Sam Hornish Jr.
Samuel Jon Hornish Jr. is an American semi-retired professional auto racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske in 2017.
Hornish began his top-tier racing career in the IndyCar Series, making his driving debut during the 2000 season for PDM Racing. Hornish began driving for Panther Racing the following season, winning eleven races and the 2001 and 2002 series championships over the next three seasons. During the 2004 season Hornish began driving for Team Penske, winning eight more races and the 2006 series championship during his time with the team. When he left the series after the 2007 season, he held the record for most career wins in the series.
Hornish moved to Penske's NASCAR program part-time in the Xfinity Series during the 2006 season, and began driving part-time in the Cup Series in 2007. He raced full-time in the Cup Series the following year, struggling at first, with eight top-ten finishes over his first three seasons and a top points placing of 28th. Hornish returned part-time to the Xfinity Series in 2011, winning one race. He drove full-time in the series the following year, finishing fourth in points. In 2012 Hornish replaced A. J. Allmendinger in Penske's No. 22 car midway through the season, earning one top-five finish. The following year he returned to the Nationwide Series, winning one race and earning sixteen top-five and 24 top-ten finishes to place second in points. Hornish drove part-time for Joe Gibbs Racing in an eight-race 2014 season, with one win and four top-five finishes. He returned to the Cup Series in 2015 with Richard Petty Motorsports, scoring three top-tens and finishing 26th in points. He returned part-time to the Xfinity Series in 2016, winning a race for JGR and finishing sixth or better in all three races he entered for Richard Childress Racing. In 2017, he returned to Penske's Xfinity program for a three-race schedule in the No. 22.
Early career
Hornish began racing go-karts at the age of eleven, winning the World Karting Association U.S. Grand National championship in less than four years. From 1996 to 1998, he made 32 starts in the U.S. F2000 National Championship. In Hornish's final season in the series, he had a career-best, second-place finish at Pikes Peak International Raceway. He finished seventh in points in 1998, and was inducted into the series' Hall of Fame in 2012 as a 1998 graduate. During the 1999 Atlantic Championship season Hornish drove for Michael Shank Racing team owner Mike Shank, winning at Chicago Motor Speedway and finishing seventh in the championship standings with 67 points.Sports car racing
During the 1999 United States Road Racing Championship season, Hornish drove for Intersport Racing in the United States Road Racing Championship at the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona with Jon Field, Ryan Jones and Mike Shank in the Can-Am class. Their car, starting in eighth place, finished 42nd after retiring on lap 400 with a gearbox failure.In 2007, Hornish returned to compete in the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona for Michael Shank Racing with Mark Patterson, Oswaldo Negri Jr., and Hélio Castroneves in the Daytona Prototype class. Their car started 22nd, in its class and overall. It finished ninth in its class and overall, completing 628 laps.
IndyCar Series
2000: PDM Racing
Hornish began driving in the IndyCar Series in 2000 for PDM Racing in the No. 18 G-Force GF05-Oldsmobile Aurora L47 V8. He debuted at the season-opening race at Walt Disney World Speedway, starting in nineteenth place and finishing in twentieth. In the season's third race, the Vegas Indy 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Hornish started eighteenth and had his first career podium finish. He qualified for his first Indianapolis 500 in fourteenth place, after his team replaced the G-Force with a Dallara IR00. In mid-race, Hornish was involved in an accident which relegated him to 24th place. Starting twentieth at Kentucky Speedway, he led for a series career-high 38 laps and finished ninth. Hornish ended his season with a 27th- place finish at Texas Motor Speedway, finishing his rookie season with 110 points.2001−2003: Panther Racing
Before the 2001 Indy Racing League season, Hornish moved to Panther Racing to drive the No. 4 Dallara IR01-Oldsmobile Aurora L47 V8. He began the season with consecutive victories at Phoenix and Homestead-Miami in his first two races with the team. At the Indianapolis 500, Hornish qualified in thirteenth place. He finished fourteenth, four laps behind after an early spin. He continued to drive well, clinching the championship before the final race of the season. Since the winner of each race received fifty points, Hornish's 66-point advantage clinched the championship with one race remaining. At the season-ending race at Texas he started in the pole position, leading for 115 laps in his third win of the season. Hornish won the championship with 503 points, 105 points ahead of second-place Buddy Lazier. At age 22, he was the youngest champion in series history.In 2002, Hornish returned to Panther Racing, with the team changing manufactures and running a Chevrolet V8. At the season-opening Grand Prix of Miami at Homestead-Miami, he qualified in the pole position and led for 166 of 200 laps to win his fourth career race in the series. Hornish then won the Yamaha Indy 400 at California Speedway, defeating Jaques Lazier by 0.028 second. At the Indianapolis 500, he qualified in seventh place. In the race Hornish brushed the wall on lap 78, damaging his suspension. He returned to the race and finished 25th place, ten laps behind. Hornish won the SunTrust Indy Challenge at Richmond International Raceway three races later. At the Delphi Indy 300 at Chicagoland he defeated Al Unser Jr. by 0.0024 second, the closest finish in series history. In the final race of the season at Texas, Hornish started in third place and led for 79 laps to win by 0.0096 second. He won his second consecutive championship, amassing five wins and eleven top-five finishes over the season.
