Sam Hornish Jr.

Sam Hornish, Jr.
Hornish in 2008
Born	(1979-07-02) July 2, 1979 Defiance, Ohio, United States
Achievements	Three-time Verizon IndyCar Series champion (2001, 2002 and 2006) 2006 Indianapolis 500 winner
Awards	1999 Atlantic Championship Rookie of the Year 2004 Verizon IndyCar Series Most Popular Driver 2007 Scott Brayton Award
NASCAR Cup Series career
131 races run over 8 years
Car no., team	No. 11 (Joe Gibbs Racing)
2013 position	72nd
Best finish	28th (2009)
First race	2007 Checker Auto Parts 500 Presented by Pennzoil (Phoenix)
Last race	2014 Auto Club 400 (Fontana)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 9 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
107 races run over 8 years
Car no., team	No. 54, 20 (Joe Gibbs Racing)
2013 position	2nd
Best finish	2nd (2013)
First race	2006 Arizona Travel 200 (Phoenix)
Last race	2014 VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 (Kentucky)
First win	2011 Wypall 200 (Phoenix)
Last win	2014 Get To Know Newton 250 (Iowa)
Wins Top tens Poles 3 57 7
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish	74th (2008)
First race	2008 Kroger 200 (Martinsville)
Last race	2008 Kroger 200 (Martinsville)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 1 0

Verizon IndyCar Series
Years active	2000-2007
Teams	PDM Racing (2000) Panther Racing (2001-2003) Marlboro Team Penske (2004-2006) Team Penske (2007)
Starts	116
Wins	19
Poles	10
Fastest laps	10
Best finish	1st in 2001, 2002 and 2006

Samuel Jon Hornish, Jr. (born July 2, 1979) is an American auto racing driver. A three-time IndyCar Series champion, he currently competes in stock car competition, driving in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for Joe Gibbs Racing in the #54 car and #20, sharing the former with Kyle Busch.

Early career

Born in Defiance, Ohio, Hornish began racing at the age of 11 in go-karts. After competing in junior leagues for various seasons, he joined the World Karting Association in 1993, winning seven races and posting twenty-nine top-five finishes. The following season, he won several championships in WKA, including the U.S. and Canadian Grand Championships, as well as the U.S. Junior Class Grand Championship. In 1995, he repeated his U.S. Grand National title and won nine races. He would move up to the United States F2000 Series, driving six races for his family-owned team, and had one top-ten finish at Watkins Glen International. He joined Aim Autosport in 1997 and had two eleventh-place finishes, before signing with Primus Racing. He had a second-place run at Pikes Peak International Raceway and finished seventh in points.

Atlantic Championship

In 1999 Hornish began to compete in the Atlantic Championship for Shank Racing in the #13 Hornish Bros. Trucking Swift 008.a-Toyota 4A-GE. Hornish would finish in 4th place in his third race at Gateway International Raceway. At the race at Chicago Motor Speedway Hornish started in 2nd place and would win the race. Hornish's best finish in the remaining races would be a 6th place finish at the race at Laguna Seca Raceway. Hornish would finish 7th in points with 67 points. Hornish would win the series rookie of the year award.

Sports car racing

United States Road Racing Championship

In 1999 Hornish drove in the United States Road Racing Championship at the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona for Intersport Racing in the #28 Intersport Racing Wheels Lola Lola B98/10-Ford V6 with Jon Field, Ryan Jones and Mike Shank in the Can-Am class. The car would start in 8th place would finish in 43rd place after retiring after 399 laps due to a gearbox failure. The series would close down after three races (Hornish only competed in the Daytona race). Hornish was in 53rd place in the points standings with no points.

Rolex Grand-Am Sports Car Series

In 2007 Hornish began to compete in the Rolex Grand-Am Sports Car Series. The series was formed in 2000 after purchasing the defunct United States Road Racing Championship. Hornish would compete in the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona for Michael Shank Racing in the #60 Fresh From Flordia Riley MkXI-Ford 5.0L V8 with Mark Patterson, Oswaldo Negri, Jr. and Helio Castroneves in the DP class. The car would start in 22nd place both in it's class and overall. In the race the car finished in 9th place both in it's class and overall with 628 laps complete. Hornish would finish in 63rd place in the DP drivers championship while the #60 Michael Shank Racing entry finished in 7th place in the owners championship with 319 points.

Verizon IndyCar Series

Hornish began to compete in the Verizon IndyCar Series in 2000 for PDM Racing in the #18 Hornish Trucking/Advantage Powder Coating G-Force GF05-Oldsmobile Aurora Indy V8 with additional sponsorship from Uniden, AmeriSuites, Firestone and Bearcat Scanners. Hornish made his debut at the season-opening Delphi Indy 200 at Walt Disney World Speedway. Hornish would start 19th and finished 20th, twenty-eight laps down. At the third race of the season, the Vegas Indy 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Hornish started 18th and finished in 3rd place, one lap down. Hornisg would qualify for the Indianapolis 500 in 14th place after the team replaced the G-Force with a Dallara IR00-Oldsmobile Aurora Indy V8. In the race Hornish crashed on lap 158 and would finish in 24th place. At the following race, the Casino Magic 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, Hornish started a season-best 13th and finished 20th with battery issues. Following the race the team began to use the G-Force for the remainder of the season. The team would skip the Midas 500 Classic at Atlanta Motor Speedway. At the following race, the Belterra Resort Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway, Hornish started in 20th place and led for 38 laps. Hornish would finish in 9th place. Hornish would start in 18th place and finish in 27th (last) place at the season-ending Excite 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Hornish would finish in 21st place in the point standings with 110 points.

In 2001 Hornish would move to Panther Racing to drive the #4 Pennzoil Dallara IR01-Oldsmobile Aurora Indy V8. At the season-opening Pennzoil Copper World Indy 200 at Phoenix International Raceway Hornish started in 2nd place and led for 140 of 200 laps to win the race. At the second race of the season, the Infiniti Grand Prix of Miami at Homestead-Miami Speedway Hornish started in 5th place and led for 142 of 200 laps to get his second-consecutive win of the season. At the third race of the season, the zMax 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hornish started in 4th place and finished in 6th place after having make a late-race pit stop to have enough fuel to finish the race and would finish the race one lap down. At the Indianapolis 500 Hornish qualified in a disappointing 13th place (Hornish's only qualifying result outside of the top 10 during the season). In the race Hornish spun in turn 4 on lap 17 on a restart and would cause Al Unser, Jr. to crash while avoiding Hornish. Hornish would continue the race and would set the fastest lap of the race. Hornish would finish in 14th place, four laps down (this would be Hornish's only result outside of the top 10 during the season). During the remainder of the season Hornish's worst finish was a 6th place at the Harrah's 200 at Nashville Superspeedway. Hornish would have a stretch of three consecutive 2nd place finishes at the Radisson Indy 200 at Pikes Peak International Raceway, the SunTrust Indy Challenge at Richmond International Raceway and the Ameristar Casino Indy 200 at Kansas Speedway. Hornish would also start on the pole position at the Gateway Indy 250 at Gateway International Raceway and the season-ending Chevy 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, in each case due to the race starting line up being determined by drivers point standings going into the race. Following Indianapolis Buddy Lazier won 4 races and began to challenge Hornish for the championship. Hornish would clinch the championship at the twelfth of thirteen races during the season, the Delphi Indy 200 at Chicagoland Speedway with a 2nd place finish behind Buddy Lazier's brother Jaques Lazier due to Buddy Lazier being 66 points behind Hornish (a win would give 50 points to the winner). At the season-ending race at Texas Hornish started on the pole position and lead for 115 laps to get his third win of the season after narrowly holding off Scott Sharp and Robbie Buhl. Hornish would win the championship with 503 points, 105 more points than 2nd place Lazier.

