Samuel Jon Hornish Jr. (born July 2, 1979) is an American semi-retired professional
auto racing
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...
driver. He last competed part-time in the
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
Xfinity Series, driving the No. 22
Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang is a series of American Car, automobiles manufactured by Ford Motor Company, Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its Ford Mustang (seventh ...
for
Team Penske in 2017.
Hornish began his top-tier racing career in the
IndyCar Series
The IndyCar Series, officially known as the NTT IndyCar Series for sponsorship reasons, is the highest class of American open-wheel car racing in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of various sanctioning bodies sinc ...
, 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
The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
and
2002 series championships over the next three seasons. During the
2004 season Hornish began driving for
Team Penske, winning eight more races (including the
2006 Indianapolis 500) 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 (19, broken by
Scott Dixon in
2009
2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
).
Hornish moved to Penske's
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
program part-time in the
Xfinity Series (then known as the Busch Series) during the
2006 season, and began driving part-time in the
Cup Series (then known as the Nextel Cup Series) in
2007
2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year.
Events
January
* January 1
**Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
. 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 (in
2009
2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
). Hornish returned part-time to the Xfinity Series (then known as the Nationwide Series) in
2011
The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
, winning one race. He drove full-time in the series
the following year, finishing fourth in points. In
2012
2012 was designated as:
*International Year of Cooperatives
*International Year of Sustainable Energy for All
Events January
*January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins.
* January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
Hornish replaced
A. J. Allmendinger (suspended by NASCAR for failing a drug test) 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 16 top-five and 24 top-ten finishes to place second in points (three behind series champion
Austin Dillon). Hornish drove part-time for
Joe Gibbs Racing in an eight-race
2014
The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
season, with one win and four top-five finishes. He returned to the Cup Series in
2015
2015 was designated by the United Nations as:
* International Year of Light
* International Year of Soil __TOC__
Events
January
* January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
with
Richard Petty Motorsports, scoring three top-tens and finishing 26th in points. He returned part-time to the Xfinity Series in
2016
2016 was designated as:
* International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly.
* International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
, winning a race for JGR and finishing sixth or better in all three races he entered for
Richard Childress Racing
Richard Childress Racing (RCR) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by Richard C ...
. In
2017
2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly.
Events January
* January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
, he returned to Penske's Xfinity program for a three-race schedule in the No. 22.
Early career
Hornish began racing
go-karts at age 11,
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 (14th in its class) after retiring on lap 400 with a gearbox failure.
In
2007
2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year.
Events
January
* January 1
**Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
, 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
Hélio Castroneves (; born Hélio Alves de Castro Neves; 10 May 1975) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He competes part-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 06 Dallara-Honda for Meyer Shank Racing. He is one of four drivers to have w ...
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
The IndyCar Series, officially known as the NTT IndyCar Series for sponsorship reasons, is the highest class of American open-wheel car racing in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of various sanctioning bodies sinc ...
in
2000
2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year.
Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
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
Walt Disney World Speedway was a racing facility located on the grounds of the Walt Disney World, Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, Florida, Orlando.
It was built in 1995 by IMS Events, Inc., a subsidiary of the Indian ...
, starting in 19th place and finishing in 20th (28 laps behind). In the season's third race, the
Vegas Indy 300 at
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas Motor Speedway (track complex formerly known as Las Vegas Speedway Park from 1993 to 1996, Las Vegas Speedway in 1992, Las Vegas International Speedway from 1990 to 1992, as the Las Vegas International Speedrome from 1972 to 1990) is a ...
, Hornish started 18th and had his first career podium finish (third place, one lap behind). He qualified for his first
Indianapolis 500 in 14th 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 20th at
Kentucky Speedway, he led for a series career-high 38 laps and finished ninth. Hornish ended his season with a 27th- (and last-) place finish at
Texas Motor Speedway, finishing his rookie season with 110 points (21st in the point standings).
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 13th place. He finished 14th, four laps behind after an early spin. He continued to drive well, clinching the championship before the final race of the season (a second-place finish at
Chicagoland Speedway
Chicagoland Speedway is an inactive tri-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Joliet, Illinois. It has hosted various major races throughout its existence, including NASCAR and IndyCar races. The track is currently own ...
). Since the winner of each race receives 50 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
Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...
