CUP: Hornish Will Qualify First

Sprint Cup

CUP: Hornish Will Qualify First

Sam Hornish Jr. won the 2006 Indianapolis 500...

Tom Jensen | Posted July 24, 2009 Indianapolis, IN

Sam Hornish will start off the qualifying session at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Photo: Getty Images)

Sam Hornish Jr. will be the first driver to qualify for the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard on Saturday morning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Hornish, who won the 2006 Indy 500 here, leads a list of 46 drivers who will attempt to qualify for the race, annually one of NASCAR’s biggest and most prestigious.

“This Mobil 1 team has made a lot of progress at tracks with flatter surfaces like Indy,” said Hornish. “We ran strong at New Hampshire recently, and at Pocono, which is similar to this track. We earned top-10 finishes at both tracks this season and we hope to have a solid performance this weekend at Indy. No one has ever won both the IndyCar and NASCAR races at the Brickyard, and I would love to accomplish that one day.”

Unlike most tracks, Indy is a track where drivers want to qualify first, because qualifications take place in the morning, which makes the track warmer and slicker as the days goes on.

A total of 46 cars are entered for the race, which means 11 drivers will vie for the final eight spots in the field.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Entry List
Allstate 400 at the Brickyard
Indianapolis Motor Speedway, July 26
• Must qualify on speed
Car number, driver, sponsor, brand, owner

77, Sam Hornish Jr., Mobil 1, Dodge Charger, Penske
55, Michael Waltrip, NAPA, Toyota Camry, MWR
5, Mark Martin, Carquest/Kellogg’s, Chevrolet Impala SS, Hendrick Motorsports
34, John Andretti, Long John Silver’s-Baja Fish Tacos, Chevy, Front Row Motorsports
26, Jamie McMurray, Crown Royal, Ford Fusion, Roush Fenway Racing
88, Dale Earnhardt Jr., AMP Energy/National Guard, Chevy, Hendrick
07, Casey Mears, Jack Daniel’s, Chevy, Richard Childress Racing
1, Martin Truex Jr., Guitar Hero, Chevrolet Impala SS, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates
12, David Stremme, Penske Racing, Dodge, Penske
31, Jeff Burton, Prilosec OTC, Chevy, RCR
11, Denny Hamlin, FedEx Office, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
33, Clint Bowyer, Cheerios/Hamburger Helper, Chevy, RCR
17, Matt Kenseth, Dewalt, Ford, Roush
39, Ryan Newman, Stewart-Haas Racing, Chevy, Stewart-Haas
48, Jimmie Johnson, Lowe's/Kobalt Tools, Chevy, Hendrick
24, Jeff Gordon, DuPont, Chevy, Hendrick
42, Juan Pablo Montoya, Target, Chevy, EGR
18, Kyle Busch, Snickers, Toyota, JGR
2, Kurt Busch, Miller Lite, Dodge Charger, Penske Championship Racing
43, Reed Sorenson, Valvoline, Dodge, RPM
16, Greg Biffle, 3M/Pistonz Ear Plugs, Ford, Roush
83, Brian Vickers, Red Bull, Toyota, Red Bull
44, AJ Allmendinger, Hunt Brothers Pizza, Dodge, RPM
47, Marcos Ambrose, Little Debbie-Kingsford-Clorox, Toyota, JTG-Daugherty Racing
6, David Ragan, UPS, Ford Fusion, Roush Fenway Racing
96, Bobby Labonte, Ask.com, Ford, Hall of Fame Racing
9, Kasey Kahne, Budweiser, Dodge, Richard Petty Motorsports
14, Tony Stewart, Old Spice, Chevy, Stewart-Haas Racing
20, Joey Logano, Home Depot, Toyota, JGR
7, Robby Gordon, Johns Manville, Toyota, Robby Gordon Motorsports
19, Elliott Sadler, Best Buy, Dodge, RPM
29, Kevin Harvick, Shell-Pennzoil, Chevy, RCR
99, Carl Edwards, Aflac, Ford, Roush
00, David Reutimann, Aaron's Dream Machine, Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
98, Paul Menard, Johns Manville/Menards, Ford, Yates
36, Mike Skinner, TBD, Toyota, Tommy Baldwin Racing •
09, Sterling Marlin, Miccosukee Resort & Gaming, Chevrolet, Phoenix Racing •
21, Bill Elliott, Motorcraft, Ford, Wood Brothers Racing •
71, David Gilliland, TBA, Chevrolet, TRG Motorsports •
75, Derrike Cope, FlipNbags.com, Dodge, Cope-Keller Racing •
78, Regan Smith, Furniture Row, Chevy, Furniture Row Racing •
82, Scott Speed, Red Bull, Toyota, Red Bull Racing •
87, Joe Nemechek, TBA, Toyota, NEMCO Motorsports •
66, Dave Blaney, TBA, Toyota, Prism Motorsports •
08, Terry Labonte, TBA, Toyota, EM Motorsports •
13, Max Papis, GEICO, Toyota, Germain Racing •

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tom Jensen

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