For 2002 Hornish returned with Panther Racing to drive the #4 Pennzoil Dallara IR02-Chevriolet V8. Prior to the season two of the rival FedEx CART Championship Series major teams, Marlboro Team Penske and Target Chip Ganassi Racing, began to compete in the Indy Racing League full-time in 2002 with Hélio Castroneves and Gil de Ferran for the former and Jeff Ward for the latter. At the season-opening Grand Prix of Miami at Homestead-Miami Speedway Hornish qualified on the pole position (his previous pole positions had been earned due to the race line up being determined by driver point standings) and led 166 of 200 laps to win his fourth career race in the series, with Castroneves finishing 2nd, de Ferran finishing 3rd and Ward finishing 4th. Hornish would then win the Yahmaha Indy 400 at California Speedway after beating Jaques Lazier by 0.028 seconds. At the Indianapolis 500 Hornish qualified in 7th place. In the race Hornish would brush the wall on lap 78, damaging the suspension. Hornish would later return to the race and finish in 25th place, ten laps down. Following the race Hornish dropped to 3rd in the point standings behind Castroneves and de Ferran. Hornish would then crash with Eddie Cheever at the following race, the Boomtown 500 at Texas Motor Speedway and would finish in 18th place with 126 laps complete. Hornish would win two races later at the SunTrust Indy Challenge at Richmond International Raceway. Following Texas Hornish's worst result of the season was an 8th place finish at the Michigan Indy 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Hornish would retake the points lead following the Belterra Casino Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway with a 2nd place finish. At the Delphi Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway Hornish beat Al Unser, Jr. by 0.0024 seconds, possibly the closest finish to a race in auto racing history until the 2007 Indy Pro Series season when Logan Gomez beat Alex Lloyd at the same racetrack by only 0.0005 seconds, or 1.65 inches (42 mm). In the same race de Ferran was injured in a crash on lap 52. This would cause de Ferran to miss the season-ending Chevy 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. With his victory Hornish would retake the points lead from Castroneves and de Ferran (at the previous race, the Gateway Indy 250 at Gateway International Raceway, the two managed to overtake Hornish in the point standings). Going into the season-ending race at Texas Hornish and Castroneves were the only drivers in contention for the championship (Hornish led Castroneves by 12 points), while de Ferran also could potentially win the championship (he was 38 points behind Hornish) if he would compete in the race. In the race Hornish started in 3rd place and led for 79 laps to win the race by beating Castroneves by 0.01 seconds. Hornish would win his second-consecutive championship with 531 points to Castroneves' 511 points.

In 2003 Infiniti left the series to supply engines to the Menards Infiniti Pro Series. Toyota and Honda (in a partnership with Ilmor Engineering) joinded the series. Several teams from the rival Champ Car World Series would join the IndyCar Series in 2003. These teams included Marlboro Team Penske, Target Chip Ganassi Racing and Mo Nunn Racing returned from the 2002 season, while Andretti Green Racing (formerly known as Team Green), Team Rahal and Super Aguri Fernández Racing joined the series for a full-time schedule in 2003 after not competing or competing in a part-time schedule in the IndyCar Series in 2002. Each of these teams would use either the Toyota Indy V8 or Ilmor-Honda Indy V8 HI3R engines. Hornish would drive the #4 Pennzoil Dallara IR03-Chevrolet V8 for Panther Racing. At the season-opening Toyota Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway Hornish started in 3rd place and finished in 10th place. Hornish then started in 17th place and crashed with A.J. Foyt IV after 32 laps at the second race of the season, the Purex Dial Indy 200 at Phoenix International Raceway. Hornish would finish in 21st place. Following the race Hornish dropped to 106th in points. Hornish would return to 10th in points following the third race of the season, the Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi, where Hornish started 13th and finished 6th. At the Indianapolis 500 Hornish qualified in 188th place and would be the highest-starting car with a Chevrolet engine. In the race Hornish retired with a blown engine after completing 195 laps. Hornish would finish the race in 15th place and would drop to 12th in points. At the following race, the Bombardier 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, Hornish started in 16th place and finished in 10th place. With the result Hornish would move back into 10th place in the point standings. At the following race, the Honda Indy 225 at Pikes Peak International Raceway, Hornish started in 14th place and finished in 5th place. This result would be Hornish's first lead lap finish of the season.Hornish would then start in 3rd place and finish in 4th place at the following race, the SunTrust Indy Challenge at Richmond International Raceway. Around this time Panther Racing, and several other teams using the Chevrolet engine, switched from the Chevrolet engine built by General Motors (the parent company of Chevrolet) to a new engine built by Cosworth that was badged as a Chevrolet engine. The new engine started to get called by the unofficial name, Chevworth. Hornish's results would soon start improving with Hornish starting in 4th place and finishing in 2nd place after leading for 126 of 200 laps at the Firestone Indy 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Two races later at the Belterra Casino Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway Hornish qualified pole position and lead for 181 of 200 laps to win the race. Hornish would then get two consecutive wins at the Delphi Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway and the Toyota Indy 400 at California Speedway. In the former race Hornish would win by 0.01 seconds over Scott Dixon and Bryan Herta. After winning at Fontana (California) Hornish would move into 4th place in the point standings. Going into the season-ending Chevy 500 at Texas Motor Speedway Hornish could mathematically win the championship. Hornish would have to compete with Hélio Castroneves, Dixon, Tony Kanaan and Gil de Ferran. Hornish's hopes of a championship ended when his car a spray problem after 176 of 195 laps. Hornish would finish in 17th place while de Ferran won, Dixon finished 2nd, Castroneves finished 13th and Kanaan finished 14th. Hornish would finish 5th in the final point standings with 461 points. Hornish would finish behind Dixon, de Ferran, Castroneves and Kanaan.

Hornish would begin to drive for Marlboro Team Penske in 2004. Hornish would drive the #6 Marlboro Dallara IR04-Toyota Indy V8. At the season-opening Toyota Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway Hornish started in 7th place and led for only 6 laps and passed teammate Hélio Castroneves, who had dominated the race on the final lap of the race. At the following two races of the season, the Copper World Indy 200 at Phoenix International Raceway and the Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi, Hornish finished in 15th place and 19th place (the latter due to a crash). Hornish would drop to 6th in points after these two races. Hornish would qualify in 11th place at the Indianapolis 500. In the race Hornish was battling for the lead with Buddy Rice and Dan Wheldon and would eventually lead for 9 laps, the first laps Hornish led in his Indianapolis 500 career. On lap 94 the race went under caution due to a crash by P.J. Jones. At this point the race needed to get to the halfway point of the race (101 laps) to become official due to the possibility of rain occurring before 200 laps would be completed (the race had been stopped after 29 laps due to rain). Rice and Hornish would both make pit stops and Hornish would drop to 19th place. On lap 105, entering the main straightaway out of turn 4, Hornish had moved up to 15th place and was attempting to pass Darren Manning for position and the lapped car of Greg Ray when the three collided and crashed into the pit lane. Hornish would finish in 26th place and would drop to 9th in the point standings. Hornish would then finish in 4th place at the following race, the Bombardier 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. At the following race, the SunTrust Indy Challenge at Richmond International Raceway, Hornish started in 4th place and lead for 76 laps. Hornish would finish in 13th place, four laps down. Hornish's results would recover at the Firestone Indy 200 at Nashville Superspeedway and the Menards A.J. Foyt 225 at the Milwaukee Mile, where he finished in 2nd place and 3rd place. Hornish's best finish following these two results were a pair of 4th place finishes at the Michigan Indy 400 at Michigan International Speedway and the Toyota Indy 400 at California Speedway. During this time at the Honda Indy 225 at Pikes Peak International Raceway Hornish started in 9th place and led for 67 laps. On lap 158 Hornish crashed in turn 4. Going into the season-ending Chevy 500 at Texas Motor Speedway Tony Kanaan had clinched the championship with a 2nd place finish at the previous race at Fontana (California). This would be the first year since 2000 that Hornish did not go into the season-ending race with a chance to win the championship or have already clinched the championship. In the race Hornish started in 2nd place behind teammate Castroneves and led for 53 laps and suffered electrical problems after 163 laps and would finish in 17th place. Hornish would finish in 7th place in the final point standings with 387 points. This would be Hornish's worst finish in the final point standings since finishing 21st in 2000.

