SRT Motorsports - Dodge NASCAR Nationwide Series Race Recap - Iowa

August 4, 2012 , NEWTON, Iowa -  Sam Hornish Jr. remained one of the most consistent drivers in the NASCAR Nationwide Series earning a solid third-place finish in the U.S. Cellular 250 Saturday night at Iowa Speedway.

Hornish grabbed his third top five in the last four Nationwide Series races despite a grueling schedule that saw the Penske driver commute five times from Pocono, Pa., to Newton, Iowa.

He also took home a $100,000 payday as part of a Nationwide Insurance “Dash4Cash” Sweepstakes paid to the highest-finishing full-time NASCAR Nationwide Series driver. Hornish outdueled Michael Annett (fourth), Ricky Stenhouse (fifth) and Austin Dillon (15th). NASCAR fan Tammy Altieri also won $100,000 as part of the promotion.

Hornish qualified seventh and used patience and a fast Dodge to maintain a top 10 position throughout the 250-lap race. Only three cautions, including a mandatory competition caution on lap 50, slowed the pace for a meager 16 laps. When green, Hornish never ran outside of the top 10 and was inside the top five for the final 150 laps.

“I felt like we had a pretty good car in qualifying but after how race practice went yesterday I wasn’t exactly how we were going to be,” Hornish said. “Just real happy the guys put a good car under me and we did exactly we needed to do. We’re out here trying to get points and we lost a little bit to the leader today but we’re going to have our days too so we just need to be smart about what we’re doing and continue to finish these races and just real happy we got the Würth Dodge a top three finish.”

Crew chief Chad Walter was the magician of the weekend balancing limited practice time with his well-traveled driver and a track that saw new right-side Goodyear tires and that was washed away by early day rain showers.

“I can’t say enough about how awesome Penske Racing handled this Pocono-Iowa logistics to put us in position to race like we did tonight,” Walter said. “There was so much effort put in to give Sam a car that was better than the way we ended practice yesterday. There were a few pizzas and dreary eyes this morning trying to get something worked out to give us a little bit better balance on the Würth Dodge.”

Teammate Ryan Blaney (No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger) didn’t waste any time taking advantage of the opportunity of his new Penske Racing team, scoring an impressive 10th-place finish.

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Nationwide Recap – Page 2

The 18-year old Nationwide Series rookie showed tremendous speed in practice and qualifying in the first of three scheduled races behind the wheel of the No. 22 Dodge Challenger. He started 13th but was mired in traffic for most of the night. Blaney jumped inside of the top 10 after a two-tire stop during the race’s second caution flag but couldn’t build off the track position on the short run. He ran most of the race see-sawing between 11th and 15th but broke into the top 10 with three laps remaining.

“It was and up and down night for this Discount Tire Dodge tonight,” Blaney said. “We just really couldn’t get going. After pit stops it took us a while to get going and get with everyone else. Once we did get going our car was fast towards the end of the runs. Our last run was great. We were running down guys and were really fast. A few tough breaks there at the end kept us from bringing home a top-seven or better.”

Elliott Sadler scored the victory at Iowa, beating second-place Justin Allgaier by 0.649 seconds.

NASCAR Nationwide Series
Point Standings
(After 20 of 33 events)
1. Elliott Sadler 751
2. Austin Dillon -18
3. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -21
4. SAM HORNISH JR. -34
5. Justin Allgaier -78
6. Michael Annett -104
7. Cole Whitt -149
8. Mike Bliss -203
9. Brian Scott -265
10. Danica Patrick -266

Race Results
NASCAR Nationwide Series
U.S Cellular 250
Iowa Speedway
August 4, 2012
1. Elliott Sadler
2. Justin Allgaier
3. SAM HORNISH JR.
4. Michael Annett
5. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
6. Michael McDowell
7. Darrell Wallace Jr.
8. Jason Leffler
9. Brett Moffitt
10. RYAN BLANEY


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