It's the second consecutive year Hornish has raced his way into the $1 million main event at Lowe's Motor Speedway. He finished second a year ago to AJ Allmendinger to earn one of the two transfer spots.
Jamie McMurray finished second to earn the other transfer position.
Joey Logano was the third driver to advance into the race in the slot reserved for a driver voted into the All-Star race by fans.
Jeremy Mayfield, suspended by NASCAR last week for failing a random drug test, watched the Showdown from the top of a hospitality center. His No. 41 Mayfield Motorsports entry was driven to a 22nd-place finish by J.J. Yeley.
In the hours leading up to the race, a plane pulled a "Free Jeremy" banner around the track in an apparent nod of support to the first driver suspended under NASCAR's toughened drug policy. Mayfield was suspended indefinitely for a test taken May 1 at Richmond International Raceway.
NASCAR has not revealed what substance Mayfield tested positive for, but chairman Brian France called it "a serious violation" and categorized that as use of either a performance-enhancer or recreational drug. A person familiar with the test results has told The Associated Press the positive result was not for a performance-enhancer, leaving either a narcotic or controlled substance as cause of the positive result.
Mayfield denied ever taking an illegal substance, and said NASCAR has yet to inform him what he tested positive for and that he's yet to receive a copy of the results.
"All I want to do is race and be treated fairly," said Mayfield, repeating a claim he took a legal prescription for allergies. "They didn't say what I took. They don't know what I took."
Dr. David Black, CEO of Aegis Sciences Corp. in Nashville, Tenn., which runs the testing program, did not immediately return a call Saturday night for comment regarding Mayfield's claims.
The suspension covers Mayfield's role owner, so the No. 41 was transferred to Mayfield's wife, Shana, earlier this week. She stood with the team on pit road before the race, then headed out of the back gate of the garage following pre-race ceremonies.
"He wants to race. He wants to be at the race tracks and be in a race car," she said when asked about Mayfield's spirits. "He's not doing well in that area. Other than that, we're just going through the motions.
