornish posted three top-10s in nine starts following Phoenix. Then after three finishes of 32nd or worse, the Defiance, Ohio, native posted finishes of fourth (Pocono) and fifth (Michigan), respectively, over a three-week stretch. He went on to record just one top-10 over the final 13 events.
Key setbacks: Hornish’s proclivity for feast-or-famine outcomes sidetracked a potentially solid second season. He finished 30th or worse in half of the 36 races and both started and ended the season mired in a slump. He finished no better than 16th over the opening eight events and no better than 17th over the final six.
Newsworthy moments: Hornish was uninjured in a violent crash in the August race at Watkins Glen where his car slid off track and pounded the adjacent tire barrier before ricocheting back across the track into oncoming traffic. Two cars then struck his Dodge before coming to rest. Hornish also gained attention by his role in the crash that sent points leader Jimmie Johnson into the wall on lap 3 of the November race at Texas.
In his words: “I feel that the entire No. 77 team has had a season of tremendous growth. We went from a rookie season without any top-15 finishes to having a year with nine top-15 and two top-five results. We have run consistently better this year, and I am excited for the 2010 season to begin. I have learned so much as a driver, and the team has really come together as a cohesive group, so I feel that there are great possibilities for us next year.”
