- New Assoc. sponsor for Kurt Busch: Penske Racing announced the addition of Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Family Sports Pubs as an associate sponsor on the #2 Miller Lite Dodge driven by 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion Kurt Busch. Beef ‘O’ Brady’s will be featured on the #2 Cup Series car, beginning with the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway this Fourth of July weekend.
Sponsorship activation plans include a register-to-win VIP experience with Busch and the Miller Lite Dodge team this November in Miami, Florida. In addition, Beef ‘O’ Brady’s in-store menus will showcase two of Busch’s personally-selected menu favorites – the Wild West Chicken Sandwich and the Queso Dip and Chips. Founded by Jim Mellody in 1985, Beef ‘O’ Brady’s is a neighborhood pub-style restaurant chain where families and friends can enjoy good food and sports in a comfortable, friendly atmosphere. With locations in 23 states across the Southeast and Midwest regions of the country, good food and great service go hand-in-hand at every Beef 'O' Brady's. Visit www.beefobradys.com for more information.(Penske Racing)(7-1-2009)
- Kurt Busch goes hunting: #2-Kurt Busch is on a hunting expedition in Montana this week. “We fly in to Missoula, then take a 90-minute truck ride, followed by a three-hour ride on a donkey to get where we’ll be hunting,” Kurt said of his trip that started on Monday of this week. “I’d been hoping to get to go big black bear hunting, when Darius (Songaila, center/forward for Washington Wizards and a neighbor of Kurt’s) invited me to go on this hunt he had scheduled. We’re doing it the hard way, that’s for sure. We’ll be using bow and arrow and I’ll have my video camera along to document everything. I hope to have some great video to show the guys when we get to New Hampshire.” Kurt’s schedule will see him do the reverse route in order to get to New Hampshire for Friday’s opening practice session. “Yep, we’ll be riding the donkeys back for three hours, hopping back in the truck and heading for the Missoula Airport. Then we fly through Denver and hopefully land in Boston at about 10:00 p.m. on Thursday night.”(Tom Roberts PR)(6-24-2009)
- Kurt Busch testing news: #2-Kurt Busch tested on Tuesday at Virginia International Raceway in preparation for the June 21 Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway. “We have a brand new car for the road courses (“PRS-617”) and we wanted to get in some test time before we head out to Sonoma (Infineon),” Pat explained. “We’ll likely return to VIR or maybe head down to Road Atlanta between now and Watkins Glen in August.” Busch and team also plans to use “PRS-600” Miller Lite Dodge in tire testing for Goodyear at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on June 15-16. “It looks like a continuous work in progress in coming up with the tire we’ll be racing there next month,” Kurt said. “We’re glad to chip in with their effort there and are happy to get the track time before heading there for the race weekend.”(Tom Roberts PR)(6-10-2009)
- 4th team for Penske? UPDATE denied: hearing Penske Racing could run a 4th team car this season, running the #22 Dodge with Justin Allgaier as the possible driver. Allgaier is currently 10th in the Nationwide Series Points for Penske Racing and won the ARCA championship in 2008.(5-25-2009)
UPDATE: [Roger Penske] added that there are no plans to expand Penske Racing's three-car organization of #2-Kurt Busch, #77-Sam Hornish Jr. and #12-David Stremme. There have been reports he would move to a fourth team with Justin Allgaier, a rookie in the Nationwide Series. "We've made some good progress this year and we've got to maintain that," Penske said. "We're not in the silly season at all. ... We've got plenty of time."(ESPN)(6-7-2009) Comment here
- Penske may make bid for Saturn UPDATE 2 no move to NASCAR: Roger Penske says he is contemplating a bid for the Saturn automotive brand that General Motors Corp. plans to sell or shut down. While Penske has not yet made an offer, he said Friday a decision would have to come soon and that a number of unidentified details need to be worked out. Penske has a vested interest in the automotive industry. He owns the second-largest U.S. automobile retail chain in terms of sales, Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based Penske Automotive Group Inc. He also owns heavy-duty engine manufacturer Detroit Diesel and has race teams in the IndyCar, NASCAR and Grand-Am series. But Penske denied that he has made a deal and said published reports are ahead of the process.(ESPN.com/AP)(5-8-2009)
