It all seemed so easy. Celebrated IndyCar racer Sam Hornish Jr. would join NASCAR and be super good.
And why not? He'd been one of the best and fastest open-wheel oval drivers in the series for years. He couldn't miss in Sprint Cup, especially running for his former boss, Birmingham's Roger Penske.
Well, history has proved that being one of the great Indy pilots of the past 20 years and a 2006 Indianapolis 500 winner doesn't necessarily translate into being successful in stock-car racing.
Hornish won three IndyCar Series titles (2001-02 and 2006) and 19 races in just seven full seasons of competition.
By contrast, in 115 Sprint Cup races since 2007, he is winless.
If you think Hornish, who was raised in Defiance, Ohio, is disappointed, he is. If you think his NASCAR dreams are over, you're wrong.
With A.J. Allmendinger fired from Penske Racing over a failed drug test, Hornish is back in the catbird seat at Penske - in the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge, which he'll run in the Pure Michigan 400 Cup at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn on Sunday.
"I'm looking forward to running the Cup race," said Hornish, 33. "Anytime I get to race up here at Michigan, I really enjoy that; but it's going to be tough."
