Will Hornish move over to fill Newman’s seat?

UPDATE Sam Hornish Jr. says he hasn't had any conversations with Penske Racing officials regarding a possible move from the team's #77 Dodge to the #12 for 2009, or a possible points swap between the two. "All I know about it is that no decision has been made," Hornish said Friday while at Auto Club Speedway. "I just know they need a driver for the 12 car." Teammate Ryan Newman's impending departure means the Penske organization has one driver opening to fill. Putting Hornish in the 12 would likely placate primary sponsor Alltel and would guarantee the driver a spot in the field through a minimum of next season's first five races (when final owner points from 2008 are used). SceneDaily.com

07/22/08 Sam Hornish Jr. says there have been no discussions of him moving over from Penske Racing’s No. 77 Sprint Cup car to replace Ryan Newman in the team’s No. 12 car next season and that he has been given no indication of who will.

Penske Racing announced last week that Newman would leave the company at the end of the 2008 season for another team.

That team is widely speculated to be the new Stewart-Haas Racing, which will absorb Haas CNC Racing at the end of the season with Tony Stewart coming on board as part owner and one of the team’s two drivers.

“As far as who [team owner] Roger [Penske] is hiring or any of that stuff I don’t have ideas," Hornish said Tuesday in reference to the vacancy at Penske. “I’m sure with Roger’s resume, we’ll get another spectacular person in there."

One driver considered to be in the running to replace to Newman is David Stremme, who currently serves as a test driver for Penske Racing and competes in the Nationwide Series for Rusty Wallace Racing. More at Scenedaily.com