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
Auto Club Speedway (known as California Speedway before and after the 2008–2023 corporate sponsorship by the Automobile Club of Southern California) was a , D-shaped oval superspeedway in unincorporated San Bernardino County, California, ne ...
, defeating
Jaques Lazier by 0.028 second. At the
Indianapolis 500, he qualified in 7th 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 11 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 18th place; in the race, he retired with a blown engine after completing 195 of the 200 laps. Hornish finished the race in 15th place, dropping to a tie with
Buddy Rice for 12th place in points. At the following race at
Pikes Peak
Pikes Peak is the List of mountain ranges of Colorado#Mountain ranges, highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains in North America. The Ultra-prominent peak, ultra-prominent fourteener is located in Pike National Forest, ...
, he started in 14th place and finished fifth (his first lead-lap finish of the season).
Around this time, Panther Racing and several other teams using the Chevrolet engine built by
General Motors
General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...
(the parent company of Chevrolet) switched to a new engine by
Cosworth
Cosworth is a British automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in high-performance internal combustion engines, powertrain, and electronics for auto racing, automobile racing (motorsport) and mainstream Automotiv ...
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
Auto Club Speedway (known as California Speedway before and after the 2008–2023 corporate sponsorship by the Automobile Club of Southern California) was a , D-shaped oval superspeedway in unincorporated San Bernardino County, California, ne ...
.
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 17th, 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 11th place at the
Indianapolis 500, he battled for the lead with
Buddy Rice and
Dan Wheldon and led for nine laps (the first laps Hornish led in his Indianapolis 500 career). 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.
He 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.

Hornish again returned to Penske in
2006. The team changed manufacturers, joining
Honda
commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...
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 (after leading for all but 38 laps), and he took the points lead after winning the next race at
Kansas
Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
. His fourth and final win of the season was at
Kentucky
Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
, 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.

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 (after starting second and leading for a race-high 90 laps) 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
Hélio Castroneves (; born Hélio Alves de Castro Neves; 10 May 1975) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He competes part-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 06 Dallara-Honda for Meyer Shank Racing. He is one of four drivers to have w ...
the
next season due to Castroneves'
IRS
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...
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.
International Race of Champions

Hornish was invited to compete in the
2002,
2003
2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater.
In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War.
Demographic ...
and
2006 International Race of Champions
International Race of Champions (IROC) was a North American auto racing competition, created by Les Richter, Roger Penske and Mike Phelps, promoted as an American-motorsports equivalent of an all-star game. Despite its name, IROC was primarily ...
(IROC).
His best points finish in the series was eighth, in 2003 and 2006.
NASCAR
2006−2007: Busch Series

Hornish began competing in the
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
Busch Series in the No. 39
Dodge Charger late in the
2006 season for
Penske Racing.
He drove the last two events of the season, struggling in both races. At
Phoenix, Hornish started 27th and finished 36th after a crash on lap 187. In the season-ending race at
Homestead-Miami, he was involved a crash after five laps and finished last.
Hornish returned to the series in
2007
2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year.
Events
January
* January 1
**Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
, driving nine races for Penske in the No. 12.
He had his best start and finish of the season in the
Nicorette 300 at
Atlanta Motor Speedway, starting fifth and finishing fifteenth. Hornish earned another top-ten start (sixth place) at the season-ending race at Homestead-Miami. Despite a good qualifying run, he finished 38th after a crash with
Todd Bodine on lap 114.
In mid-2007, Hornish drove Penske's No. 27
Dodge Charger in an
ARCA Re/Max Series race at
Michigan International Speedway. Starting in the pole position, he led the first 29 laps of the race before being passed by eventual winner
Erik Darnell and finishing second.
After the race, he called the transition to stock cars a "challenge": "I'm a student at this, still trying to learn as much as I can. A lot of people have asked me what the toughest transition is, coming over here from the IndyCars and doing these stock car races, and really it's the fact I don't get much practice time."
At the end of the season Hornish drove in the
Nextel Cup Series for
Penske Racing South in its No. 06
Dodge Charger, failing to qualify for his first six races.
He qualified for the
Checker Auto Parts 500 at
Phoenix, starting in 26th place and finishing 30th (two laps behind). Hornish also qualified for the following race at
Homestead-Miami, starting in 29th place. After crashing in turn three of lap 194 he finished 37th, thirteen laps behind.