In 2005 Hornish returned with Marlboro Team Penske to drive the #6 Marlboro Dallara IR05-Toyota Indy V8. After a disappointing 2004 season for Toyota (the engine only won two races during the season, one each coming from Hornish and Castroneves) the Toyota engine was modified to competed with the Ilmor-Honda Indy V8 HI4R engine. At the season-opening Toyota Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway Hornish started in 8th place and finished in 2nd place. At the second race of the season, the XM Satellite Radio Indy 200 at Phoenix International Raceway, Hornish started in 2nd place and won the race after leading for 25 laps. Following the race Hornish took the points lead in the series. Hornish would then qualify on the pole position at the Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi and finish in 7th place after leading for 14 laps. During practice for the Indianapolis 500 Hornish crashed in practice when Paul Dana crashed in turn 2. Hornish would then drive over a piece of debris from Dana's car and would flip over. Two days later on the second day of qualifying (it was Pole Day due to the previous Saturday being rained out). Hornish qualified in 2nd place. During the first half of the race Hornish battled with Tony Kanaan for the lead. On lap 147 Hornish attempted to pass Sébastien Bourdais for position on the outside in turn 1. Hornish would crash out of the race after leading for a race-high 77 laps. Hornish would finish in 23rd place. Hornish would recover to finish in 2nd place at the following race, the Bombardier Learjet 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Hornish would then qualify on the pole position at the SunTrust Indy Challenge at Richmond International Raceway. Hornish would lead for 42 laps before crashing after 165 laps and would finish in 18th place. During the season Toyota announced that they would withdraw from the IndyCar Series after the 2006 season. At the ABC Supply Company A.J. Foyt 225 at the Milwaukee Mile Hornish would qualify on the pole position and lead for 123 of 225 laps to get his second win of the season after passing Dario Franchitti with nine laps to go in the race. Hornish's best finish following the Milwaukee race was a 2nd place finish at the Honda Indy 225 at Pikes Peak International Raceway after starting in 2nd place and leading for 71 laps. Hornish would finish in 3rd place in the final point standings with 512 points. Hornish would be the highest finishing driver in the point standings not to be driving for Andretti Green Racing (behind Dan Wheldon and Kanaan), not to use a Honda engine and to be an American.

Hornish's 2006 Indianapolis 500 winning car at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum

In 2006 Hornish would return with Marlboro Team Penske in the #6 Marlboro Dallara IR07-Ilmor-Honda Indy V8 HI4R after both Toyota and Chevrolet exited the series after the 2005 season. At the season-opening Toyota Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway Hornish would qualify on the pole position. In the final practice session Ed Carpenter crashed in turn 2 and Paul Dana would drive into Carpenter's car at 176 miles per hour. Dana was killed in the crash and would be the first driver to be killed in a Verizon IndyCar Series race since Scott Brayton was killed during practice for the 1996 Indianapolis 500 (between Brayton and Dana's accidents Tony Renna was killed at a private test session for Target Chip Ganassi Racing in 2003 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway). In the race Hornish led for 145 of 200 laps to finish in 3rd place. Hornish would then finish in 8th place and 4th place at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and the Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi. At the Indianapolis 500 Hornish was the fastest car in each of the six veteran practice days. Hornish then qualify on the pole position with teammate Hélio Castroneves qualifying in 2nd place. In the race Hornish ran consistently in the top 10 while defending winner Dan Wheldon and Castroneves dominated the race. Castroneves would then crash out of the race on lap 110 while lapping Buddy Rice. On lap 149 the race went under caution due to a crash by Al Unser, Jr.. On lap 150 Hornish made a pit stop with several of the leaders. When Honish was exiting the pit stall the fuel nozzle was still connected to the car. Hornish would stop the car in the pit stall to allow the now ripped nozzle from the car. Hornish was then running in 6th place, the last car on the lead lap, behind Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti, Dario Franchitti, Michael Andretti and Scott Dixon. Each of them, except Michael Andretti, all had to make pit stops. On a restart on lap 196 for a crash by Felipe Giaffone Hornish was in 4th place behind the Andrettis and Dixon. Hornish soon passed Dixon and was challenging Michael Andretti for 3rd place. Andretti was trying to prevent Hornish from passing to protect the lead for his teammate and son Marco Andretti. Hornish would manage to pass Michael Andretti on lap 197. On lap 199 Hornish attempted to pass Marco Andretti for the lead in turn 3. Andretti would then cut off Hornish in the turn and would cause Hornish to lose momentum . Andretti would then get a 1 second lead over Hornish. Hornish would then regain his momentum and would attempt to pass Andretti coming out of turn 4 (the final turn of the track) on the final lap of the race. Hornish would pass Andretti for the lead in the final 400 feet of the race to win the Indianapolis 500. 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." Hornish would lead the race for 19 laps. Hornish would also win the Scott Brayton Award for best showing the best representation of the late driver. Hornish would get his second win of the season at the SunTrust Indy Challenge at Richmond International Raceway after leading for 212 of 250 laps. Hornish would take the points leadin the championship after the following race, the RoadRunner Turbo Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway after starting in 2nd place and leading for 149 of 200 laps. Hornish would then finish in 2nd place at the ABC Supply Company A.J. Foyt 225 at the Milwaukee Mile after starting in 2nd place. Hornish would then get his fourth, and final, win of the season at the Meijer Indy 300 presented by Coca-Cola and Secret at Kentucky Speedway after starting 2nd and leading for 57 laps. Following the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma at Sonoma Raceway, where Hornish finished in 9th place, Hornishwas only 1 point behind points leader and teammate Castroneves. Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Wheldon and Dixon were both also in contention to win the championship. At the season-ending Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 presented by Mr. Clean at Chicagoland Speedway Hornish qualified on the pole position and finished in 3rd place behind Wheldon and Dixon. Hornish would score 475 points and would win the championship. Wheldon would also score 475 points. The championship was decided on a tiebreaker based on wins (Hornish had 4 wins while Wheldon had 2).

Hornish practicing for the 2007 Indianapolis 500.

For 2007 the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement mandated that Marlboro would have to remove their branding from Team Penske's cars. With the new terms to the MSA the cars would continue to have Marlboro's red and white color scheme with the Marlboro "triangle" logo appearing on the car with Team Penske as the credited sponsor (Marlboro's parent company Philip Morris USA continues to remain as Penske's primary sponsor). In the past the main sponsor had appeared as Marlboro Team Penske with Marlboro appearing above Team Penske. Hornish wpuld drive the #6 Team Penske Dallara IR07-Ilmor-Honda Indy V8 HI7R. At the season-opening XM Satellite Radio Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway Hornish started in 2nd place and finished in 3rd place. Hornish's next best finish in a race prior to Indianapolis was a 5th place finish at the Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi. At the Indianapolis 500 Hornish nearly qualified on the pole position when he was off of the n-fastest qualifier Dario Franchitti by 0.0327 seconds. At the time Hornish was in 2nd place. Team Penske would withdraw the speed and Hornish would requalify. Hornish would again nearly qualify on the pole position, only to bobble in the northchute. Hornish would start in 5th place. In the race Hornish led for two laps on laps 72 and 73. Hornish was then passed by Franchitti. For the remainder of the race Hornish ran consistently in the top 10 and would finish in 4th place when the race was topped permanently after 166 laps due to rain after running as high as 2nd place to Tony Kanaan following lap 73. Hornish's only win of the season was the Bombardier Learjet 550 at Texas Motor Speedway, where he started in 2nd place and led for 159 of 228 laps. Hornish would get his best finish in the series on a road course or street circuit at the Camping World Watkins Glen Grand Prix at Watkins Glen International with a 2nd place finish. During the race Hornish made contact with Kanaan. Following the race, as the cars were entering the pit lane following the race, Kanaan would make contact with Hornish's car. After Hornish exited his car he went over to talk to Kanaan, just as Kanaan was coming over to talk to Hornish. Hornish's father Sam Hornish, Sr. then pushed Kanaan and was then held back by some bystanders in the area. Kanaan's car owner Michael Andretti attempted to enter the discussion, but was held back by his son Marco Andretti. By this point Hornish, Sr. was in a fight with an unknown man (some sources claim that the man was T.J. Patrick, the father of Danica Patrick (who was Kanaan's teammate at the time)). Several Team Penske and Andretti Green Racing (Kanaan's team) were either involved in the fight or were trying to break up the fight with Indy Racing League officials and security. It was estimated that there were 15 to 20 people in the fight, including Jaime Camara, an Indy Pro Series driver for Andretti at the time. At the season-ending Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway Hornish got his best finish of the season since Watkins Glen with a 3rd place finish after starting in 2nd place and leading for a race-high 90 laps. As of the 2014 season this is Hornish's final race in the Verizon IndyCar Series.

