No Hornish in NASCAR? Because of his battle for the IRL championship, combined with his agent negotiating an extension with Pennzoil Panther Racing, Sam Hornish Jr. admitted that time is running out for him with NASCAR. “Because of everything that has gone on with this season, we have put a lot of things on hold until after the IRL season is over,” Hornish said after testing his IRL car at Chicagoland Speedway last Wednesday. “With all that is going on, I would say it’s more likely that we won’t be doing any NASCAR races next season. It’s so late in the game right now that in order to properly do it, I would have already liked to have had a deal together. Any involvement would probably have to wait one more year.” Earlier this summer, Hornish admitted he had talked with Ty Norris, president of DEI, about doing a selected number of Winston Cup and BGN races next season in addition to his full IRL schedule. Hornish was interested in competing in the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 at Indy. Norris expressed interest in adding Hornish to DEI’s lineup, even if it were for just a few races. Since that time, Steve Park has had his contract extended for another year as the driver of the Pennzoil Chevrolet. Dale Earnhardt Jr. drives the 8-Budweiser Chevy and Michael Waltrip the #15-NAPA Chevy for DEI. “What we are focusing on now is getting my contract extended with Panther Racing in the IRL,” Hornish said. “I’m locked in with the team through 2003, but we would like to extend it until 2005.” As for a possible switch to NASCAR, Hornish said his heart belongs in open wheel cars, but he is open to new opportunities in the future. “If I win the IRL title three or four times, maybe it would be time for me to try something different,” Hornish said. “I love Indy cars and I always want to race in the Indianapolis 500. I also have to ask myself if I want to race 36 or 38 times a year in NASCAR. “It’s funny — people in the IRL say I need to consider racing in NASCAR and people in NASCAR say I’m pretty valuable to the IRL. It depends on which side of the fence you’re on as to where I should go.”(ESPN)(9-6-2002)