The beginning of the 2003 season saw Hornish struggle in comparison with his previous two years at Panther. At the Indianapolis 500, he qualified in eighteenth place; in the race, he retired with a blown engine after completing 195 of the 200 laps. Hornish finished the race in fifteenth place, dropping to a tie with Buddy Rice for twelfth place in points. At the following race at Pikes Peak, he started in fourteenth place and finished fifth. Around this time, Panther Racing and several other teams using the Chevrolet engine built by General Motors switched to a new engine by Cosworth which was badged as a Chevrolet engine. After the change Hornish's results began improving; he started fourth and finished second, after leading for 126 of 200 laps, at Michigan International Speedway. Two races later, at Kentucky Speedway, he qualified for the pole position and led for 181 of 200 laps to win. Hornish then won two more consecutive races, at Chicagoland and at California Speedway. He won the former race by 0.01 second over Scott Dixon and Bryan Herta, the closest top-three finish in series history. Going into the season-ending Chevy 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, Hornish was mathematically eligible win the championship; however, his car had a spray problem after 176 of 195 laps. He finished seventeenth, and was fifth in the final point standings with 461 points.
2004−2007: Team Penske
Hornish began driving for Marlboro Team Penske during the 2004 IndyCar Series season in its No. 6 Dallara IR03-Toyota Indy V8, winning the season opener at Homestead-Miami in his first race with the team, passing teammate Hélio Castroneves on the final lap. After qualifying in eleventh place at the Indianapolis 500, he battled for the lead with Buddy Rice and Dan Wheldon and led for nine laps. On lap 105, entering the main straightaway out of the fourth turn, Hornish tried to pass Darren Manning and Greg Ray's lapped car. They collided, crashing into the pit lane; Hornish finished 26th, dropping to ninth place in the point standings. The rest of his season was sub-par, with two podium finishes. Hornish was seventh in the championship standings with 387 points, his worst finish since he placed 21st in 2000.Hornish returned to Team Penske for the 2005 season. At Phoenix in the season's second race, Hornish started in second place and won after leading for 25 laps. During practice for the Indianapolis 500, he drove over a piece of debris after Paul Dana's second-turn crash and flipped over. Two days later Hornish qualified in second place, crashing out after leading for a race-high 77 laps and finishing 23rd. At the Milwaukee Mile he qualified for the pole position and led for 123 of 225 laps, passing Dario Franchitti with nine laps left for his second win of the season. Hornish finished third in the championship standings, with 512 points.
File:Indy500winningcar2006.JPG|thumb|right|alt=Low, lightweight racing car with smooth tires|Hornish's 2006 Indianapolis 500 winning car at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum
Hornish again returned to Penske in 2006. The team changed manufacturers, joining Honda when Toyota and Chevrolet left the series after the 2005 season. His season highlight was the Indianapolis 500, when he passed Marco Andretti for the lead on the final lap to win in the second-closest margin of victory in the race's history. Hornish later said about the pass, "I figured I came all this way, I ought to give myself one more shot at it. I kind of looked at it as, I was going to drive over him if I had to. For Marco to come as a rookie and drive like that he should be proud no matter what." His second win of the season was at Richmond, and he took the points lead after winning the next race at Kansas. His fourth and final win of the season was at Kentucky, when he started second and led for 57 laps. In the season-ending race at Chicagoland Hornish qualified for the pole position and finished third, clinching his third series championship and Penske's first. Although he and Dan Wheldon finished the year with the same number of points, the tie was broken by wins; Hornish had four, and Wheldon two.
File:SamHornishJrPracticing2007Indy500.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Red-and-white racing car on a track|Hornish practicing for the 2007 Indianapolis 500
For the 2007 season, Hornish again returned to Penske, starting the Indianapolis 500 in fifth place. Running consistently in the top ten, he finished fourth when the race was halted by rain after 166 laps. Hornish's only win of the season was the Bombardier Learjet 550 at Texas Motor Speedway, when he started in second place and led for 159 of its 228 laps. His series-best finish on a road course or street circuit, second place at the Camping World Watkins Glen Grand Prix, was overshadowed by an altercation with Tony Kanaan. With the season-ending race at Chicagoland, Hornish ended his IndyCar career with a third-place finish and finished fifth in the points standings.
After the season, Hornish remained optimistic about an eventual IndyCar return: "I hope they move the schedule so that somebody could do it. That's my goal. If I never ran in the Indy 500 again or an IndyCar Series race I would probably say I would be disappointed about that." He received offers to return after his departure, and in late 2008 was rumored to be returning to replace Hélio Castroneves the next season due to Castroneves' IRS problems. Castroneves was eventually cleared, missing only the season opener with Will Power driving for Penske during his absence. In November 2013, Hornish declined an offer to drive for Chip Ganassi Racing in the upcoming season after Dario Franchitti's career-ending injuries at the 2013 Shell-Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston.