Race Weekend Central

Sam Hornish, Jr. Among Rumored Replacements for Marcos Ambrose

Could Sam Hornish, Jr. be the next driver behind the wheel of the No. 9 at Richard Petty Motorsports?

Recently, the Associated Press covered Hornish and his trip to Kentucky Speedway for the NASCAR Nationwide Series VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300. The 35-year-old three-time IndyCar series champion shared his thoughts on the season, his career, and the future with the AP.

Hornish, who once was a full-time driver at the Sprint Cup level, noted that he has looked at other opportunities with teams other than Joe Gibbs Racing and at other levels of racing than the Nationwide Series, including acknowledging the driver seat soon to be open as Marcos Ambrose leaves the No. 9 Ford at Richard Petty Motorsports.

“I can’t tell you exactly what I want right now,” he said. “The perfect thing is not available. I’d like to be full time next year; I want to put myself in a good place with good opportunities, good people around it. That was one of the great things about being able to come to Joe Gibbs Racing, just to see how things are run a little bit differently. For me, while a lot of people might have taken things harder, I just enjoyed the fact of getting a little bit of a new outlook on life and what’s going on around me.”

Ambrose will be leaving NASCAR Sprint Cup Series to return to his native Australia and drive in the Australian V8 Supercar Series, where he is a two-time champion.

Another current Sprint Cup Series driver rumored to also be in the running for the job at RPM is David Ragan. In his nine season at the top level of the sport, Ragan has two victories and 34 top-10 finishes. He currently drives for Front Row Motorsports.

Richard Petty Motorsports has yet to make any announcements regarding who will be the replacement for Ambrose.

About the author

Greg has been with Frontstretch since 2014. A life-long NASCAR follower armed with an extensive sport and digital marketing background, Greg assists the marketing team and helps to manage relationships with some of the website's sponsors. From time to time his work appears on Frontstretch, focusing on the business side of racing and how financial partnerships are affecting the sport. He and his family reside in southern Connecticut.

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