TEAM REPORTS (DAYTONA, FLA.) - PENSKE-TAYLOR TEAM SCORES PODIUM FINISH IN ROLEX 24

There is a long-standing motto associated with Penske Racing and that is “Effort Equals Results.” Perhaps there is no better example of that slogan being demonstrated than in the team effort that produced an impressive podium finish for Penske Racing drivers Kurt Busch, Helio Castroneves & Ryan Briscoe in this weekend’s Rolex 24 Grand-Am race at Daytona International Speedway.

Briscoe was behind the wheel of the Penske-Taylor Racing No. 9 Toshiba Pontiac Riley when it crossed the line third and came to rest on pit road in today’s 46th edition of the famed road racing endurance classic. The celebrating crew members, along with Busch and Castroneves swarmed around the podium-finishing ride. Tim Cindric, President of Penske Performance, Inc., who manned the radio for this weekend’s incredible effort, huddled his trio of drivers together by the car.

“When we talked about doing this race several months ago, it was all about us as a team,” Cindric was heard telling his group of driving stars. “When we came down here a couple of weeks back to test, it was all about teamwork. We really showed them what teamwork is all about. I’m telling you that Roger and everyone associated with Penske Racing are so proud of you guys. To be able to come in here like we did and get a podium finish is pretty impressive and is such a tremendous example of our team – all of our different racing units – working together as one.”

With Busch carrying the banner for Penske’s NASCAR teams, Castroneves representing Penske’s IndyCar efforts and Briscoe bringing his American Le Mans credentials to the table, there lies overwhelming evidence that legendary race team owner Roger Penske made a brilliant move when he headquartered all of his racing teams under one roof in Mooresville, N.C.

“We’re so proud to represent Penske Racing,” said Busch, grinning after an unbelievable performance behind the wheel under conditions he had never faced before. “Helio and Ryan are tremendous teammates and we all thrive on the winning drive that Roger instills in all of us.

“I was certainly aware of my experience level in this form of racing and we came in here with realistic expectations,” said Busch. “I even told the media that my goal for the race was to keep it on course and not have to be towed in on the wrecker.

“Ryan and Helio are superb road course racers and I think everyone would acknowledge that,” Busch said. “I have always said that I enjoy racing our road courses out at Sonoma and at Watkins Glen. This weekend was indeed a challenge. Working together with Wayne Taylor and his SunTrust Racing Team and having the support from Toshiba as our sponsor, it was a great and fun weekend for us all.”

“Kurt did a great job in the rain last night,” Briscoe said in the post-race press conference. “It was an amazing effort. It threw everything at us with the weather and the traffic. It is a special race and a special way to start the season off. The guys from the No. 6 Indy car team crewed the car and I will be with them this season, so that is good for me to get to know them early. I want to come back next year and have another crack at it.”

“It was incredible working with Kurt, Ryan and all the Penske crew on this project,” Castroneves offered. “I was so impressed with the total team effort put forth. It certainly was a great way for all the Penske Racing teams to begin the 2008 season.”

The Rolex 24 race recap for the Penske-Taylor Racing No. 9 Toshiba Pontiac Riley Team follows:

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Periodic rain showers hit Daytona Beach this morning (Saturday) and the forecast called for a continuing chance of precipitation throughout the afternoon and into the night.

There was no rain when the race began at 1:30 p.m. here this afternoon, but there were wet patches of asphalt all around the course. The No. 9 Toshiba Pontiac Riley Team started the race with slicks on the car, with a set of rain tires ready in the pits if needed.

Grand-Am Series rules call for the driver qualifying the car to be in the cockpit for the start of the race, so Helio Castroneves was the team driver for the initial stint.

The Penske-Taylor Racing trio of drivers Castroneves, Ryan Briscoe and Kurt Busch had been joking around with each other since qualifying day here on Thursday. After Castroneves qualified 13th, the big question was how many cars could Castroneves get around on the first lap.

The answer to that question was five, as the popular Brazilian driver crossed the start/finish line in eighth after one lap was completed.