In November 2013 Hornish was offered a chance to drive for Target Chip Ganassi Racing in the #10 Target Dallara DW12-Ilmor-Chevrolet Indy V6 for the 2014 season after Dario Franchitti suffered career-ending injuries at the Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston Race #2 at Reliant Park. Hornish would eventually not accept the deal to instead drive for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2014 and Tony Kanaan would drive the car.

Stock car racing

International Race of Champions

Hornish was ivited to compete in the International Race of Champions in 2002 as a representative for the Indy Racing League with Buddy Lazier, Hélio Castroneves, Al Unser, Jr. and Scott Sharp. Hornish would drive a Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. At the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway Hornish started in 12th place and finished in 2nd place to Tony Stewart. Hornish's best starts of the season each came at the final two races of the season, at Chicagoland Speedway and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with a 7th place start. Hornish's best finish was a 6th place finish at the Chicagoland race. Hornish would finish in 11th place in the final point standings with 35 points.

Hornish would return to the series in 2003 as a representative of the Indy Racing League with Felipe Giaffone (later replaced by Scott Sharp when Giaffone was injured) and Hélio Castroneves. Hornish would drive a Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. Hornish's best start was a 3rd place at the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway. Hornish would also start in 5th place at the races at Talladega Superspeedway and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and in 7th place at the race at Chicagoland Speedway. Hornish's best finish of the season was a 4th place finish at Talladega. Hornish would finish in 8th place in the final point standings with 30 points.

Hornish competing in the 2006 International Race of Champions race at Texas Motor Speedway.

Hornish would return to the series in 2006 for the series' final season. Hornish would represent the IndyCar Series with Scott Sharp. Hornish would drive a Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. Hornish's car was numbered 06 and was painted red and white. The car was based on his #6 Marlboro Dallara IR05-Toyota Indy V8 owned by Marlboro Team Penske from the 2005 IndyCar Series season. Hornish's car number jad to be 06 due to Mark Martin also competing in the series in a car numbered 6, due to Martin at the time driving the #6 Roush Racing Ford Taurus in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. Hornish's best start during the season was a 3rd place finish at the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway. Hornish's best finish was a 4th place finish at the race at Talladega Superspeedway. Hornish would finish in 8th place in the final point standings with 36 points.

ARCA Racing Series

In 2007 Hornish would compete in the Michigan ARCA 200 at Michigan International Speedway for Team Penske in the #27 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger. In the race Hornish qualified on the pole position and led the first 29 laps of the race before getting passed by eventual winner Erik Darnell. Hornish would finish in 2nd place. Hornish finished 92nd in points with 240 points.

NASCAR

NASCAR Nationwide Series

Hornish would begin to compete in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in the #12 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger in 2006 for Team Penske. Hornish would first compete in the Arizona Travel 200 at Phoenix International Raceway, where Hornish had won the Verizon IndyCar Series race in 2001. Hornish would start in 27th place and finish in 36th place due to a crash on lap 187 with Willie Allen and Stephen Leicht (who continued). Hornish would complete 183 laps. Hornish would then compete at the Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where Hornish had won the Verizon IndyCar Series in 2001, 2002 and 2004. Hornish would start in 24th place and would finish in 43rd (last) place due to a crash after 5 laps. Hornish would later return to the race and complete 20 laps. Hornish would finish 117th in points with 89 points.

Hornish spinning out his car at the 2007 O'Reilly Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway.

Hornish would return to the series in 2007 and would drive 9 races during the season for Team Penske in the #12 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger, with additional sponsorship from Penske Truck Rental and Kodak. At the season-opening Orbitz 300 at Daytona International Speedway Hornish would start in 27th place. Hornish would finish in 31st place, six laps down. Hornish would get both his best start and his best finish of the season at the Nicorette 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway where he started in 5th place and finished in 15th place. Hornish would also start in 6th place at the season-ending Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he finished in 38th place due to a crash with Todd Bodine on lap 114. Hornish would finish 68th in the final point standings with 551 points.

In 2008 Hornish returned to drive for Team Penske in the #12 Penske Truck Rental Dodge Avenger. Hornish would first attempt to qualify at both the Sam's Town 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the Sharpie Mini 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway, in each race Hornish would fail to qualify. Hornish would qualify for his first race of the season at the O'Reilly 300 at Texas Motor Speedway. Hornish would start in 43rd (last) place and would finish in 19th place. Hornish's best finish of the season was a 11th place finish at the Diamond Hill Plywood 200 at Darlington Raceway, where he started in 12th place. At the Carquest Auto Parts 300 at Lowe's Motor Speedway Hornish started in 13th place and led for 8 laps from laps 36 to 43. Hornish would then spin in turn 2 on lap 62. Hornish would then crash on the backstretch on lap 68 after completing 66 laps. Hornish would finish in 39th place. Hornish's best start of the season was an 8th place start at the Zippo 200 at the Glen at Watkins Glen International. In the race Hornish was involved in a crash with Antonio Perez on lap 42 and would finish in 36th place with 40 laps complete. Hornish would finish 51st in the final point standings with 799 points.

In 2010 Hornish only competed in the season-ending Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Hornish would drive for Brian Keselowski Motorsports in conjunction with Team Penske in the #26 Alliance Truck Parts Dodge Avenger. Hornish would start in 12th place and finish in 21st place. Hornish would finish 114th in the final point standings with 100 points.

Following the 2010 season Hornish's sponsor Mobil 1 left Team Penske to sponsor Tony Stewart at Stewart-Haas Racing. Penske would move Hornish to the NASCAR Nationwide Series for a part-time season in the #12 Alliance Truck Parts Dodge Avenger, with additional sponsorship from 392 Dodge Challenger, PPG and Avis. At the season-opening DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona International Speedway Hornish started in 17th place and was involved in a crash with Todd Bodine (who continued) on lap 57 and would finish in 36th place with 53 laps complete. At the Bubba Burger 250 at Richmond International Raceway Hornish started in 2nd place and finished in 7th place. Hornish would also start in 2nd place at the Alliance Truck Parts 250 at Michigan International Speedway and would finish in 24th place, two laps down, due to a crash with Justin Allgaier on lap 57 (both continued). At the U.S. Cellular 250 Presented by the Enlist Weed Control System at Iowa Speedway Hornish drove Penske's #22 Discount Tire Dodge Charger. Hornish started in 3rd place and took the lead on lap 13 and led through lap 51. Hornish would later drop five laps down and would finish in 24th place. Hornish would then get a 5th place finish at the next race, the Dollar General 300 Powered by Coca-Cola at Chicagoland Speedway. At the WYPALL* 200 Powered by Kimberly-Clark Professional at Phoenix International Raceway Hornish started in 5th place and led for the final 61 laps of the race after passing Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., who lead a race-high 73 laps, for the lead. Hornish would go on to win the race. The win would be Hornish's first win in a points-paying NASCAR race (Hornish had previously won the non-points paying race, the Sprint Showdown at Loe's Motor Speedway in 2009). Phoenix International Raceway was also where Hornish had won his first Verizon Indy Car Series race in 2001. Hornish would also be the first driver to win a race on the track's new configuration. At the season-ending Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway Hornish started in 13th place and finished in 7th place. Hornish would finish 23rd in the final point standings with 411 points, despite only starting 13 races (although several drivers who would have scored more points than Hornish were only eligible to score points towards either the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series or the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series).

