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Two-time defending IRL champion Sam Hornish Jr. will drive next season for Team Penske, which also announced Monday that Indianapolis 500 champion Gil de Ferran will retire at the end of this year.
Hornish said the deal with the elite team owned by Roger Penske came together after the July 6 race in Kansas.
"When Gil decided that he was ready to retire right after the Kansas race, he went to them and told them that and they contacted my representative," Hornish told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Monday. "We went up there and had a meeting and talked about it and decided that it would be a good fit."
The team said Hornish signed a multiyear contract but gave no details.
Helio Castroneves beat his future teammate by a few feet Sunday at Nazareth Speedway, the 1-mile oval Penske built in 1986. That gives Penske 118 open-wheel victories -- including 13 in the Indianapolis 500 -- and 11 national championships, all records.
Hornish holds some records himself. In 2001, at 22, he became the youngest champion of a major open-wheel series. Last year, he became the only two-time champion of the 7-year-old IRL series. This season, he broke the record for career victories with his ninth.
"Sam is a great fit for the team both on and off the track and we are confident we will achieve great success together," Penske said.
Hornish announced last week that he would not return to Panther Racing for a fourth season. The driver from Defiance, Ohio, said he wanted to continue to compete in the Indy 500, but also stated a desire to race in the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 -- NASCAR's biggest events. Moving to Penske gives him that opportunity. The team also fields cars in Winston Cup for Ryan Newman and Rusty Wallace.
But Hornish said stock cars will have to wait.
"I'm 100 percent focused right now on the IndyCar side of it and winning the Indianapolis 500," noted Hornish, whose best finish in three starts at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is 14th.
He added: "My opinion is, if I can't win the 500 driving for Roger, I probably can't win it."
The 35-year-old de Ferran began his Indy-car career in the rival CART series in 1995 and came to the Penske team in 2000.
"My experience with Marlboro Team Penske is, without question, the pinnacle of my career," he said. "I felt it was important to stop while I was at my best."
Brazilians de Ferran and two-time Indy 500 winner Castroneves, helped rebuild Penske's team, which slumped badly in the late 1990s. De Ferran gave Penske the last two of his nine CART championships when he won titles in 2000 and 2001. Penske moved the team to the IRL last season.
De Ferran ended a winless run of three years for Penske when he gave the team owner his 100th open-wheel victory at Nazareth in 2000.
De Ferran finished third in the 2002 IRL points despite missing the final race of the season with a concussion from a crash at Chicagoland Speedway. He is also in the hunt this year, trailing Castroneves by just 25 points with three races remaining, again despite missing a race, this time due to a concussion and a back injury from a crash in Phoenix.
"He has certainly made a place in Penske Racing history as one of our great drivers," Penske said.
Tom Sneva, Rick Mears, Danny Sullivan, Al Unser and Al Unser Jr. also won open-wheel championships for Penske.
Castroneves, who won the Indy 500 in 2001 and 2002 before de Ferran edged him out this year, took the IRL points lead with his victory Sunday in the Firestone Indy 225. Besides the Penske duo, Tony Kanaan and Hornish remain in the championship battle, trailing Castroneves by 32 and 81 points, respectively.
Hornish would love to give Panther a parting gift and make the move to Team Penske as a three-time champion -- even if it's a longshot at this point.
"Consistency is what pays off," he said. "If we can go out there and win three races, I think we've got as good a shot as anybody."
Hornish said the deal with the elite team owned by Roger Penske came together after the July 6 race in Kansas.
"When Gil decided that he was ready to retire right after the Kansas race, he went to them and told them that and they contacted my representative," Hornish told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Monday. "We went up there and had a meeting and talked about it and decided that it would be a good fit."
The team said Hornish signed a multiyear contract but gave no details.
Helio Castroneves beat his future teammate by a few feet Sunday at Nazareth Speedway, the 1-mile oval Penske built in 1986. That gives Penske 118 open-wheel victories -- including 13 in the Indianapolis 500 -- and 11 national championships, all records.
Hornish holds some records himself. In 2001, at 22, he became the youngest champion of a major open-wheel series. Last year, he became the only two-time champion of the 7-year-old IRL series. This season, he broke the record for career victories with his ninth.
"Sam is a great fit for the team both on and off the track and we are confident we will achieve great success together," Penske said.
Hornish announced last week that he would not return to Panther Racing for a fourth season. The driver from Defiance, Ohio, said he wanted to continue to compete in the Indy 500, but also stated a desire to race in the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 -- NASCAR's biggest events. Moving to Penske gives him that opportunity. The team also fields cars in Winston Cup for Ryan Newman and Rusty Wallace.
But Hornish said stock cars will have to wait.
"I'm 100 percent focused right now on the IndyCar side of it and winning the Indianapolis 500," noted Hornish, whose best finish in three starts at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is 14th.
He added: "My opinion is, if I can't win the 500 driving for Roger, I probably can't win it."
The 35-year-old de Ferran began his Indy-car career in the rival CART series in 1995 and came to the Penske team in 2000.
"My experience with Marlboro Team Penske is, without question, the pinnacle of my career," he said. "I felt it was important to stop while I was at my best."
Brazilians de Ferran and two-time Indy 500 winner Castroneves, helped rebuild Penske's team, which slumped badly in the late 1990s. De Ferran gave Penske the last two of his nine CART championships when he won titles in 2000 and 2001. Penske moved the team to the IRL last season.
De Ferran ended a winless run of three years for Penske when he gave the team owner his 100th open-wheel victory at Nazareth in 2000.
De Ferran finished third in the 2002 IRL points despite missing the final race of the season with a concussion from a crash at Chicagoland Speedway. He is also in the hunt this year, trailing Castroneves by just 25 points with three races remaining, again despite missing a race, this time due to a concussion and a back injury from a crash in Phoenix.
"He has certainly made a place in Penske Racing history as one of our great drivers," Penske said.
Tom Sneva, Rick Mears, Danny Sullivan, Al Unser and Al Unser Jr. also won open-wheel championships for Penske.
Castroneves, who won the Indy 500 in 2001 and 2002 before de Ferran edged him out this year, took the IRL points lead with his victory Sunday in the Firestone Indy 225. Besides the Penske duo, Tony Kanaan and Hornish remain in the championship battle, trailing Castroneves by 32 and 81 points, respectively.
Hornish would love to give Panther a parting gift and make the move to Team Penske as a three-time champion -- even if it's a longshot at this point.
"Consistency is what pays off," he said. "If we can go out there and win three races, I think we've got as good a shot as anybody."