UPDATE: General Motors Corp. has struck a tentative deal to sell its Saturn brand to former race car driver and auto dealer Roger Penske. Penske, who owns the Penske Automotive Group dealership chain, told reporters on Friday that he plans to offer all 350 Saturn dealerships new franchise agreements. He says Saturn's 13,000 employees will stay on with the company for at least the immediate future. He declined to name the price for the deal. Penske says GM will continue to produce Saturn vehicles, though he is in discussions with manufacturers worldwide about building the vehicles going forward.(AP/ESPN)(6-5-2009)
UPDATE 2: Team owner Roger Penske has no plans to move Saturn into the Sprint Cup series, saying Sunday he plans to stick with Dodge for at least the remaining three years of his contract with the manufacturer. General Motors Corp. announced on Friday an agreement for Penske to purchase the Saturn brand. Penske said he would like to get Saturn involved in motorsports, perhaps at the Grand-Am level, but not NASCAR's top series. "We have three more years with Dodge, they have not let us down," the owner of Penske Motorsports said before the Sprint Cup race at Pocono Raceway. "We see that continuing. They are current with all the obligations they have. I don't expect anything different." Richard Petty, the co-owner of Richard Petty Motorsports, said last weekend at Dover that RMP's cash flow from Dodge has ceased since Chrysler filed for bankruptcy. "I don't know what he means by cash [flow]," Penske said. "They paid the bills we submitted to them and they're on time. I don't know what he's talking about." As for Saturn, Penske said the key was saving 13,000 jobs and keeping 350 retailers in business. He said the plan is to provide them with products that will make them stronger going forward. "We'll be sourcing products from General Motors for at least two years," he said. "We will not be a manufacturer. We'll be a distributor." Penske did say the Saturn Aura is "tailor-made for NASCAR," but that any such plans would be 200 miles down the road.(ESPN)(6-7-2009) Comment here
- Dodge support "on hold" Team owner Richard Petty says the Chrysler bankruptcy has put cash flow from the manufacturer to the Richard Petty Motorsports organization he co-owns with George Gillett "in a holding pattern." From the point of view of the Dodge Motorsports program, however, the commitment to racing is undiminished. "They've stopped everything," Petty said in the garage at Dover International Speedway this past weekend. "They went into bankruptcy, and they're sort of in a floating stage right now. They're trying to see where they come out of this at. If they've got new people running the show, are they still going to continue to back everything exactly like they are, or whatever? They're in a holding pattern right now. I think GM's that way -- I don't know about Ford -- and I know Chrysler's that way. The rest of them I don't know. I don't deal with them." Walter Czarnecki, vice chairman of Penske Racing, which has three Dodge teams, said the legal proceedings also have held up payments to his organization. "In the legal procedure, you have to file what's called a 'Cure Letter' that lists all the things that you are owed. And when it's submitted and approved, they'll pay. We have money that was due April 30 that has not been received yet and probably won't be received for several weeks." Mike Accavitti, director of brand marketing and strategy for Chrysler, acknowledged the reorganization has affected the flow of cash from Chrysler but affirmed the company remains committed to Cup racing and that at-track services provided to the teams continue to be available.(NASCAR.com/Sporting News)(6-2-2009) Comment here