Castroneves was maintaining a steady pace when problems struck just only 27 minutes into the race. Entering Turn 1, the right-front tire shredded on the car and Castroneves had to continue driving straight off the course. The debris left behind caused the first full-course yellow of the event.

Fortunately, Castroneves was able to limp back around to the pit area without sustaining major suspension or structural damage. But, after all repairs were made, the car was completely checked out and new tires were placed on the car, Castroneves was one lap down to leader Matt Plumb. Max Angelelli, driving the No. 10 “teammate” SunTrust Racing Pontiac Riley from the Wayne Taylor Racing stable was running a strong third.

The No. 10 car actually led some laps early in the race, before flat-spotting tires which forced Angellili to pit early.

Good fortune struck the No. 9 team when problems with the No. 51 Tommy Erdos Cheever Racing entry and Ortelli Bambini’s Cheever Racing No. 16 stalled, bringing out another full-course yellow.

Not only did it allow Castroneves to get his lap back, it also gave the team the opportunity to address an issue they had with radio communications when the No. 9 car hit pit road under the caution.

Castroneves soldiered on until 2:08:20 into the 24-hour event, when a driver change was made under another yellow, allowing Briscoe to take over the driving duties.

Scot Dixon, in the No. 02 Ganassi entry, had the lead after the restart, but Briscoe was coming up from the rear and was up to 14th. At 2:34.05 into the event, Briscoe had powered the No. 9 Toshiba car back up into the top-10.

With teams pitting for service and to change drivers, Briscoe was up to sixth at 2:54:27 and was second before pitting at 3:14:15.

Laying down some very impressive lap times, Briscoe took the lead at 4:02:30 into the race and was praising how ell the car was handling with air pressure changes made during the most recent pit stop.

Briscoe pitted and Busch took to the wheel for his first stint at 4:14:05 into the event.

“It’s been a lot of fun out there so far,” Briscoe said after cooling off briefly. The car’s running great. We were lucky that full course yellow came out when it did when we had the tire problem with Helio out there. We only lost one lap and we were able to make it up.

“For some reason, or main radio swapped channels when Helio was in the car and we lost radio communication. We had a full-course yellow that came out when we only had about a gallon of fuel left in the car. We switched channels and got contact back, so I didn’t get in the car as early as I might have.

“The team has been doing a great job with all the pit stops and if feels good to have gotten the lead out there,” Briscoe added.

Busch held a steady pace and was thrown a major obstacle when a huge rain shower hit the track at 5:22:30 into the race. There were 10 cars on the lead lap when teams started pitting to change from their slicks to tires that had more grip under the wet conditions. Busch adapted to the conditions and turned impressive lap times, picking up spots.

Castroneves had rested and returned to the pits at 7:30 p.m. While running second, Busch hit pit road and the car received fresh racing slicks, fuel and a new driver – Castroneves.

“I’m smiling from ear to ear just loving the fact that I was driving at night in the rain, something that I’ve never done before,” Busch said, relaxing in his pit after his stint at the wheel. Our car is still on the lead lap and in the top 10. I know there’s still a real long way to go. The mentality I took was just to protect the race car and let some of the faster guys with more experience just go ahead.”

Even though the darkness brought difficulties for Castroneves seeing through the windshield, he was able to maintain a consistent pace until another full-course yellow flew 7:22:03 into the race. The other lead lap cars had already pitted and the No. 9 car was posted as the leader when Castroneves hit pit road for fuel, tires and to address the windshield tear-off issue.

At the one-third mark of the race – after eight hours had passed – the No. 6 Michael Shank Ford Riley led, with A.J. Almendinger driving. Jon Fogarty was second in the No. 99 Bob Stalling/GAINSCO Pontiac. Patrick Long was third in the No. 23 Alex Job Racing Porsche and Castroneves was fourth in the Penske-Taylor Pontiac Riley No. 9. Memo Rojas, driving the Ganassi No. 01 was shown fifth, with David Donohue (No. 58 Brumos Porsche Riley), Marc Goosens (No. 91 Bob Stallings Pontiac Riley), Mark Patterson (No. 60 Michael Shank Ford Riley) and the No. 59 Brumos Racing Porsche, with Hurley Haywood behind the wheel, rounding out the nine teams remaining in the lead lap.