Hornish competing in the 2012 Sargento 200 at Road America.

Hornish began to compete in the series for a full-time season in 2012 in the #12 Alliance Truck Parts Dodge Avenger for Team Penske, with additional sponsorship from Würth, Detroit Genuine Parts, PPG Envirobase High Performance and Avis Rent a Car System. At the season-opening DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona International Speedway Hornish started in 6th place. In the race Hornish led for 7 laps only to get involed in a large crash with several cars, often called "big ones" in NASCAR, on lap 115. Hornish would finish in 20th place, one lap down. Following the race Hornish was ranked 9th in points due to several drivers who finished ahead of Hornish being eligible to score points in only either the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series or the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. At the following race, the Bashas' Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix International Raceway, Hornish started and finished in 6th place. Hornish would get his first top 5 finish of the season at the Virginia 529 College Savings 250 at Richmond International Raceway with a 5th place finish. At the Aaron's 312 at Talladega Superspeedway Hornish started in 8th place and led for 2 laps. During the race Hornish avoided a crash by Eric McClure and in the process he made contact with Danica Patrick. Following the race Patrick intentionally made contact with Hornish's car to spin him into the mainstraightaway wall. At the Indiana 250 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the first race for the series at the track, Hornish started in 12th place and led for 7 laps to finish in 2nd place behind teammate Brad Keselowski. At the Zippo 200 at the Glen at Watkins Glen International Hornish qualified on the pole position and led for 15 laps to finish in 3rd place. During the season Hornish was involved in the season championship battle with Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Elliott Sadler and Austin Dillon. At the following race, the NAPA Auto Parts 200 presented by Dodge at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Hornish started and finished in 2nd place. Following the race Hornish became tied for 2nd in points with Stenhouse. Hornish would get another 2nd place finish at the Kentucky 300 at Kentucky Speedway. Hornish would finish out the season with a 4th place finish at the season-ending Ford EcoBoost 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Hornish would finish 4th in points with 1,146 points.

One of Hornish's 2013 cars at the Team Penske facilities.

Hornish returned with Team Penske in 2013 to drive the #12 Alliance Truck Parts Ford Mustang, with additional sponsorship from Detroit Genuine Parts, Würth, Snap-On Tools, Penske Truck Rental, PPG Envirobase High Performance and GoPenske.com. At the season-opening DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona International Speedway Hornish started in 2nd place and in the race tandem drafted (when one car is pushed, or drafts, with another car) with teammate Brad Keselowski (Keselowski would lead 5 laps as a result of doing this practice with Hornish and other drivers). On the final lap of the race Hornish was tandem drafting with Tony Stewart. Stewart would win the race when the tandem drafting cars of Regan Smith and Keselowski collided when the latter crashed into the former when he attempted to make a pass for the lead and win. Stewart would avoid the crash and would win the race while Hornish would become involved in the crash and would crash across the finish line to finish in 2nd place. The accident became notable for Kyle Larson becoming involved in the crash and flipped along the main straightaway catch fence, causing the engine of Larson's car to land in the spectator seating area behind the catch fence. Due to Stewart only being eligible to score point towards the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hornish was the points leader for the series following the Daytona race. At the Sam's Town 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Hornish started in 7th place and led for 114 of 200 laps to win the race. Hornish would then finish in 4th place at the Jeff Foxworthy's Grit Chips 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway and in 2nd place at the Royal Purple 300 at Auto Club Speedway. Horinsh would lose the points lead for the first time during the season following the Aaron's 312 at Talladega Superspeedway where Hornish finished in 25th place due to being involved in a large crash with several cars, or a big one. During the next nine races Hornish's best finish was a 4th place finish at the DuPont Pioneer 250 at Iowa Speedway. Hornish would then qualify on the pole position at the STP 300 at Chicagoland Speedway. In the race Hornish led for 56 laps and finished in 2nd place to teammate Joey Logano. Following the race Hornish briefly reclaimed the points lead. Hornish would then get consecutive 2nd place finishes at the U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway and the Zippo 200 at the Glen at Watkins Glen International, where Hornish qualified on the pole position, and a 3rd place finish at the Nationwide Children's Hospital 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Following the Mid-Ohio race Hornish reclaimed the points lead and would finish in the top 10 in 4 of the next 6 races, with a worst finish of 17th place at the 5-hour Energy 200 at Dover International Speedway. Following the Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway, where Hornish finished in 17th place, Hornish lost the points lead to Austin Dillon. In the final four races of the season Hornish's best finish were consecutive 3rd place finishes at the Dollar General 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and the O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway. Going into the season-ending Ford EcoBoost 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway Hornish was ranked 2nd in points, eight points behind Dillon. Hornish would qualify on the pole position and would lead for 37 laps. In the late stages of the race both Hornish and Dillon began to lose positions due to tires that were getting worn. Hornish would finish in 8th place while Dillon finished in 12th place and won the series championship. Hornish would finish 2nd in the final point standings with 1,177 points. During the season car owner Roger Penske announced that Hornish, who had driven for the team since 2004, would be released from the team due to a lack of sponsorship.

Hornish competing in the 2014 Gardner Denver 200 Fired Up by Johnsonville at Road America.

Hornish competing in the 2014 Gardner Denver 200 Fired Up by Johnsonville at Road America.

In 2014 Hornish began to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing in the #54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry for a part-time season. At Hornish's first race of the season, the Aaron's 312 at Talladega Superspeedway, Hornish qualified on the pole position and finished in 5th place. At the following race, the Get To Know Newton 250 at Iowa Speedway, Hornish started in 2nd place and led for 167 laps to win the race. Hornish then drove the #20 Sun Energy 1 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing at the Ollie's Bargain Outlet 250 at Michigan International Speedway, where he started in 13th place and finished in 2nd place. Hornish returned to his primary car at the following race, the Gardner Denver 200 Fired Up by Johnsonville at Road America. Hornish would start in 4th place and would lead for 25 laps. With five laps to go in the race Hornish was running in 3rd place behind eventual winner Brendan Gaughan and Brian Scott, both Scott and Hornish had to make pit stops to have enough fuel to finish the race and Hornish finished in 12th place. At Hornish's next race, the EnjoyIllinois.com 300 at Chicagoland Speedway, Hornish started in 6th place and finished in 36th place due to an engine failure after 7 laps. Hornish then finished in 4th place after starting in 7th place and leading for 65 laps at the U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway. At Hornish's next race, the Nationwide Children's Hospital 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, he qualified on the pole position and led for 12 laps. After 51 laps Hornish's engine failed and Hornish finished in 30th place. At Hornish's following race, the VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 at Kentucky Speedway, he started in 2nd place and was involved in a crash on lap 184 and would finish in 30th place. Hornish is ranked 24th in points (as of October 13, 2014) with 228 points.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

Hornish participating in the 2007 Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

In 2007 Hornish began to compete in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Team Penske in the #06 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger, with additional sponsorship from Penske Truck Rental and Kenwood. Hornish first attempted to qualify at the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, but failed to qualify. Hornish attempted to qualify for 5 of the next 6 races, Hornish failed to qualify in each of them. Hornish qualified for his first race, the Checker Auto Parts 500 presented by Pennzoil at Phoenix International Raceway, starting in 26th place and finishing in 30th place, two laps down. Hornish would also qualify for the following race, the season-ending Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, starting in 29th place. Hornish would crash in turn 3 on lap 194 and would finish in 37th place, thirteen laps down. Hornish would finish 62nd in points with 125 points.

Hornish competing in the 2008 Daytona 500.

