Sam Hornish Jr. gets second chance, joins Richard Petty Motorsports

Second chances aren’t always the easiest to come by, especially in a sport where the number of talented drivers far outweighs the number of quality teams.

Sam Hornish Jr., however, four years after washing out of NASCAR’s premier division, is getting a second chance to show he belongs. On Wednesday, Richard Petty Motorsports named him to drive its No. 9 Ford beginning with the 2015 season. In a multi-year deal, Hornish will replace Marcos Ambrose, who is vacating the seat to return to his native Australia.

“I feel like this is a great opportunity for me to be able to join a team like Richard Petty Motorsports,” Hornish said Wednesday. “It really means a lot to me.”

Hornish, 35, was among the exodus of open-wheel drivers who in the 2000s left IndyCar in search of success and riches that NASCAR better offered.

From 2008-10, he drove the entirety of the Cup schedule for Penske Racing (later renamed Team Penske). But like most that transitioned from a nimble Indy car to a bulky stock car, Hornish found success fleeting and the adjustment arduous. Over 106 starts in his three seasons with Penske, Hornish crashed out of 13 races and was most known for causing an accident that nearly cost Jimmie Johnson the 2009 championship.

While a humbling time for Hornish, a three-time IndyCar Series champion and the 2006 winner of the Indianapolis, he isn’t solely to blame for his struggles.

The Penske team for which Hornish for wasn’t the same juggernaut it is currently, which won its first Sprint Cup championship in 2012 with Brad Keselowski, and this season has seen Keselowski and Joey Logano each win a series-best five races.

When Hornish joined the Penske Cup organization full time (he drove in IndyCar for Penske) in 2008, he was uniting with a team in flux. Never was the driver roster the same year-to-year and the performance on the track was stagnant with just six combined victories over three seasons.

Another obvious detriment was Hornish’s inexperience. Instead of acclimating incrementally a driver with limited time outside of open-wheel cars, Penske thrust Hornish into the deep end of the NASCAR pool.

Hornish’s first full season in stock car racing was as a Cup rookie in 2008; a challenging prospect no matter a driver’s talent level and further hampered by the team’s overall issues. The results bear just how misguided it was not to spend a season or two in the Nationwide Series.

“I’m not going to talk bad about anybody or anything like that,” Hornish said. “But there were a lot of different things that made that not work.”

After Penske shuttered Hornish’s team following the 2010 season, he faced a crossroads. Returning to IndyCar was certainly the easy choice, but he decided otherwise.

Taking the path he should have initially, Hornish dropped down to Nationwide to run a partial schedule in 2011 at Penske. Gradually, Hornish improved and at the end of the season he won his first race.

The following two years saw him compete full time in NASCAR’s No. 2 series and finish fourth and second in the championship. It was during this time Hornish evolved from an open-wheel driver who couldn’t hack it in NASCAR to a driver deserving of another go-around in Cup. But there was doubt whether that opportunity would arise.

A lack of sponsorship saw Hornish and Penske part ways at the end of last season. With no viable options Hornish was back to part time, joining Joe Gibb Racing’s Nationwide team where he would be Kyle Busch’ fill-in. Hornish again made the most of his opportunity winning at Iowa Speedway in May.

“We had sponsors at that time and made a strong run for the championship in 2013 and found myself without a ride,” Hornish said. “You kind of always wonder where things are going to land from that point, but I put my trust in that if I had found a way to put myself in some good equipment this season and did the right things that something good would come along.”

Eventually Hornish got what so few drivers don’t: a second chance.

When Ambrose announced last month he was leaving RPM at the end of the season, a seat unexpectedly opened with a competitive team. Wanting a driver with experience and the ability to produce consistent results, one name immediately jumped out.

“Sam’s going to be a great fit here at Richard Petty Motorsports,” RPM director of competition Sammy Johns said. “Sam’s a champion. He’s a great race car driver. He’s hungry to get back to the Cup Series and prove that he can win races at this level. We saw that and we felt it.”

Although RPM may not be an upper-echelon organization like Hornish’s previous employers, Penske and JGR, the group has made noticeable gains in recent seasons.

Ambrose, a noted road racer, won at Watkins Glen in 2011 and 2012. And teammate Aric Almirola went to Victory Lane at Daytona International Speedway in July, to earn a berth in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Almirola and the No. 43 team have shown potential on intermediate tracks, which comprise the bulk of the Cup schedule. And the No. 9 car is readymade for a driver to jump in and do what Ambrose never could and be more consistently competitive on ovals.

“This is a different opportunity, for sure, than the one that I had previously,” Hornish said. “The thing that I need to be thankful for over the long run is that I stayed in the fold long enough and held to my values of what I felt was going to get myself back into having the opportunity to be in a competitive Cup ride.

“I’ve worked four years to get back to this point, and I feel like as a driver I’ve come a long way. I found my voice, as far as what you need to have as far as a Cup driver’s concerned about directionally trying to help steer your organization.”

Based on merit Hornish is deserving of this opportunity, and there is every reason to think he will eventually find success. Because if he doesn’t there will be no third chance.