2008−2010: Penske Racing
In
2008
2008 was designated as:
*International Year of Languages
*International Year of Planet Earth
*International Year of the Potato
*International Year of Sanitation
The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
, Hornish drove full-time for Penske in its renumbered No. 77 car. Before the season, Penske swapped cars and owners' points with
Kurt Busch; Hornish was guaranteed a starting position in the first five races and Busch, who won the series championship in
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
, would also be guaranteed a starting position as the most recent series champion driving a car outside the top 35 in owners' points. At the season-opening
Daytona 500, Hornish qualified in 19th place; he finished 15th as teammates
Ryan Newman and Busch were first and second, respectively. In the season's second race, the
Auto Club 500 at
Auto Club Speedway
Auto Club Speedway (known as California Speedway before and after the 2008–2023 corporate sponsorship by the Automobile Club of Southern California) was a , D-shaped oval superspeedway in unincorporated San Bernardino County, California, ne ...
, Hornish sustained collateral damage when
Casey Mears
Casey James Mears (born March 12, 1978) is an American professional off-road racing, off-road and stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 66 Ford Mustang, Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Garage 66. He ...
crashed into
Dale Earnhardt Jr. on lap 22. Mears' car flipped 270 degrees, and Hornish's car caught fire. Hornish finished in 43rd place. Although he struggled during his rookie season, he drove well in May at
Lowe's Motor Speedway. In the exhibition
Sprint Showdown at Lowe's, Hornish drove a car that was setup with an angled rear-end housing that was designed to cause air to hit the right side of the car, generate side force, improve grip in the turns, and allow a looser setup. This setup made the car look like it was drifting or
crabwalking on straightaways and was banned following the all-star race. Hornish started eighth and finished second. By finishing in the top two, he qualified for the exhibition
2008 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race and still used the car with the angled rear-end housing, starting 23rd out of 24 cars and finishing seventh. Hornish had his best finish (13th place) of the season at the
Coca-Cola 600, also at Lowe's. Late in the season his Penske team dropped out of the top 35 in owners' points, and Hornish failed to qualify for the
AMP Energy 500 at
Talladega Superspeedway and the season-ending
Ford 400 at
Homestead-Miami Speedway.
He finished 35th in the drivers' standings, with 2,523 points. Hornish was second in the
rookie of the year standings, after a season-long battle with
Regan Smith.
He drove for Penske in the renamed Nationwide Series, failing to qualify for his first two races of the season.
Hornish's best finish of the season was eleventh place in the
Diamond Hill Plywood 200 at
Darlington Raceway, where he started twelfth. In the
Carquest Auto Parts 300 at Lowe's Motor Speedway he led his first laps of the series (eight), but a mid-race accident relegated him to 39th place. Late in the season, Hornish drove one race in the
Craftsman Truck Series (the
Kroger 200 at
Martinsville Speedway) for
Bobby Hamilton Racing in its No. 4
Dodge Ram, starting 16th and finishing ninth.
In the
2009 Sprint Cup season Hornish returned to Penske, now known as Penske Championship Racing.
For the second straight year, his team changed owners' points (purchasing them from
Dave Blaney and
Bill Davis Racing this time) to guarantee him a starting spot in the first five races.
At the season-opening
Daytona 500, Hornish started 29th and finished 32nd (one lap behind). He had his first top-ten finish of the season (ninth place) at Phoenix, followed by six more throughout the year.
Hornish's victory in the
Sprint Showdown at Lowe's Motor Speedway qualified him for the
2009 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, where he started 19th and finished 16th. Later that season, he had two top-five finishes: a career-best fourth at
Pocono and a fifth at
Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
.
At Watkins Glen, Hornish was involved in a very violent crash. Coming off of turn 9, Hornish was racing with
Kasey Kahne where Kasey got loose and got into Hornish causing Hornish to spin. He hit a tire barrier on the left rear of the car and shot him back across the race track spinning like a top where he was then nearly t-boned by
Jeff Gordon which spun Hornish's car even faster and then was hit again in the left front by
Jeff Burton where it nearly sent Hornish on his side. Gordon's impact into Hornish was so vicious, it ripped the whole rear including the fuel cell out of Hornish's car. Fortunately, Hornish, Gordon, and Burton walked out under their own power uninjured. Hornish finished 28th in the final standings, with 3,203 points.