In 2008 Hornish began to compete in the #77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger, with additional sponsorship from Penske Truck Rental. Prior to the season car owner Roger Penske swapped the owners points between his #2 and #77 (formerly #06) cars. As a result Hornish would be guaranteed a starting position in each of the first five races of the season due to Kurt Busch finishing in 7th place in both the drivers and owners standings, while Busch, who won the series championship in 2004, would also be guaranteed a starting position due to him being the most recent series champion who was driving a car that was not ranked inside of the top 35 for owners points. At the season-opening Daytona 500 Hornish qualified in 19th place after finishing in 9th place in the Gatorade Duel qualifying race. In the race Hornish ran in the top 5 while the race was being run in daylight, Hornish said in reference to the race beginning to transition into nighttime, "I wish they would have started the race about two hours sooner, so it still could have been sunny out. If the sun had never gone down, we would have had a better chance. Once the sun goes down, everybody starts getting more and more evenly matched up, because there's not all that worry about the tires sliding around so much because of the heat." After the race transitioned into nighttime Hornish began to drop back in the field and would finish in 15th place while teammates Ryan Newman and Busch won the race and finished in 2nd place. Penske said about Hornish's performance, "It is nice to see Sam display some of his racing talent in the biggest race in NASCAR." At the second race of the season, the Auto Club 500 at Auto Club Speedway the race's starting lineup was determined by the 2007 owners standings. As a result Hornish started in 7th place. On lap 22 Casey Mears crashed into Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Hornish would become involved in the crash, causing the hood of Hornish's car to come up, Hornish would then collide with Reed Sorenson and would drive into Mears' car. Mears' car would flip 270 degrees and Hornish's car caught on fire. Hornish would finish in 43rd place. For the majority of the season Hornish struggled to keep the #77 Team Penske entry in the top 35 in owners points due to a series of poor finishes. Excluding Daytona Hornish's best finish in the first ten races of the season was a 20th place finish at the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. At the Sprint Showdown at Lowe's Motor Speedway Hornish started in 8th place and finished in 2nd place. Hornish would qualify for Sprint All-Star Race XXIV and would start in 23rd place out of 24 cars. Hornish would finish in 7th place. Hornish would then get his best finish of the season at the 2008 Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, with a 13th place finish. Late in the season the #77 Team Penske entry dropped out of the top 35 in owners points. Hornish would fail to qualify at both the AMP Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway and the season-ending Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The car would finish 38th in owners points and would not be guaranteed a starting position in the first five races of 2009. Hornish would finish 35th in drivers points with 2,523 points. Hornish would finish 2nd in the rookie of the year standings after a season-long battle with Regan Smith.

For 2009 Hornish returned with Team Penske to drive the #77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger, with additional sponsorship from AAA, Penske Truck Rental, PPG and Custom Sounds. Following the 2008 season the #77 Team Penske entry was ranked 38th in owners points, behind the #47 JTG Daugherty Racing and the #10 Gillett Everenham Motorsports entry (which became the #44 Richard Petty Motorsports entry). Several teams that were in the top 35 shut down or were only going to compete in a part-time season, forfeiting the guaranteed starting position (this included the #44 Richard Petty Motorsports entry). Penske would purchase the owners points from Bill Davis Racing and their #22 entry. At the season-opening Daytona 500 Hornish started in 29th place and would finish in 32nd place, one lap down. At the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway Hornish finished in 9th place in what would be Hornish's first top 10. Two races later at the Crown Royal presents the Russ Friedman 400 at Richmond International Raceway Hornish finished in 6th place. At the Sprint Showdown at Lowe's Motor Speedway Hornish won the race after leading for 15 laps and starting in 8th place. This would cause Hornish to qualify for Sprint All-Star Race XXV. In the race Hornish started in 19th place and finished in 16th place. Hornish was ranked as high as 23rd in points. This rank was following a 10th place finish at the Pocono 500 at Pocono Raceway. Hornish would then get an 8th place finish at the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. At the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway Hornish started in 29th place and finished in 4th place. On lap 64 of the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen at Watkins Glen International Kasey Kahne made contact with Hornish causing Hornish to hit the wall and spin across the track and into the path of both Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton. At the following race, the Carfax 400 at Michigan International Speedway, Hornish finished in 5th place after starting in 14th place. At the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway Hornish finished in 8th place. This result would be Hornish's final top 10 finish of the season. Hornish would finish 28th in the final standings with 3,203 points.

In 2010 Hornish returned with Team Penske to drive the #77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger, with additional sponsorship from AAA, Penske Truck Rental, GoPenske.com, PPG and Olympic Paints. At the season-opening Daytona 500 Hornish qualified in 10th place and would start in 36th place after finishing in 26th place in his Gatorade Duel qualifying race. Hornish would have to move to the rear of the field because he had made a pit stop before the race had started. On lap 9 Hornish was involved in a crash with teammate Brad Keselowski, Max Papis, Boris Said, Mike Bliss and Regan Smith. Hornish would return to the race and would finish in 37th place with 160 of 208 laps complete. At the following race, the Auto Club 500 at Auto Club Speedway, Hornish started in 8th place and finished in 16th place. At the Subway Fresh Fit 600 at Phoenix International Raceway Hornish started in 3rd place and finished in 18th place. At the following race, the Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, Hornish started in 2nd place and finished in 19th place, one lap down. At the Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500 Presented by Target at Pocono Raceway Hornish started in 19th place and led for 16 laps. Hornish would finish in 11th place. At the Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway Hornish started in 30th place due to the race's starting linup being determined by owners points going into the race. In the race Hornish led for 14 laps. On lap 149 Hornish was involved in a large crash, or the big one. On lap 160 Hornish, who remained on the lead lap despite being involved in the lap 149 crash, was involved in a crash with teammate Kurt Busch, who also was involved in the lap 149 crash, and Elliot Sadler. Hornish would retire from the race and would finish in 21st place. Hornish would get his best start of the season at the LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway with a 5th place finish. In the race Hornish finished in 24th place. Hornish got his only top 10 finish of the season with a 10th place finish at the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Hornish would finish 29th in points with 3,214 points. During the season Mobil 1 left both Hornish and Team Penske to sponsor Tony Stewart and Stewart-Haas Racing.

In 2011 Team Penske sold the owners points of their #77 entry to Rusty Wallace Racing, to be driven by car owner Rusty Wallace's son and team driver Steve Wallace at the season-opening Daytona 500. Hornish would only compete at the 5-hour Energy 500 at Pocono Raceway in the #38 Long John Silver's Ford Fusion for Front Row Motorsports. The car's regular driver Travis Kvapil chose to compete NASCAR Camping World Truck Series WinStar World Casino & Resort 400K at Texas Motor Speedway. Hornish would start in 26th place and finish in 35th place, sixty laps down. In 2011 Hornish chose to be eligible to score points only in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Hornish would finish 70th in points with no points.

Hornish returned to the series in 2012 in the #12 SKF Dodge Charger for Team Penske at the STP 400 at Kansas Speedway and the Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. At Kansas Hornish started in 10th place. In the race Hornish led for 7 laps and finised in 19th place, one lap down. Allmendinger qualified the car in 8th place and due to the driver change Hornish had to move to the rear of the field. On lap 82 Hornish crashed on the backstraightaway. Hornish would finish in 33rd place, eleven laps down. Hornish would drive the car at all remaining races, with additional sponsorship from AAA and SKF. Hornish's best finish of the season was a 5th place finish at the Finger Lakes 355 at The Glen at Watkins Glen International. During the sequence of final pit stops Hornish began to race in the top 5, before Marcos Ambrose, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch. At the following race, the Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway, Hornish started in 17th place and led for 9 laps and would fnish in 12th place. Hornish's second-best finish of the season was a trio of 11th place finishes at the AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway and the GEICO 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. Hornish's best start of the season was a 4th place start at the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway, where h would finish in 25th place, seven laps down. At Talladega (the second race where Hornish was originaly scheduled to drive the #12 car), Hornish was bump drafting with Tony Stewart on the final lap of the race. Stewrt was then battling for the lad with Michael Waltrip, who was drafting with Casey Mears, and the two made contact causing the majority of the cars that were competing in the lead pack to get involved in the crash, known as a big one. Hornish would finish in 24th place. Hornish was only eligible to score points towards the NASCAR Nationwide Series and would officially finish 60th in points with no points.

