By Eric Powell
allstate400atthebrickyard.com
Thursday, July 24, 2008
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been part of the fabric of Sam Hornish Jr.'s life since before he was born - literally.
Hornish's mother, Jo Ellen, was eight months pregnant with Sam when she attended the 1979 Indianapolis 500. The noise of the IndyCars already was seeping into Sam's blood.
But the 2.5-mile oval will feel unfamiliar in many ways to Hornish when he returns July 25-27 for the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, even though he has attended races here as a fan and driven in eight Indianapolis 500-Mile Races, including fulfilling a lifetime dream by winning the "500" in 2006.
Hornish made a bold career decision at the end of 2007 to move from the 1,500-pound, agile open-wheel cars of the IndyCar Series to the 3,400-pound cars of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He made the move with Penske Racing, for which he raced in IndyCars from 2004-07, and now drives the No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge in Sprint Cup competition.
There isn't much basis for comparison between the two cars, so Hornish must learn a completely new racing line, new handling characteristics and more when he takes to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first Sprint Cup Series practice of Allstate 400 at the Brickyard weekend at 2 p.m. on Friday, July 25.
"I hope that it (relearning the track) goes pretty quickly because any time you have a problem at Indianapolis it usually tends to be a pretty big one," Hornish said. "A little bit of it is just going to be getting acclimated for a couple of laps, building it up to speed, getting braking points down and how much you are trail-braking into the corners. So throughout all of the sessions I think I am still going to continue to learn. The track changes so much that there is going to be a lot going on. Indianapolis is all about your adaptability."
Indianapolis has played host to 92 editions of the Indianapolis 500, as it is the spiritual home of open-wheel racing. Competing at IMS in a stock car doesn't change the meaning of "Indy" to Hornish.
"Being on the grid at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was always a special thing for me," he said. "Having the opportunity to be one of only a handful of drivers who have run both the Indy 500 and the Brickyard 400, I am really looking forward to that."
Hornish can join an elite club of only 11 drivers to date who have driven in both the Indianapolis 500 and Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. Though Hornish has had a rookie season that, by his standards, is disappointing so far (he's 33rd in points), he knows fellow Indianapolis 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya finished second at IMS last year as a Sprint Cup rookie after struggling much of the season on ovals.
"I really wish I had an opportunity to go and test, but we obviously didn't get that," Hornish said. "I think that anytime you can watch someone who has a similar background (like Montoya), as far as things that they have done, to see them come over and have that kind of success, keeps you very optimistic about what your opportunities might be."
If Hornish can have a breakout race and win the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, he will become the first driver to win that race and the Indianapolis 500. He'll also be the first NASCAR driver who kisses the Yard of Bricks, at the start/finish line, for the second time without having won a previous stock car race.
Retired Sprint Cup driver Dale Jarrett who started the "kissing the bricks" tradition, after he won the 1996 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. Since then, every "400" winner and most "500" winners, including Hornish in 2006, have followed Jarrett's lead.
"There have been so many traditions that have been started at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and most of them have been in IndyCars," Hornish said. "The kissing the bricks was a pretty cool deal. I just wanted to lay out there forever. I figured they'd come and scrape me up if I didn't get up eventually."
Hornish's victory at the 2006 Indianapolis 500 was the seminal moment in his racing career, an emotional moment not only for Hornish but his entire family. His hometown of Defiance, Ohio, held a parade in his honor.
The finish was also one of the most exciting in "500" history. He was assessed a drive-through penalty on Lap 150 after a problem on a pit stop, lost nearly a lap, but was running second by Lap 198, with two laps to go. Race leader Marco Andretti blocked Hornish with just over a lap to go, halting his momentum, but Hornish still managed to pass Andretti only 100 or so yards north of the finish line, winning by a car length.
"I thought I couldn't have scripted it any better," he said. "It's very memorable for me; I am sure it is for other people. If I would have had the opportunity to lead the last five laps of that race, knowing just how much it meant to me, I probably wouldn't have been able to see. I probably would have run into the wall because I had so many tears in my eyes. It was probably for the best that it turned out because I didn't have time to get nervous."
If Hornish's first, difficult season in Sprint Cup racing were turned around by an unexpected, improbable victory at the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, expect similar emotions in Victory Lane.
***
Tickets: Tickets are on sale for the 2008 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, scheduled for Sunday, July 27 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Fans can order tickets online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com, by calling the IMS ticket office at (317) 492-6700 or (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area, or at the ticket office at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Parking and camping information also can be obtained through the ticket office.
Hours for phone orders and the ticket office are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (ET) Monday-Friday, while online orders can be made at any time.
General admission Race Day access is available for the first time at this event through an IMS General Admission Season Ticket. The season ticket provides gate admission for a combined six days over the two remaining events this season at IMS, the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard and the Red Bull Indianapolis GP, for just $120.
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