Sam Hornish Jr. to run seven Nationwide races for Joe Gibbs Racing in No. 54
After finishing as the Nationwide Series runner-up in 2013, Sam Hornish has a ride for 2014. Albeit it's only for seven races.
Hornish will share the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing car with Kyle Busch, though Busch will be in the car for 26 races. Hornish's races will be at Talladega, Iowa twice, Road America, Chicagoland, Mid-Ohio and Kentucky.
It's a scary reminder about the importance of economics that a driver like Hornish, who has two wins, 28 top fives and 53 top 10s in while driving full-time the last two seasons and part of 2011 can't find enough sponsorship for a competitive full-time ride. He finished second for the Nationwide title to Austin Dillon by three points in 2013.
Hornish could have settled for something less, but because of his recent success, he's earned the right to be picky. And heck, it could pay off like it did for Brian Vickers.
Vickers, after being sideline because of blood clots, came back to run part-time for Michael Waltrip Racing in the Sprint Cup Series in 2012 and 2013. After a successful run that included a win at New Hampshire last season, Vickers is slated to drive the No. 55 full-time for MWR in 2014.
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is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
