Hornish wins first Nationwide race in a 1-2 Dodge finish

Sam Hornish Jr., driving the No. 12 Alliance Truck Parts Dodge Challenger, took his first-ever Nationwide checkered flag in today’s Wypall 200 at Phoenix International Raceway. Brad Keselowski in the No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge was second. Blake Koch in the No. 81 Daystar.com Dodge had a top 20 finish, coming 14th, four spots ahead of his Rookie-of-the-Year rival Timmy Hill.

Hornish and Keselowski basically led the race for the last 48 laps. At one point, Hornish had a one-second lead, but Keselowski trimmed that down to about seven-tenths of a second before the race ended.

With Hornish’s win, all three Penske Racing NASCAR drivers have racked up a victory in Nationwide competition this year. Brad Keselowski has four Nationwide wins and Kurt Busch won the Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen in August.

The results bumped Hornish up two spots to No. 23 in the driver standings. Hornish has only had 12 starts in the 33 Nationwide Series races that have run in the 2011 season. Putting his record into perspective, Hornish has more points than any championship-eligible driver with fewer than 28 starts.

With Hornish’s victory, three of Penske Racing’s four NASCAR drivers drivers have won a Nationwide series race this year. Brad Keselowski has four Nationwide wins and Kurt Busch won the Zippo 200 at teh Glen at Watkins Glen in August.

Accidents claimed a number of cars in the race, including two Dodges. Reed Sorenson in the No. 182 Foametix/Bullet Liner Dodge was out of the race after a solid hit on the outside retaining wall on lap 36. The was a fire under the hood as Sorenson got out of the car. The race’s third caution flag came out on Lap 83 when tire trouble sent D.J. Kennington’s No. 180 Northern Provincial Pipelines Dodge into the wall and out of the race.

The 2011 NASCAR Nationwide season ends next Saturday, November 19, with the Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. ESPN2 will cover the race beginning at 4:30 Eastern Time.