Sam Hornish Jr Is Living a Childhood Dream at Indy

"I figured I came all this way, I ought to give myself one more shot at it. I kind of looked at it as; I was going to drive over him if I had to."  

Sam Hornish Jr talked about the last lap pass of 19 year old Marco Andretti, on the main straightaway to take the win in the 2006 Indianapolis 500.

Hornish, who is in his second year driving in the Sprint cup series with Team Penske, still remembers that day back in May of 2006.  

Hornish also knows first hand that winning any type of race at the famed “Brickyard,” has always been what dreams are made of no matter what age the driver might be.

And the dream was no different for a young 12 year old Bryan, Ohio native who not only dreamt about the 500, but he also dreamt about who he would be driving for.

"I remember not too long after I started racing go-karts…I was probably 12-years-old…and I had a dream one night that Roger (Penske) and Rick Mears came while I was at work and wanted me to come drive for them"

“I was like, ‘Yeah, right, like that’s ever going to happen.’ Then about 10 years later I was sitting there having a meeting with Roger talking about going racing for him.

"So it’s pretty neat how things change sometime."

When you sit back and think about just how surreal that might have felt for Hornish, never knowing that 10 years later he would finally get his chance to not only meet the man that he had dreamt about.

But to also get the chance to drive for the most powerful, as well as the most successful car owner that Indianapolis, or the IRL has ever seen.

Many race fans began to wonder with all the success that Hornish was having in the IRL, especially after coming off his first Indy 500 win with no chance of defending his win.

What it was that drew this three time champion, to a series that was witnessing his fellow open wheel competitors having more than their share of problems trying to adjust to the world of NASCAR racing.

Hornish, after all was living a dream that had followed him around for ten years of his young life, and he was making big strides to become one the best drivers that the IRL had ever seen.

But in the end it was Hornish who made the choice to try and help make a dream come true for a man, who was instrumental in helping him live out a dream of his own.

"When I came over here last year, a lot of people wanted to know why I wanted to do that. Roger hadn’t won a (NASCAR) championship."

“Roger hadn’t won a Daytona 500, and he hadn’t won at the Brickyard and I wanted to try and help him do that."

"To be a part in the team and help in any way is enough for me. I feel like coming out here and giving him something that he’s never had. Roger has so many things. It would be great." 

It’s pretty amazing the way some of us choose to live our lives by not stepping out of our comfort zone, while never knowing if there is something better out there for us.

Failure will always be a part of life, and since nothing in life is guaranteed that is probably one of the biggest obstacles that keep us from ever finding out.

But none of this stopped Hornish from taking a step of faith, knowing that the world he built could easily come crashing down on him. Instead felt that his time had come, and that he for whatever reason felt it was time to move on.  

"I was able to achieve more than I ever thought or dreamed in Indy Car and I left there with a feeling like I never have to go back."

"Oh, should I have kept doing that because I could have done this or this.’ I knew that I was never going to win the (Indianapolis) 500 five times."

"I wasn’t going to break that many more records over there and it was just time for a change. “I came to do this (race NASCAR) to finish out my career…being a stock car driver…as far as a full-time career."

For Hornish, getting the chance to once again relive his childhood dream, but this time in a Sprint Cup car, still has the same impact because of the magnitude of the race itself.

"This to me is just as big. It’s still like being a kid again and walking out there and seeing all these things going on."

"It’s always surprising in an Indy Car because you’re here for three weeks and you never got to see it full."

"We’re only here three days and don’t have all that time and everything is sped up a bit.” So just how special would it be for Hornish to be the first to win the both?"

“That’s part of the reason that I decided to come over here and do this. My main goal was to come over and run the Daytona 500."

"I wanted to run the Brickyard 400. Now that I’ve run three of the biggest sporting events in the world as far as racing is concerned, I want to try and take care of winning three of them.”