- Kurt Busch Foundation Takes Inaugural King’s Cup: The inaugural King’s Cup Karting for a Cause provided a great way to kickoff the racing action in the Charlotte area. In the end the Kurt Busch Foundation team held off the Denny Hamlin Foundation team by 18 seconds in an event that lasted three hours and 40 minutes. The event, which benefited the Paralyzed Veterans of America, raised over $60,000 for the organization through sponsorships, general admission ticket sales and a silent auction that featured 75 pieces from all across the NASCAR world. The Finishing Order:
1. Kurt Busch Foundation
2. Denny Hamlin Foundation
3. Stanley Tools Racing
4. Kasey Kahne Foundation
5. Dale Jr. Foundation
6. Sun Trust Racing
7. Martin Truex, Jr. Motorsports
8. Hunt Brothers Racing
9. Sprint
10. Richard Petty Motorsports
11. Penske Racing
12. Jimmie Johnson Foundation
13. NASCAR
14. Brad Keselowski Racing
15. Budweiser
16. Best Buy Racing
(MCG Sports)(5-21-2009)
- Special “Taste Protector” Paint Scheme for #2 Miller Lite Dodge: #2-Kurt Busch and his Pat Tryson-led Penske Racing Team plan on going all out in their bid to win Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. They are even rolling out a special color scheme along the way. “It will be all-out serious fun for our Miller Lite Dodge Team in this weekend’s All-Star battle,” said Busch, who will be making his eighth career All-Star race start on Saturday night at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. “That may sound like an oxymoron to some, but the fact is that we’re taking this race very serious, but because there are no points involved, we know we’re going to have a lot of fun this weekend. First of all, we’re coming in there with an absolutely knock-out paint scheme on our Miller Lite Dodge,” said Busch, whose runner-up finish in the 2003 edition rates as his best to date in All-Star race competition. “We’re calling it our ‘taste protector’ ride and once you see it, you’ll immediately know why. If there has ever been a rolling billboard, this one is it. “Our friends at Miller Lite have gone the extra mile in the detail work that went into this unique color scheme,” Busch added. “Our goal was to promote the new ‘taste protector’ feature found on Miller Lite cans and bottles that locks in Miller Lite’s great pilsner taste. This car does a real phenomenal job of doing that.(Tom Roberts PR), see images of the scheme on my #2 Team Schemes page.(5-14-2009) Comment here
- Drivers on CMT Cribs: Martin Truex Jr. will join Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kurt Busch as the featured celebrities on CMT Cribs when the latest episode airs this Saturday, April 25th. Packed with the latest in luxury living, top of the line toys and the wildest whips on the road, this season takes us to new levels of country living. Martin’s segment will focus on his new garage. Be sure to tune into to CMT (Country Music Television) this Saturday, April 25, 2009 at 4:30pm/et/pt and re-air at 7:30pm/et/pt on that same day.(EGR PR)(4-23-2009)
- 300th start for Kurt Busch: Miller Lite Dodge driver Kurt Busch will be making his 300th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start in Saturday's Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. In his 299-race Cup career that began on Sept. 24, 2000 (at Dover, Del.) he has had 299 starts, 19 wins (6.4%), 63 top-fives (21.1%), 119 top-10s (39.8%), and 10 Coors Light Pole Awards.(Tom Roberts PR)(4-15-2009) Comment here
- NASCAR no plans on keeping radio chatter from fans: Radio transmissions between drivers, owners, spotters and crew chiefs will continue to be available to NASCAR, media and fans. Flak over a torrid exchange between #2-Kurt Busch and car owner Roger Penske last Sunday at Martinsville -- in which Busch called his owner "dude" -- evoked a familiar refrain on Friday at Texas Motor Speedway. "The radio, I always thought, has been a team tool that should be utilized just by the teams," Busch said. "We don't get to hear what the coach says to his offensive and defensive coordinators in the NFL. I don't think that we get to hear what they do in baseball when they call to the bullpen. You don't get to hear what they say in the huddle, and what they say in the huddle is pretty animated. Roger and I are on the same page. Martinsville is behind us." That may be, but NASCAR isn't about to budge when it comes to keeping the airwaves open.
