Sam Hornish Jr. became the latest NASCAR driver to make his victory lane debut in the qualifier for the Sprint All-Star Race.
Hornish, a three-time Indy Racing League champion and 2006 Indianapolis 500 winner, passed Penske Racing teammate David Stremme on Lap 26 of 40 and held off Jamie McMurray to win the NASCAR Sprint Showdown. USA Today
“I wish we didn’t have to race our way in again, but it feels good,” said Hornish, who notched the first top 10 of his NASCAR career at Phoenix last month and added another three weeks ago in Richmond.
“I was really happy how everything worked out for us. I love coming here and running at Lowe’s. It’s been a real fun track for me ever since we came and ran the All-Star Race last year.”
“It’s embarrassing when you don’t get to be in the All-Star race,” McMurray said. “Tonight when I was in my bus getting ready, I was just like ‘God, I just don’t want to go home early tonight. I just want to get to race.’ It’s a really big deal to be able to race in this.
“But honestly, in my opinion, if you don’t win a race I don’t think you should get to be in the All-Star race. I think it should be about winners, and if you don’t win a race over the last year, I think they should just give the other guys the weekend off.”
Joey Logano was the third driver to advance into the race in the slot reserved for a driver voted into the All-Star race by fans. The Associated Press
“There are a lot of big names in that race. To have a lot more fans vote for me is neat,” Logano said. “The Sprint Fan Vote is one of the coolest things here. It’s awesome. I can’t thank the fans enough. I can’t believe a rookie coming into this series can get the fan support like that, and I’m so thankful right now.”
David Reutimann claimed fourth place in the Showdown.
The two Penske cars and McMurray’s Ford were among the cars that remained on the track during the break between the two 20-lap segments, while approximately half the field came to pit road for new tires and fuel. Stremme and Hornish led the field to the restart for the second segment, and the call to stay on the track proved to be the winning move. NASCAR.com
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