A dream come true: America's top open-wheel racer turned down a NASCAR ride to fulfill his fantasy of driving for Penske Racing in the Indianapolis 500 - for now - Interview: Sam Hornish Jr - Interview

THERE IS NO DEBATING THAT Sam Hornish Jr. is the poster boy of the IRL. Series founder and president Tony George couldn't have molded a more perfect driver for the role. Hornish, 24, is soft-spoken off of the track but extremely fast on it. He grew up in Ohio and--until he gets married next year--still lives above his mom and dad's garage. Oh, and he happens to be the best American open-wheel racer today, with two series championships and more victories than anyone in IRL history.

If you still don't know Hornish, you will before the end of the 2004 season. A former champion in the World Karting Association, he has quickly risen through the ranks. After entering the IRL with PDM Racing in 2000, Hornish shifted to Pennzoil Panther Racing in 2001 and won the championship. In 2002, he held off Team Penske--the best open-wheel team in history--to win the IRL title by about six feet. That caught Roger Penske's attention.

Hornish's contract at Panther Racing expires at the end of the 2003 season. Penske driver Gil de Ferran, a two-time CART champion and the 2003 Indianapolis 500 winner, decided during the summer that he would retire at the end of the season.

That allowed Penske to go after Hornish, the driver who edged Helio Castroneves at the checkered flag in Texas to capture the 2002 title. Throughout the season, several teams in the IRL and NASCAR courted Hornish. Not since 1997 IRL champion Tony Stewart bolted the league has a driver garnered so much attention from teams in both series. Of course, Stewart went on to win 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup champion. Many observers believed Hornish would follow in Stewart's tracks and join the higher-profile and more profitable NASCAR style of racing. But for Hornish, the decision was a no-brainer. He grew up watching Team Penske drivers--especially Rick Mears--dominate the Indianapolis 500, a race Hornish feels he must win in order to join the ranks of legendary open-wheel racers. So when Penske called, it didn't take long to iron out the details for Hornish to replace de Ferran and partner with two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Castroneves.

As the 2003 season wound down, Hornish sat down with AUTO RACING DIGEST at Chicagoland Speedway to talk about his future at Penske, his conversation with Dale Earnhardt Jr., and living above his parents' garage:

AUTO RACING DIGEST: How important was staying in the IRL to you and the series?

SAM HORNISH JR.: I don't know how important it was to the series. To me, it was important because I like Indy car racing and this is the only series that has the Indianapolis 500.

When I was growing up, I was always trying to get into an Indy car, so I don't know why would I change that now. I think it's important for me to stay here and be able to have an opportunity to win the Indy 500. As I kid, I was a fan of the Penske Racing team and its drivers. When that opportunity came about it seemed like the only logical thing to do. I might never win an Indianapolis 500, but I can at least put myself in the company of someone like Rick Mears by driving for the same guy he did.

ARD: With an Indianapolis 500 victory so important to you, was Team Penske the only team in any series that you considered joining?

SH: I'm very happy with everything that has happened at Panther. They gave me a great car every time I raced for them. But Roger's commitment to the Indy 500 and his record are unparalleled, so this seemed like the smart thing to do.

ARD: When you were growing up in Ohio, racing karts, and wanting to race Indy cars did you ever imagine Roger Penske would offer you a job?

SH: When I was 12 or 13, I dreamt that I got a call from Roger Penske, who wanted me to meet with Rick Mears and himself to discuss driving for his team. I woke up the next morning and thought, 'How weird was that? That would never happen.' It's kind of like when you have a dream that you're falling off of a building, which you know is never going to happen. I never thought that I'd get this opportunity.

ARD: When he did call you, was it like the dream?

SH: He didn't call until the deal was finished. But I did something I never thought I would be able to do, so that's pretty cool.

ARD: But at 24, you still have a lot of racing in front of you, right?

SH: I have a quite a few years to go. Hopefully, I'll get all of my goals out of the way so that I can race just for the love of it and I can retire when I want to rather than feel like I have to keep hanging around because I haven't won Indy.

ARD: There were quite a few rumors about you joining Dale Earnhardt Inc., and driving in NASCAR next season. When you met with Dale Earnhardt Jr., what did he tell you?

SH: He basically said that I have to know what I want to do. He said, 'When you wake up in the morning, do you want to be an Indy car driver or a stock driver?' I kind of just thought about it and concluded: 'You know what, I can be an Indy car driver all the time and do something else down the road if I want to.' Right now, my focus--as it has always been--is on the Indianapolis 500.