Sears Point: Sam Hornish Jr preview

Mobil 1 Team News and Notes of Interest

* Sam Hornish Jr., driver of the Penske Racing No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger, faced a challenging race at Michigan International Speedway last weekend with a 29th-place showing. A small setback on a recent run of impressive finishes, Hornish sits 24th in the 2009 driver point standings just 92 points out of 20th place.

* Hornish and the Mobil 1 team have been preparing for the first road course race of the season with a recent test session at Virginia International Raceway. No stranger to Infineon Raceway, Hornish has a total of four starts across NASCAR and IndyCar Series competition at the venue. In total, he has three top-15 and two top-10 finishes with a career-best finish of 5th at the 1.99-mile road course, all coming in IndyCar Series competition.

* Hornish will celebrate Father's Day at Infineon Raceway this Sunday with his wife, Crystal, and 16-month-old daughter Addison Faith.

Sam Hornish Jr. on Infineon Raceway

"Racing at Infineon Raceway requires a lot of strategy. Fuel mileage plays a vital role in having a successful race as does patience and good race strategy.

"It is very important to take care of your front valance on a road course. You have to be careful with all the curves and be aware that getting your wheels off course can cause damage. Brakes are obviously important in these types of races, as is fuel mileage. There is a fine line between aggressive and smooth driving on a road course. You want to advance but you need to remain on the course to avoid damaging the tires and splitter."

Crew Chief Travis Geisler on Infineon Raceway

"The best cars do not seem to finish up front at Infineon Raceway. The biggest reason for this is fuel strategy. Crew chiefs and engineers will be thinking about what lap to pit the whole week.

"Track position is very important and if you can pit before everyone else without running out of fuel, you usually gain a lot of ground on track. The race is very demanding on driveline and brakes, so being there at the end requires a lot of attention to detail in those areas. I really like the Napa Valley area and the first road course race of the year is a good change of pace from the ovals."

-credit: pr