Hornish joined Penske again in
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
. At the season-opening
Daytona 500, Hornish started 26th and was involved in an early accident on the race's ninth lap; he finished 37th, completing 160 of its 208 laps. His qualifying results improved slightly during the rest of the season, with three top-fives.
Hornish's only top-ten finish of the season was tenth place at the
Sylvania 300 at
New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He finished 29th in the standings, with 3,214 points. After the season Hornish's longtime sponsor, Mobil 1, left him and Penske for
Tony Stewart
Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed "Smoke", is an American semi-retired professional auto racing driver, and former NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing. He currently competes in the NHRA Top Fuel class. He is a four-t ...
and
Stewart-Haas Racing. In the
2010 Nationwide Series he drove the season-ending race at Homestead-Miami
for
Brian Keselowski Motorsports (in conjunction with Penske) in its No. 26
Dodge Avenger, starting twelfth and finishing 21st.
2011−2014: Return to Nationwide competition

Before the
2011 season Penske sold the owners' points of its No. 77 car to
Rusty Wallace Racing, to be driven by owner
Rusty Wallace's son (and team driver)
Steve at the season-opening
Daytona 500, for financial reasons. As a result, Penske moved Hornish to the Nationwide Series to drive the team's No. 12 Dodge Charger. He drove the
5-hour Energy 500 at
Pocono Raceway in
Front Row Motorsports' No. 38
Ford Fusion, filling in for
Travis Kvapil (who was driving in a Truck Series event at Texas). Hornish started in 26th place and finished 35th, 60 laps behind.
He drove twelve races with the No. 12 team, moving to Penske's No. 22 for a 13th race at
Iowa Speedway.
At Iowa Hornish started in third place and led from laps 13 through 51, later dropping five laps behind to finish 24th. In the
WYPALL* 200 Powered by Kimberly-Clark Professional at
Phoenix International Raceway, he started in fifth place and led for the race's final 61 laps after passing
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (who led for a race-high 73 laps) for his first career victory in the series.
Hornish returned to the series with Penske for a full-time season in
2012
2012 was designated as:
*International Year of Cooperatives
*International Year of Sustainable Energy for All
Events January
*January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins.
* January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
.
Winless, he had second-place finishes at Indianapolis,
Montréal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
and Kentucky.
After a race at
Talladega Superspeedway,
Danica Patrick intentionally spun Hornish's car into the main straightaway wall after he made contact with her during the race. He finished fourth at the season-ending
Ford EcoBoost 300 at
Homestead-Miami Speedway, and was fourth in points with 1,146.
Hornish returned to the Sprint Cup Series for one race in Penske's No. 12: the
STP 400 at
Kansas Speedway. Starting in 10th place, he led for seven laps and finished 19th (one lap behind). Midway through the season, Hornish replaced
A. J. Allmendinger in Penske's No. 22 car after Allmendinger was suspended by NASCAR for failing a drug test. Allmendinger qualified in eighth place, but due to the driver change Hornish had to move to the rear of the field. He finished 33rd, after a mid-race crash required ten laps of repair time.
Hornish drove the car in the remaining races,
with a season-best fifth place at Watkins Glen. Aside from that race, his best finishes were a trio of eleventh places at Atlanta, Richmond and Chicagoland.
Hornish's best start of the season was fourth at
Dover
Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...
, where he finished 25th (seven laps behind).

He returned to the Nationwide Series full-time for Penske in
2013
2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years).
2013 was designated as:
*International Year of Water Cooperation
*International Year of Quinoa
Events
January
* January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
to drive the No. 12, now a
Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang is a series of American Car, automobiles manufactured by Ford Motor Company, Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its Ford Mustang (seventh ...
after Penske changed manufacturers. Hornish's 2013 season was his best to date, with 16 top-five and 25 top-ten finishes.
At the season-opening
DRIVE4COPD 300 at
Daytona International Speedway, Hornish started and finished second despite his involvement in a serious crash on the final lap. Since race winner
Tony Stewart
Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed "Smoke", is an American semi-retired professional auto racing driver, and former NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing. He currently competes in the NHRA Top Fuel class. He is a four-t ...
was only eligible to score points for the
Sprint Cup Series, Hornish was the series points leader after the Daytona race. At the
Sam's Town 300 at
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas Motor Speedway (track complex formerly known as Las Vegas Speedway Park from 1993 to 1996, Las Vegas Speedway in 1992, Las Vegas International Speedway from 1990 to 1992, as the Las Vegas International Speedrome from 1972 to 1990) is a ...
