Latest Penske Racing Stories
Posted: Sep 11th 2009 8:40PM ET by Holly Cain (RSS feed)
Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Penske Racing, Chase for the Sprint Cup
RICHMOND, Va. -- Fifty-year old
Mark Martin continues to make a strong case for his emotional
NASCAR championship run, winning the pole position for Saturday night's Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway.
It's Martin's sixth pole of the year, tying him with
Brian Vickers for the most in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series. His four wins is also tied for most of the season -- a victory total that equals his wins from 2000-2008 combined.
"This year, I've been getting some nice laps,'' Martin said in the ultimate understatement.
Posted: Sep 3rd 2009 1:00AM ET by FanHouse Newswire (RSS feed)
Filed under: Penske Racing, Nationwide Series, Sprint Cup
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Brad Keselowski's long courtship with
Penske Racing ended Tuesday when he finally took an offer to move to the Sprint Cup Series.
Keselowski, who had been hoping to move into a Cup ride with mighty Hendrick Motorsports, will instead drive the No. 12 Dodge next season. He'll replace
David Stremme, and run full schedules in both the Cup and
Nationwide Series.
"This was the hardest decision I've ever had to make in my life,'' Keselowski said. "But I woke up this morning feeling confident I had made the right one. It was clear to me this is the direction I want to head."
Posted: Aug 29th 2009 1:24PM ET by Geoffrey Miller (RSS feed)
Filed under: Penske Racing, Nationwide Series, Sprint Cup
It's got to be tough to be in
Brad Keselowski's shoes.
The full-time
Nationwide Series driver has shown to be one of the brightest up and coming stars in NASCAR, and his surprise
Sprint Cup victory at Talladega only added to the hype. Consider that he's got the best shot as a non-Cup regular to overtake Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards for the Nationwide points title and his 3 wins in 2009, and you're looking at a guy who's turned plenty of heads in Cup ownership.
Reports say that
Penske Racing has agreed to put him in the No. 12 Cup car for 2010, but how well he'd do there as a full-time driver is very much up in the air.
Posted: Aug 6th 2009 5:30PM ET by Holly Cain (RSS feed)
Filed under: Sam Hornish Jr., Penske Racing, Sprint Cup, FanHouse Exclusive
Sam Hornish Jr. climbed out of his No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Monday afternoon in Pocono, Pa., allowed himself to crack a smile and looked forward to receiving a call from his boss,
Roger Penske.
Fourth place.
It wasn't exactly cause for celebration for Hornish, who owns three IndyCar championships and an Indianapolis 500 ring. But his hard-fought finish was a career best and gives him five top-10 Sprint Cup efforts.
It was progress.
Posted: Aug 2nd 2009 12:04AM ET by Geoffrey Miller (RSS feed)
Filed under: Penske Racing, IRL
Penske Racing's Ryan Briscoe needed every inch of the Kentucky Speedway top groove Saturday night to pull out a win over winless Ed Carpenter in the Meijer Indy 300, though that's not what people will remember.
The biggest story won't be Briscoe's triumphant return to victory lane in 2009 or how narrowly close the Tony George-owned Vision Racing team with Carpenter came to winning his first career race in some 94 tries.
Instead, the racing that the IRL IndyCar Series had become known for seemed to return with a bang in the hills of Sparta, Ky., thanks to a few rule changes for the series.
Posted: Jul 31st 2009 6:30PM ET by Holly Cain (RSS feed)
Filed under: Penske Racing, IRL
Unfortunately lost in the hoopla accompanying NASCAR's annual visit to Indianapolis Motor Speedway last weekend was one of the best story lines in motorsports getting even better.
In only his fifth start of the season -- in a car and with a pit crew that he can't even fully claim his own -- Australian
Will Power dominated the field to win the
IndyCar race at Edmonton, Alberta, on Sunday.
You don't have to be an open-wheel fan to appreciate what Power's accomplished with great opportunity and sparing chance.
He started the season as a fill-in for Helio Castroneves but in four sporadic starts since in a third Team Penske car, Power has earned more points than four drivers who have competed the full 11 races to date. He sits only 48 points out of 10th place entering Saturday's race at the high speed Kentucky Speedway oval.
Posted: Jun 7th 2009 9:30AM ET by FanHouse Newswire (RSS feed)
Filed under: Penske Racing, IRL
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- Helio Castroneves keeps smiling-and climbing.
Castroneves, who last month won the Indianapolis 500 for the third time after being acquitted of federal tax evasion charges, became a three-time winner at Texas Motor Speedway when he beat Penske teammate Ryan Briscoe off pit row after the final stop and stayed in front Saturday night.
Posted: Apr 19th 2009 9:33PM ET by Holly Cain (RSS feed)
Filed under: Penske Racing, IRL
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It was a weekend of comebacks for the IndyCar Series culminating with 2007 series champ Dario Franchitti, winning Sunday's Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach and taking the championship lead in only his second race back after spending most of last year in the NASCAR ranks.
Helio Castroneves, who starred in the weekend's other high profile comeback story, finished seventh in his return to the circuit after being acquitted Friday of federal tax evasion charges. His laps in Saturday 's practice and qualifying sessions marked his first time behind the wheel in six months.
Posted: Apr 18th 2009 5:31PM ET by Holly Cain (RSS feed)
Filed under: Penske Racing, IRL
Effusive and emotional by nature,
Helio Castroneves could offer up only a simple and humble greeting when he arrived at his team's trackside garage area in Long Beach, Calif., shortly after sunrise Saturday morning.
"Hey guys, I'm home," Castroneves, 33, told the Team Penske crew, who loudly applauded his arrival -- hugs and handshakes all around.
Posted: Apr 17th 2009 5:12PM ET by Holly Cain (RSS feed)
Filed under: Penske Racing, IRL
There was no celebratory fence climbing, victory lane to visit or mirror ball trophy to hoist, but two-time Indy 500 winner and "Dancing With the Stars" champ
Helio Castroneves scored the biggest victory of his life Friday when a Miami jury acquitted him of federal tax evasion charges that could have sent him to prison for six years.
And so this weekend, Castroneves will be seeing checkers instead of stripes.
Minutes after the early Friday afternoon verdict, his longtime racing strategist, Tim Cindric, sent Castroneves a text message: "We're ready for you" to which Castroneves responded, "I'm coming man."
And just like that, a Team Penske plane was immediately dispatched to Miami to transport Castroneves to the IndyCar Series race in Long Beach, Calif. where he will compete Sunday.