Hornish returned to the series in 2013 to drive the #12 SKF Ford Fusion for Team Penske at the STP 400 at Kansas Speedway and the Camping World RV Sales 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. At Kansas Hornish started in 4th place and ran as high as 3rd place before crashing on lap 183 due to winds. Marcos Ambrose, Danica Patrick, Casey Mears and David Gilliland would also be involved in the crash (each of them would continue, although Mears would later retire from the race due to crash damage). At Talladega qualifying was cancelled due to rain and Hornish failed o qualify for the race due to a lack of attempts (Kansas was thye only race that eith Hornish or the #12 Team Penske entry had attempted to qualify for during the season). Hornish elected to score points in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and would tie with other drivers who were ineligible to score points towards the championship in 53rd place.

In 2014 Hornish would drive at the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway in the #11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing due to regular driver Denny Hamlin being unfit to race due to a sinus infection negatively affecting his vision. Hornish was already at the track due t him being a potential relief driver for Matt Kenseth in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Treatmyclot.com 300. Hornish had to move to the rear of the field after Hamlin had qualified the car in 13th place. In the race Hornish ran as high as 10th place before partially spinning late in the race. Hornish would continue and no caution was displayed. Hornish finished in 17th place. Hornish declared to score points towards the NASCAR Nationwide Series and is ranked 57th in points with no points.

For 2015 Hornish was announced as the driver of the #9 Twisted Tea Ford Fusion for Richard Petty Motorsports. The will need to aquire additional sponsorship due to Twisted Tea only being the car for a partial schedule. Hornish will replace Marcos Ambrose, who will return to driving V8 Supercars for DJR Team Penske.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

In 2008 Hornish drove in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for Bobby Hamilton Racing in the #4 Penske Truck Rental Dodge Ram. Hornish only competed at the Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway. In the race Hornish started in 16th place and finished in 9th place. Hornish would finish 74th in points with 138 points.

Personal life

Hornish with his daughter Addison at Road America in 2014

Hornish is a 1998 graduate of Archbold High School in Archbold, Ohio, and now resides in Napoleon.

On February 4, 2008, Sam and his wife Crystal welcomed their first child, Addison Faith Hornish, into the world. Baby Addison weighed 7 lb (3.2 kg). 2oz. and measured 18 inches (460 mm). Hornish finished 15th in his first Daytona 500 just a couple of weeks after. Sam and Crystal welcomed their second child, Eliza Jo, on December 28, 2010. Baby Eliza weighed 7 lb (3.2 kg). 15 oz and measured 20.5 inches (520 mm). Hornish's third child; this time a son, named Samuel Hornish III, was born in January 2014.

Motorsport career results

American open-wheel racing results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Atlantic Championship

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Rank	Points
1999	Michael Shank Racing	Swift 008.a	Toyota 4A-GE	LBH 8	NAZ 18	GAT 4	MIL 8	MTL 12	ROA 9	TRR 19	MDO 7	CHI 1	VAN 10	LS 6	HOU 10	7th	67

Verizon IndyCar Series

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Rank	Points
2000	PDM Racing	G-Force GF05	Oldsmobile Aurora Indy V8	WDW 20	PHX Ret	LSV 3	INDY DNQ		PPIR Ret	ATL	KTY 9	TX2 Ret									21st	110
		Dallara IR00					INDY Ret	TXS Ret
2001	Panther Racing	Dallara IR01	Oldsmobile Aurora Indy V8	PHX 1	HMS 1	ATL 4	INDY 14	TXS 3	PPIR 2	RIR 2	KAN 2	NSH 6	KTY 3	STL 3	CHI 2	TX2 1					1st	503
2002	Panther Racing	Dallara IR02	Chevrolet V8	HMS 1	PHX 3	CAL 1	NZR 17	INDY 25	TXS Ret	PPIR 3	RIR 1	KAN 2	NSH 3	MIS 7	KTY 2	STL 5	CHI 1	TX2 1			1st	531
2003	Panther Racing	Dallara IR03	Chevrolet V8	HMS 10	PHX Ret	JPN 6	INDY Ret	TXS 10	PPIR 5	RIR 4	KAN Ret	NSH 11	MIS 2	STL 6	KTY 1	NZR 2	CHI 1	CAL 1	TX2 Ret		5th	461
2004	Marlboro Team Penske	Dallara IR03	Toyota Indy V8	HMS 1	PHX 15	JPN Ret	INDY Ret	TXS 4	RIR 11	KAN 8	NSH 2	MIL 3	MIS 4	KTY 14	PPIR Ret	NZR 11	CHI 6	CAL 4	TX2 Ret		7th	387
2005	Marlboro Team Penske	Dallara IR05	Toyota Indy V8	HMS 2	PHX 1	STP Ret	JPN 7	INDY Ret	TXS 2	RIR Ret	KAN 12	NSH 2	MIL 1	MIS 5	KTY 7	PPIR 2	SNM 17	CHI 3	WGL 7	CAL 5	3rd	512
2006	Marlboro Team Penske	Dallara IR05	Ilmor-Honda Indy V8 HI4R	HMS 3	STP 8	JPN 4	INDY 1	WGL 12	TXS 4	RIR 1	KAN 1	NSH Ret	MIL 2	MIS Ret	KTY 1	SNM 9	CHI 3				1st	475
2007	Team Penske	Dallara IR07	Ilmor-Honda Indy V8 HI7R	HMS 3	STP 7	JPN 5	KAN 6	INDY 4	MIL 9	TXS 1	IOW Ret	RIR 15	WGL 2	NSH 4	MDO 14	MIS Ret	KTY Ret	SNM 5	DET 12	CHI 3	5th	465

Years	Teams	Races	Poles	Wins	Podiums (Non-win)	Top 10s (Non-podium)	Indianapolis 500 Wins	Championships
8	3	116	12	19	27	32	1 (2006)	3 (2001, 2002, 2006)

Indianapolis 500

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish	Team
2000	Dallara IR00	Oldsmobile Aurora Indy V8	14	24	PDM Racing
2001	Dallara IR01	Oldsmobile Aurora Indy V8	13	14	Panther Racing
2002	Dallara IR02	Chevrolet V8	7	25	Panther Racing
2003	Dallara IR03	Chevrolet V8	18	15	Panther Racing
2004	Dallara IR03	Toyota Indy V8	11	26	Marlboro Team Penske
2005	Dallara IR05	Toyota Indy V8	2	23	Marlboro Team Penske
2006	Dallara IR07	Ilmor-Honda Indy V8 HI4R	1	1	Marlboro Team Penske
2007	Dallara IR07	Ilmor-Honda Indy V8 HI7R	5	4	Team Penske

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings. * – Most laps led.)