, he led for 114 laps in his second Nationwide victory. Before the season-ending
Ford EcoBoost 300 at
Homestead-Miami Speedway Hornish was second in points, eight behind
Austin Dillon. Hornish qualified in the pole position and led for 37 laps, finishing eighth; Dillon, who finished twelfth, won the series championship. Hornish was second in the final point standings, with 1,177. During the season, car owner
Roger Penske said that Hornish (who had driven for the team since 2004) would be released due to a lack of sponsorship. Hornish planned to drive Penske's No. 12 in the Sprint Cup Series at Kansas and Talladega. At Kansas he started in fourth place, running as high as third before crashing on lap 183 due to winds.
The qualifier was rained out at Talladega, and Hornish failed to qualify because he had only one other Cup start that season.

In
2014
The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
, he drove for
Joe Gibbs Racing in its No. 54
Toyota Camry for a part-time season.
Hornish drove seven races in the No. 54,
also driving the No. 20 Camry at Michigan (where he finished second). In the No. 54, he started on the pole at
Talladega and
Mid-Ohio
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a road course auto racing facility located in Troy Township, Morrow County, Ohio, United States, just outside the village of Lexington, Ohio, Lexington. It hosts a number of racing series such as IndyCar Series, Indy ...
.
The highlight of Hornish's season was his victory in the
Get To Know Newton 250 at
Iowa Speedway, where he started in second place and led for 167 laps. Despite his limited schedule he finished 27th with 242 points, the highest-ranked driver with less than ten starts. Gibbs tapped Hornish to drive the
Auto Club 400 at
Auto Club Speedway
Auto Club Speedway (known as California Speedway before and after the 2008–2023 corporate sponsorship by the Automobile Club of Southern California) was a , D-shaped oval superspeedway in unincorporated San Bernardino County, California, ne ...
in the No. 11 Camry
when regular driver
Denny Hamlin was sidelined by a severe sinus infection, and he finished 17th.
2015: Richard Petty Motorsports
In
2015
2015 was designated by the United Nations as:
* International Year of Light
* International Year of Soil __TOC__
Events
January
* January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
Hornish returned full-time to the Sprint Cup Series, driving the No. 9
Ford Fusion for
Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM). He replaced
Marcos Ambrose, who returned to racing
V8 Supercars for
DJR Team Penske.
Hornish began the season with a twelfth-place finish at the
Daytona 500, after starting 38th. He struggled after the season opener, finishing 30th or worse in four of the next eight races.
In the
GEICO 500 at
Talladega Superspeedway, Hornish had a season-best sixth-place finish;
after the race,
Kevin Manion replaced
Drew Blickensderfer as his crew chief.
He later finished in the top ten at both road-course races (tenth and ninth at
Sonoma Raceway
Sonoma Raceway (originally known as Sears Point Raceway, Golden State International Raceway and Infineon Technologies, Infineon Raceway) is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the southern Sonoma Mountains of Sonoma County, Cal ...
and
Watkins Glen International, respectively). In the
Coke Zero 400 at Daytona he was involved in a single-car accident on lap 155, driving into the infield at nearly full speed. Hornish's
splitter was pushed under the front of the car; he nearly flipped when the front of the car dug into the grass, and nearly flipped again when he crossed a track access road. He retired from the race, finishing 30th. On November 14, 2015, RPM announced that they did not expect Hornish to return to the team for the
2016 season.
Hornish also drove
Biagi-DenBeste Racing's No. 98 Ford Mustang part-time in the former Nationwide Series, renamed the
Xfinity Series.
In three races with the team he had one lead-lap finish, a 14th place at Texas.
2016–2017: Part-time Xfinity Series schedule
On May 11, 2016, an article posted online by ''
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...
'' appeared to acknowledge that Hornish had retired from racing after being released by Richard Petty Motorsports, saying he "unharnessed himself one last time" and "hung up his helmet at the end of last season." Five days later, however, an article from ''The Crescent-News'' (based in Hornish's birthplace of
Defiance, Ohio) quoted Hornish as saying, "I'm still working on something to race in good equipment. Possibilities still exist for this year, but there were a couple of different opportunities that didn't pan out because somebody else brought money to the table."
