No. 9 opening piques interest of veteran driver
RELATED: Play NASCAR Fantasy Live | Sign up for RaceView today
SPARTA, Ky. — After losing his full-time NASCAR Nationwide Series ride at the close of last season, Sam Hornish Jr. has gotten used to having time for a more normal family life. And now that he’s spent most weekends at home with his wife, Crystal, two daughters, Addison and Eliza, and son Sam, it will take a lot for a team to convince him to get back on the road for a full season.
“There’s not a ton of availability to be out there to be full time, and I also have three kids, so there’s a part of me that really wants to go full-time racing — and to do it in the (Sprint) Cup Series — and that’s a big part of me,” Hornish said. “But then I realize, the other thing is, as far as a family aspect of it that I’ll miss, it’s gotta be the right thing.”
The right thing, he said, is a team that will put him in a place to win and surround him with good people. Just such a ride has piqued his interest: the one Marcos Ambrose‘s well-timed departure will leave open next season.
Ambrose announced earlier this week that he’ll leave Richard Petty Motorsports to return to the Australian V8 Supercars as a driver for Roger Penske. Team officials for RPM have said they’re still evaluating options for a replacement in his No. 9 Ford. However, Ambrose’s primary sponsor, DeWalt, revealed this week it will move to Joe Gibbs Racing for 2015, leaving future sponsorship in question for the No. 9.
With Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 43 for RPM, making the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup for the first time this season, the team is certainly a strong option for a driver as selective as Hornish. His interest in the ride, he said, shouldn’t be of surprise to anyone.
“I feel like any driver that wants to be full time in the Cup Series or would like a good place to go work at has talked to Richard Petty Motorsports about that opportunity,” he said. “When you look at it, they’ve still said that they’re working on getting all their funding in place. I read the same things that you do. As soon as we found out there was an opportunity, that Marcos might be leaving, you know, ‘Hey, what are you guys thinking about for next year?’ “
Almirola’s performance, in particular, has given Hornish confidence the organization is on the rise and could be a good destination. With nine races remaining, the No. 43 driver has already tied his record number of top-10 finishes in a season with six. He led laps in last week’s Chase opener at Chicagoland before suffering a heartbreaking engine failure that ended their day.
“They’ve shown a lot of progress with the 43 team over the past year. With all of Richard’s success, you would feel like it’s very important for him to move the team forward, to get back to where he expects that it should be at,” Hornish said. “I feel like there’s — on the outside looking in — a lot of good things going on over there.”
As a part-time driver for Joe Gibbs Racing this season, Hornish has one win and four top-fives in seven starts. He’s fattened his schedule with testing for the Sprint Cup Series, TV responsibilities, appearances and time at the Joe Gibbs Racing garage. He’s also found time to simply be a dad, dropping his kids off at school and taking them on family outings.
Since driving nearly a complete schedule since 2008, Hornish hadn’t gotten a taste of that life. When it was announced he would no longer have a full-time Nationwide Series ride last year, he took it in stride. Should he learn he’s without one again, he’ll shake it off again.
“A lot of people might’ve taken things harder or whatever,” he said of getting the news last year. “I’ve just enjoyed the fact of getting a little bit of a new outlook on life and what’s going on around me.”
MORE:
|
|
PLAY: Monitor your Chase Grid Game picks
|
WATCH: Latest
|
FOLLOW LIVE: Get
|
|---|
Chase news