"The more access we can give the fans, that's a part of what made NASCAR what it is, the accessibility of the drivers," said Jim Hunter, NASCAR's vice president of corporate communications. "In my opinion, drivers -- even in the heat of battle -- need to be able to control their emotions. They're driving a racecar around at 200 miles an hour with a bunch of other people. NASCAR needs to be able to hear what's going on with the teams during a race, and we've extended that to the fans."(Sporting News)(4-5-2009) Comment here
- Penske to Toyota? doubtful: Speculation mounts that some Dodge teams may be looking to bolt, depending on how the Washington-Detroit-Chrysler-Fiat talks go. Most prominent in the speculation is that Roger Penske, who is one of the nation's biggest Toyota dealers, may move Kurt Busch's Dodge team, which just won at Atlanta, into the Toyota camp. A Penske-Toyota-NASCAR scenario has been bandied about for several years. There was no immediate comment from officials at Chrysler, but Toyota racing boss Lee White said "Unless RP [Roger Penske] has resorted to secretly stealing our parts, there is not chance he's running anything remotely resembling a Toyota in the foreseeable future. It's just another of many false rumors."(mikemulhern.net)(4-5-2009) Comment here
- Kurt Busch victory lap gets name: #2-Kurt Busch had a contest to name the victory lap he ran at Atlanta in reverse. Winning entry, The Unwind Lap.(Virginian-Pilot)(3-21-2009)
- Kurt Busch to be on Cribs: “Cribs,” the reality television program on MTV (and now CMT) that features tours of the houses of celebrities, spent more than 15 hours last Tuesday and Wednesday (March 10-11) shooting with Kurt & Eva Busch at their home and their office complex. “It was really cool and we can’t wait to see what they are able to produce with all the footage they shot,” Kurt said. “I think the crew was a little bit surprised to see that we have a pretty elaborate wine cellar downstairs. It didn’t come as any surprise to them that we had some Miller Lite taps to enjoy in our ‘mans-land’ (party/recreation room) in our basement. I’m pretty sure they’ll end the piece with some footage that’ll certainly make our friends at Dodge very happy. It was a lot of fun doing the shoot and we’re anxiously waiting to hear back from them as to when the episode will be shown.”(Tom Roberts PR)(3-20-2009)
- Kurt Busch looking for help to name his celebration lap: #2-Kurt Busch says he has been “just blown away” by the attention he has received from his special celebratory “Victory Lap” after winning last Sunday’s Kobalt 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. After dominating the race and picking up his first victory of the 2009 NASCAR season, Busch celebrated the win by stopping at the finish line, grabbing the checkered flag, throwing his Miller Lite Dodge Charger in reverse and backing around the entire track to show his appreciation to all the fans. “It has been unbelievable – I’ve been just blown away by it all,” Busch said of the response from his post-race antics after recording his 19th career NASCAR Sprint Cup victory. “It’s amazing to see the attention it (the celebration lap) has gotten. We’ve done hundreds of media interviews since Sunday and every time it’s inevitable that they’ll get around to wanting to discuss our unusual victory lap. We were doing Eli’s radio show on Tuesday night when we decided we were going to ask the fans to help us put an official name on our lap,” Busch said of his appearance on “NASCAR LIVE,” the MRN Radio program hosted by Eli Gold. “Doug Rice and I were already talking about doing something special with it when I called in to ‘Fast Talk’ on PRN on Monday night. So we’ve decided to ask the fans to log on to our site (www.kurtbusch.com), follow the story to the link, click on it and give us your suggestions,” said Busch. “After discussing the situation with my staff, we’ve actually decided to make a nice little contest out of it. We’re urging the fans to participate and I can’t wait to review their suggested names for the lap. We’ll send the winner a nice gift basket and that one lucky fan will always have the bragging rights for naming the lap,” said Busch. “We’ll announce the winning entry on Friday at Bristol (March 20).”(Tom Roberts PR)(3-12-2009) Comment here
