Hornish: “Now is the time”

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In: Xfinity Series News

Between NASCAR’s three national series and the IndyCar Series, Sam Hornish Jr. has won three times at each of the remaining three tracks on the 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule (Texas, Phoenix, Homestead). Austin Dillon, who Hornish trails by eight points in the championship standings, has yet to win at any of these tracks.

As the series kicks off its final three—-week stretch this Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway with the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2), based on past performances at the remaining tracks it’s easy to believe that Hornish is in the perfect position to launch a late-season surge and overtake Dillon in the points.

In seven visits to the 1.5-mile facility with the series, Hornish’s best finish is a pair of seventh-place showings. He’s also visited the track seven times as part of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, grabbing a pair of 17th-place finishes as his best outcomes. However, Hornish has won three IndyCar Series races at Texas, including his final victory in the series back in 2007.

“I have had a lot of good fortune here in an IndyCar, so (Texas) has many enjoyable memories for me,” Hornish said. “This weekend we just have to put it all together and I think we will. We have the tools, the team and know-how. Now is the time — we have three races to go and we want this one.”

Most recently, after starting on the outside of the second row in this past April’s event, he led 39 laps and got caught up in a couple of accidents to finish a disappointing 34th.

Although Hornish is solid at all three tracks left on the schedule, Dillon’s record at Texas, even though he’s never won there, can’t be ignored. He has top-10 finishes in all three of his starts at the Lone Star track, including a third-place performance in the April race. In two races last season, he finished fifth and sixth.

Speedway Digest Staff
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