On June 8, 2016,
Richard Childress Racing
Richard Childress Racing (RCR) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by Richard C ...
announced plans to add Hornish to their Xfinity Series driver lineup, hiring him to drive the No. 2 Chevrolet Camaro at the July Iowa race and Kentucky.
He also ran the No. 2 at Mid-Ohio. Additionally, Hornish returned to
Joe Gibbs Racing to drive the No. 18 Toyota Camry in place of an injured
Matt Tifft for the June Iowa race, a race he went on to win.
In June 2017, Hornish returned to the Xfinity Series with Penske, driving the No. 22 Mustang at both Iowa races and the Mid-Ohio event. At Mid-Ohio, Hornish won the pole, and proceeded to lead 61 of the 75 laps en route to victory in his home state. Hornish returned to Penske for the fall race at Kentucky, as well as the Charlotte and Homestead playoff races, finishing second in both.
Personal life

Hornish, a 1998 graduate of
Archbold High School in
Archbold, Ohio
Archbold is a village (United States)#Ohio, village in Fulton County, Ohio, United States. The population was 4,516 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located about southwest of Toledo, Ohio, Toledo, Archbold is home to Northwest Stat ...
, lives in
Napoleon, Ohio.
He and his wife, Crystal, have three children: two daughters (Addison and Eliza) and a son, Sam III. His niece, Hope, was a
NASCAR Drive for Diversity member in 2016,
He has helped create a senior center in Defiance, and helped add a heart center at Defiance Medical Center.
During a race weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, Hornish (an avid bowler) promoted a charity bowling event.
His work with Speedway Children’s Charities has raised over $500,000 to benefit
North Texas children.
Hornish collects and customizes classic automobiles; he owns a 1930 Model A Ford, a 1951 Mercury, a 1955 Chevrolet Del Ray, a 1965 Cadillac Coupe de Ville, a 1967 Chevrolet pickup truck and a Corvette ZO6 Indianapolis 500 pace car.
Hornish has also worked as a substitute school teacher while away from the track,
and has also taught
Vacation Bible School.
Media appearances
Hornish's Panther Racing car is on the cover of the 2003 ''
IndyCar Series
The IndyCar Series, officially known as the NTT IndyCar Series for sponsorship reasons, is the highest class of American open-wheel car racing in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of various sanctioning bodies sinc ...
'' video game. As early as 2004, he made frequent guest appearances on the auto-racing call-in show ''
WindTunnel with Dave Despain''. When he won the Indianapolis 500 Hornish appeared on ''
Live! with Regis and Kelly'', and he was a guest on the September 12, 2006 ''
Late Show with David Letterman
''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...
'' after winning the
2006 IndyCar Series championship.
Hornish narrated the American dub of the British children's television series ''
Roary the Racing Car'', replacing former British racing driver
Stirling Moss
Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers to never win the Formula On ...
. He later called the opportunity his "one chance to do something Stirling Moss did."
In 2012 Hornish became co-host of the auto racing news and highlight show, ''
SPEED Center''. Two years later he was a color commentator for the
NBCSN broadcast of the IndyCar
GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma, and was a NASCAR analyst for
Fox Sports 1 throughout the season.
Motorsports career results
American open-wheel racing
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Atlantic Championship
IndyCar Series
Indianapolis 500
NASCAR
(
key) (
Bold – Pole position awarded by time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings. * – Most laps led.)
Sprint Cup Series
=Daytona 500
=
Xfinity Series
Craftsman Truck Series
Season still in progress
Ineligible for series points
ARCA Re/Max Series
(
key) (
Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Rolex 24 at Daytona
(
key)
International Race of Champions
(
key) (
Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hornish, Sam Jr.
Living people
1979 births
Racing drivers from Ohio
24 Hours of Daytona drivers
Indianapolis 500 drivers
Indianapolis 500 polesitters
Indianapolis 500 winners
NASCAR drivers
ARCA Menards Series drivers
International Race of Champions drivers
IndyCar Series champions
IndyCar Series drivers
Atlantic Championship drivers
U.S. F2000 National Championship drivers
Sportspeople from Defiance, Ohio
People from Napoleon, Ohio
PDM Racing drivers
Panther Racing drivers
Team Penske drivers
Joe Gibbs Racing drivers
Meyer Shank Racing drivers
Richard Childress Racing drivers