NASCAR Nationwide Series

NASCAR Nationwide Series results
Year	Team	#	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	NNWC	Points
2006	Team Penske	39	Dodge Charger	DAY	CAL	MXC	LVS	ATL	BRI	TEX	NSH	PHO	TAL	RCH	DAR	CLT	DOV	NSH	KEN	MLW	DAY	CHI	NHA	MAR	GTY	IRP	GLN	MCH	BRI	CAL	RCH	DOV	KAN	CLT	MEM	TEX	PHO 36	HOM 43	117th	89
2007	Team Penske	12	Dodge Charger	DAY 31	CAL 35	MXC	LVS	ATL 15	BRI	NSH 25	TEX	PHO	TAL	RCH 43	DAR	CLT	DOV	NSH	KEN	MLW	NHA	DAY	CHI	GTY	IRP	CGV	GLN	MCH 25	BRI	CAL	RCH	DOV	KAN	CLT	MEM	TEX 31	PHO 39	HOM 38	68th	551
2008	Team Penske	12	Dodge Avenger	DAY	CAL	LVS DNQ	ATL	BRI DNQ	NSH	TEX 19	PHO	MXC 13	TAL	RCH 15	DAR 11	CLT 39	DOV 23	NSH	KEN	MLW	NHA	DAY	CHI	GTY	IRP	CGV	GLN 36	MCH	BRI 14	CAL	RCH	DOV	KAN	CLT	MEM	TEX	PHO	HOM	51st	799
2010	Brian Keselowski Motorsports	26	Dodge Avenger	DAY	CAL	LVS	BRI	NSH	PHO	TEX	TAL	RCH	DAR	DOV	CLT	NSH	KEN	ROA	NHA	DAY	CHI	GTY	IRP	IOW	GLN	MCH	BRI	CGV	ATL	RCH	DOV	KAN	CAL	CLT	GTY	TEX	PHO	HOM 26	114th	100
2011	Team Penske	12	Dodge Avenger	DAY 36	PHO	LVS	BRI	CAL	TEX 16	TAL 13	NSH	RCH 7	DAR	DOV	IOW	CLT 12	CHI	MCH 24	ROA	DAY	KEN	NHA	NSH 6	IRP							CHI 5	DOV	KAN	CLT 12	TEX 7	PHO 1	HOM 7		23rd	411
		22																							IOW 24	GLN	CGV	BRI	ATL	RCH
2012	Team Penske	12	Dodge Avenger	DAY 20	PHO 6	LVS 9	BRI 13	CAL 13	TEX 11	RCH 5	TAL 12	DAR 4	IOW 12	CLT 9	DOV 13	MCH 6	ROA 5	KEN 6	DAY 10	NHA 4	CHI 8	IND 2	IOW 3	GLN 3	CGV 2	BRI 10	ATL 9	RCH 30	CHI 6	KEN 2	DOV 18	CLT 35	KAN 9	TEX 7	PHO 14	HOM 4			4th	1146
2013	Team Penske	12	Ford Mustang	DAY 2	PHO 7	LVS 1*	BRI 4	CAL 2	TEX 34	RCH 7	TAL 25	DAR 8	CLT 12	DOV 7	IOW 4	MCH 32	ROA 5	KEN 9	DAY 7*	NHA 7	CHI 2	IND 34	IOW 2	GLN 2	MOH 3	BRI 12	ATL 3	RCH 6	CHI 3	KEN 4	DOV 17	KAN 17	CLT 3*	TEX 3	PHO 5	HOM 8			2nd	1177
2014	Joe Gibbs Racing	54	Toyota Camry	DAY	PHO	LVS	BRI	CAL	TEX	DAR	RCH	TAL 5	IOW 1*	CLT	DOV		ROA 12*	KEN	DAY	NHA	CHI 36	IND	IOW 4	GLN	MOH 30	BRI	ATL	RCH	CHI	KEN 30	DOV	KAN	CLT	TEX	PHO	HOM			24th*	228*
		20														MCH 2

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series results
Year	Team	#	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	NSCC	Points
2007	Team Penske	06	Dodge Charger	DAY	CAL	LVS	ATL	BRI	MAR	TEX	PHO	TAL	RCH	DAR	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	NHA	DAY	CHI	IND	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI	CAL	RCH	NHA DNQ	DOV DNQ	KAN	TAL DNQ	CLT DNQ	MAR DNQ	ATL DNQ	TEX	PHO 30	HOM 37	62nd	125
2008	Team Penske	77	Dodge Charger	DAY 15	CAL 43	LVS 41	ATL 25	BRI 29	MAR 28	TEX 32	PHO 20	TAL 35	RCH 23	DAR 38	CLT 13	DOV 18	POC 42	MCH 22	SON 31	NHA 39	DAY 29	CHI 37	IND 21	POC 26	GLN 32	MCH 22	BRI 37	CAL 31	RCH 38	NHA 30	DOV 42	KAN 33	TAL DNQ	CLT 22	MAR 34	ATL 24	TEX 23	PHO 33	HOM DNQ	35th	2523
2009	Team Penske	77	Dodge Charger	DAY 32	CAL 23	LVS 16	ATL 37	BRI 31	MAR 34	TEX 17	PHO 9	TAL 34	RCH 6	DAR 30	CLT 16	DOV 13	POC 10	MCH 29	SON 38	NHA 8	DAY 32	CHI 38	IND 37	POC 4	GLN 35	MCH 5	BRI 35	ATL 35	RCH 8	NHA 37	DOV 26	KAN 18	CAL 12	CLT 40	MAR 36	TAL 40	TEX 40	PHO 17	HOM 21	28th	3203
2010	Team Penske	77	Dodge Charger	DAY 37	CAL 16	LVS 28	ATL 28	BRI 32	MAR 13	PHO 18	TEX 19	TAL 24	RCH 36	DAR 31	DOV 34	CLT 17	POC 11	MCH 26	SON 36	NHA 23	DAY 21	CHI 24	IND 30	POC 11	GLN 14	MCH 32	BRI 25	ATL 30	RCH 28	NHA 10	DOV 36	KAN 36	CAL 15	CLT 40	MAR 25	TAL 15	TEX 18	PHO 32	HOM 24	29th	3214
2011	Front Row Motorsports	38	Ford Fusion	DAY	PHO	LVS	BRI	CAL	MAR	TEX	TAL	RCH	DAR	DOV	CLT	KAN	POC 35	MCH	SON	DAY	KEN	NHA	IND	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI	ATL	RCH	CHI	NHA	DOV	KAN	CLT	TAL	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM	70th	01
2012	Team Penske	12	Dodge Charger	DAY	PHO	LVS	BRI	CAL	MAR	TEX	KAN 19	RCH	TAL	DAR	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	KEN																				59th	01
		22																			DAY 33	NHA 22	IND 16	POC 19	GLN 5	MCH 12	BRI 34	ATL 11	RCH 11	CHI 11	NHA 21	DOV 25	TAL 24	CLT 15	KAN 26	MAR 13	TEX 17	PHO 31	HOM 22
2013	Team Penske	12	Ford Fusion	DAY	PHO	LVS	BRI	CAL	MAR	TEX	KAN 37	RCH	TAL	DAR	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	KEN	DAY	NHA	IND	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI	ATL	RCH	CHI	NHA	DOV	KAN	CLT	TAL DNQ	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM	72nd	01
2014	Joe Gibbs Racing	11	Toyota Camry	DAY	PHO	LVS	BRI	CAL 17	MAR	TEX	DAR	RCH	TAL	KAN	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	KEN	DAY	NHA	IND	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI	ATL	RCH	CHI	NHA	DOV	KAN	CLT	TAL	MAR	TEX	PHO	HOM	57th*	0*1

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results
Season	Team	#	Truck	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	NCTC	Points
2008	Bobby Hamilton Racing	4	Dodge Ram	DAY	CAL	ATL	MAR	KAN	CLT	MFD	DOV	TEX	MCH	MLW	MEM	KEN	IRP	NSH	BRI	GTW	NHA	LVS	TAL	MAR 9	ATL	TEX	PHO	HOM	74th	138

^* Season in progress
¹ Ineligible for series points

Rolex 24 at Daytona

(key)

Rolex 24 at Daytona results
Year	Class	#	Team	Car	Co-drivers	Laps	Position	Class Position
1999	CA	28	Intersport Racing	Lola B98/10-Ford V6	Jon Field Ryan Jones Mike Shank	399	42 DNF	14 DNF
2007	DP	60	Michael Shank Racing	Riley MkXI-Ford 5.0L V8	Mark Patterson Oswaldo Negri, Jr. Hélio Castroneves	628	9	9

International Race of Champions

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

International Race of Champions results
Season	Series	Car	1	2	3	4	Pos.	Points
2002	Indy Racing League	Pontiac Firebird Trans Am	DAY 2	CAL 11	CHI 6	IND 10	11th	35
2003	Indy Racing League	Pontiac Firebird Trans Am	DAY 8	TAL 4	CHI 8	IND 11	8th	30
2006	IndyCar Series	Pontiac Firebird Trans Am	DAY 2	TEX 12	DAY 5	ATL 9	8th	36

External links

• Official website
• Sam Hornish Jr. driver statistics at Racing-Reference