There’s been a recent plethora of firsts in the racing life of Sam Hornish Jr., but they’ve been somewhat overlooked because none include first place.
But first things first.
The Defiance native, who resides in Napoleon, has been anything but second rate over the past five races in his second year on the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit. He has had two top 10 finishes in the past four races, a career-best sixth at Richmond a few weeks ago and a ninth at Phoenix on April 18.
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Last season, Hornish had no top 10 finishes. His best result was 13th in the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, which will be the scene of the Sprint Cup All-Star race.
Recently, Hornish was 30th in the Sprint Cup point standings, his highest ranking over the past two seasons.
He led his first laps of the season at Talladega, showing the way for a total of three laps. He qualified fourth in two of his past four races, including Darlington and Talladega. It was the first time Hornish had qualified as high as fourth during the past two seasons. His best previous start was seventh on two occasions last year.
Hornish’s average starting position over the first six races was 28.3. During the past five races it has been 16.6. His average finish over the first six races was 28.83, but that dipped to 19.2, despite a spin and crash at Darlington on May 9. That relegated him to a 30th place finish and dropped him to 31st in the points.
“I feel I’ve stepped up, and my team and everyone else in the organization has stepped up also. The big thing is knowing what is needed and what I can do to make myself better and the team better after a year of learning. All three Penske racing teams are working better together and we’re putting pressure on each other and trying to get closer on car setups every week.”
Well then, Sam, when can we look forward to that first Sprint Cup victory?
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“That’s still a little ways down the road. First, you have to get in the top 20s in points, then the top 10s before you can think about winning. There are times when you can luck into a victory, but it will probably be another 15 or 20 races before I can say we have the ability to win a particular race.
“A good driver has to have confidence and I’m a bit more confident in that I’m learning. I can definitely say I’m having more fun.”
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