- Pat Tryson Named Crew Chief of the Race in Atlanta: Pat Tryson, crew chief for the #2 Miller Lite Dodge driven by Kurt Busch has been named the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Race in Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. After a dominant day, Tryson made the perfect call on lap 323 of the scheduled 325-lap event when a caution came out, setting up a two-lap dash for victory with a green-white-checkered finish. Summoning his driver to pit road, Tryson instructed his crew to replace all four tires. In addition to the $1,000 check, the winning crew chief will receive signage to announce the win on their pit box the following week. The crew chief with the most weekly wins will be honored as the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Year and will be presented a $20,000 check at the season finale in Homestead(Wypall PR)(3-11-2009)
- Loop Data: Busch Perfect at Atlanta: #2-Kurt Busch dominated the Kobalt Tools Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, scoring a perfect Driver Rating of 150.0. This is Busch’s fourth perfect Driver Rating since the inception of the Loop Data statistic in 2005. He is the only NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver to post more than one perfect Driver Rating. During Sunday’s Atlanta race, Busch had race-best stats in Laps Led (234), Average Running Position (1.5) and Fastest Laps Run (81). He was also one of two drivers who ran all 330 Laps in the Top 15 (Kasey Kahne was the other). Busch also scored perfect Driver Ratings in his Pocono Raceway wins in 2005 and 2007 and at Phoenix International Raceway in 2005. This is the eighth perfect Driver Rating in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series since 2005:
Perfect Driver Ratings
Driver, Date, Track
Kurt Busch, 4/23/2005, Phoenix
Kurt Busch (2), 7/24/2005, Pocono
Tony Stewart, 8/14/2005, Watkins Glen
Kevin Harvick, 11/12/2006, Phoenix
Kurt Busch (3), 8/5/2007, Pocono
Clint Bowyer, 9/16/2007, New Hampshire
Jimmie Johnson, 8/31/2008, Auto Club
Kurt Busch (4), 3/8/2009, Atlanta
Driver Rating is a Loop Data statistic which is based on several statistical components.(NASCAR PR)(3-9-2009)
- Kurt Busch wins at Atlanta: #2-Kurt Busch won the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway for his 1st win of 2009 and 19th career win. Busch dominated the race leading 234 of 330 laps and passing #99-Edwards on during the green-white-checkered finish. Busch has now won at least one race every year for eight consecutive seasons and Penske has won at least a race a year for 19 consecutive seasons. #24-Jeff Gordon finished 2nd followed by #99-Edwards, #29-Harvick, #83-Vickers, #33-Bowyer, #9-Kahne, #14-Stewart, #48-Johnson and #1-Truex Jr. Pole sitter #5-Martin wrecked midway thru the race and finished 31st. There were 13 lead changes among 8 drivers and 11 caution flags for 54 laps.
See race results, awards, laps led, cautions, attendence and more on my Atlanta Race Results page
See drivers and owners points standings on my Drivers/Owners Points after Atlanta page.(3-8-2009)
- Greener Paint for Penske: PPG Automotive Refinish announced they are assisting Penske Racing in converting their state-of-the-art, racecar painting facility in Mooresville, NC to the environmentally-friendly PPG Envirobase High Performance waterborne coatings system. The conversion began with the painting of the #2 Miller Lite and #77 Mobil 1 Penske Racing Dodge, which made their debut this weekend at the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The #2 Miller Lite Dodge features the PPG Automotive Refinish logo on the deck lid for today's race. To address the environment, NASCAR, the sport's sanctioning body, is developing an industry-wide green initiative led by Dr. Mike Lynch. The initiative will address environmental issues including reducing air emissions, lubricants recycling, building efficiencies and land preservation. It will include the sport's various stakeholders and will seek to mobilize the NASCAR fan base in this important issue.(Penske Racing PR)(3-8-2009) Comment here
- Tryson wins award: #2-Miller Lite Dodge crew chief Pat Tryson won the “Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race Award” in Sunday’s Daytona 500. “It was a great team effort in being able to get a top-10 finish out of Sunday’s race,” Pat said. “We got caught up in the big one, but Kurt and all of our Miller Lite Dodge team refused to give up. We pitted every time we could (under the caution) to make repairs and got it fixed as well as we could without going a lap down. Kurt put on a helluva’ show out there in coming up from 29th to finish 10th.(Tom Roberts PR)(2-19-2009) Comment here
- Kurt Busch is ecology-conscious: #2-Kurt Busch is always ecology-conscious and one way he is showing that this season is in his mode of travel while at the race tracks. “We ditched the old gas-powered golf cart for our new state-of-the-art Ruff & Tuff Hunter 4X4,” Kurt said. “It’s the first-ever single motor electric 4-wheel drive cart. Most important is that it’s powered by a ‘clean and green’ dry cell battery system.” “It’ll go at least 50 miles on a single charge,” boasted Kurt’s transportation specialist, Paul Bostic, who became acquainted with the Ruff & Tuff brand through friends at Mossy Oak Camouflage. “It’s a lot of fun to drive. It has great maneuverability and you can shift from 2-wheel to 4-wheel drive in an instant just by pushing a button.”(Tom Roberts PR)(2-12-2009)
- Kyle Busch joins Gillette Young Guns: With the NASCAR season ready to roll, Gillette announced that Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M’s Toyota will be the newest member to its star-studded Gillette Young Guns lineup, which includes Clint Bowyer, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman [Kyle replaces his brother Kurt]. During the off-season, Busch was welcomed to the Gillette Young Guns team when he participated in a two-day ad shoot to support the launch of the gaming-inspired Gillette Fusion Power Gamer, which features Fusion’s 5-bladed shaving surface for unsurpassed comfort and a sleek new look. The spot, titled “Jumbotron,” was created by BBDO NY, features all six Gillette Young Guns. Airing for the first time during the FOX telecast of the Daytona 500, “Jumbotron” follows the Gillette Young Guns as they attempt to sneak into the race track and play video games from atop a motorcoach.(Gillette Young Guns PR)(2-7-2009)
- New name for Penske's team: Bill Davis has become a minority owner of the team now known as Penske Championship Racing, a move giving Sam Hornish Jr. points that will guarantee him a spot in the season's first five races. With the addition of Davis, the team changed its name to Penske Championship Racing from Penske Racing. Bud Denker, the senior vice president of Penske Corporation, confirmed the move on Wednesday.(ESPN)(2-4-2009)
- New car chief for Kurt Busch: Jeff Thousand returns to being a “road warrior” as he will serve as #2-Kurt Busch’s car chief for the 2009 season. Thousand’s racing career dates back to the short tracks of the Midwest as he was a member of Rusty Wallace’s successful operation during the late 70s and early 80s. Thousand followed Wallace to the Cup ranks after Penske Racing’s NASCAR team started in 1991, moving from St. Louis to reunite with Wallace for the 1993 season. Thousand was a fixture on the circuit during much of Wallace’s legendary career and last served as car chief for Wallace during his final year behind the wheel back in 2005. “Jeff brings so much knowledge and experience to our team and we’re glad to get him out of our shop and back on the road with us,” Pat [Tryson, crew chief] said. “We have a great group of guys on our team and we all get along really well and communicate very effectively.”(Tom Roberts PR)(2-4-2009)
- Dodge: smaller budget, less team, high hopes: Although it will have fewer cars on the track and fewer promotional displays in cutting 30 percent of its NASCAR budget, Dodge has not cut back its Sprint Cup research and development for the 2009 season. The automaker hopes that even with fewer cars, it will have better results after a season where it failed to put a car in the Chase For The Sprint Cup. With Chip Ganassi Racing’s merger with Dale Earnhardt Inc. eliminating three Cup teams from where Dodge started in 2008, Dodge has at least one fewer organization to support in 2009. Dodge could end up with only six cars next season if the pending Gillett Evernham Motorsports-Petty Enterprises merger eliminates two more from the manufacturer’s stable, which also included Robby Gordon in 2008. That leaves three cars at Penske Racing [#2,#12,#77] and three or four at the GEM-Petty consolidation [#9,#10?,#19,#43]. “You want to have a portfolio of drivers that can at any given time deliver a top-five or a victory,” said Mike Accavitti, director of the Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep brands. “We feel with the lineup that we have remaining that we can do that. … The seven cars that we have – or eight cars or six cars or whatever it ends up to be – will be sufficient. We can give Dodge customers a good show. We can give NASCAR fans a good show and we can represent the brand well.” Accavitti said that his budget was set and would not get increased by the authorization of the bridge loan for Chrysler. He said it will remain at 30% below 2008, just as it was planned prior to President George W. Bush’s approval of the loan last month. “The entire operation was contingent upon the bridge loans being passed,” he said. “It was a critical element for the viability of our company and we’re very appreciative to have that behind us and be able to move forward."(SceneDaily)(1-8-2009) Comment here