The teams used another full-course yellow to hit the pits, with Briscoe replacing Castroneves behind the wheel at 8:11:31 into the race.

Briscoe was equally as smooth behind the wheel in his second stint as he was in his first. However, viewing his computer data during the run, he was warned about over-revving the engine on two occasions – at 8:41:07 into the race and again at 9:35:48.

Briscoe’s cool driving style helped keep the No. 9 Toshiba car in third spot for much of the run and that’s the position he held when driver change No. 6 took place at 10:50:11 into the race.

Busch resumed the driving duties under the 11th caution period of the race. The team made two trips down pit lane; the first for the driver change, which included bolting on four new Pirelli Tires and the second to purge and flush the car’s cooling system under the yellow.

Busch was sixth on the restart and was the final car still on the lead lap at the time. Juan Pablo Montoya led in the No. 01 Ganassi car, with Joao Barbora second in the No. 59 Brumos car, Alex Gurney third in the No. 99 Gainsco/Stallings entry, Johnny O’Connell fourth in the No. 91 Matthews Pontiac and John Pew in the No. 6 Michael Shank Ford.

Busch was offered the option to exit the seat after one stint, but at 2:00 a.m. EST on Sunday, he opted to do a double stint and stayed in the car. Juan Pablo Montoya, in the No. 01 Ganassi car was setting a torrid pace as the leader.

Castroneves returned to the driver’s seat at the 13:29:06 mark, relieving Busch. The No. 9 Toshiba car was running fifth at the time, a lap down to leader Montoya in the No. 01 Ganassi ride.

Unfortunately for the Penske-Taylor Team, overheating problems began to take their toll. Castroneves was forced to pit again at the 13:41:19 mark to add water and cool down the radiator.

Showers hit the Daytona Beach area around 3:30 a.m. this morning and persisted until just before 6:00 a.m., when the front that had plagued Northern Florida had finally made its way through and moved offshore.

Castroneves continued to set a steady pace and was sixth after 14 hours, still running a lap down to the leaders. An hour later, he was still sixth and running one lap down.

The overheating issues struck again at 14:18:32 as Castroneves was forced to make repeated pit stops to add water and cool the engine down. By the end of the 16th hour, the No. 9 car had fallen to eighth, running four laps down.

Briscoe spelled Castroneves at 16:30:22 into the race as the overheating problem continued to take its toll. An extended stop for cooling purposes dropped the No. 9 Penske-Taylor entry to ninth at the end of the 17th hour, running seven laps down.

With the overheating condition apparently now under control, Briscoe again started moving up the board. At 17:44:23 he was shown in the eighth running position.

With clearing skies, Busch arrived back in the pits at 8:30 a.m., preparing for the transition back into the driver’s seat. When the 19th hour arrived, the crew members were almost “high-fiving” each other as they now could count the remaining hours on just one hand.

Proof that this is indeed an endurance race began to surface during the final quarter of the event as several of the frontrunners began having problems. First it was the No. 99 Gainsco/Stallings car having transmission and braking problems while Jimmy Vasser was at the wheel. Mechanical woes began to take their toll on the strong-running No. 59 Brumos Porsche and they fell out of the top five in the running order.

The No. 60 Michael Shank Racing Ford had major problems at the 19:37:26 mark when it made contact with the curbing and bounced off the track through the grass. Heavy suspension damage to the right side of the car saw Justin Wilson limp back to the pits as another full-course yellow flew.

At the 19:41:05 mark, Busch replaced Briscoe behind the wheel of the No. 9 car and he was running fifth when the green flag was displayed again.

At that point, it was Montoya in the No. 01 car leading, with Bert Fritselle running second in the No. 6 ride and Joey Hand running third in the No. 23 Ruby Tuesday Porsche. Those cars were shown as the only lead-lappers. Fogarty, in the No. 99 Pontiac Riley was fourth, running five laps down and Busch was fifth, running seven laps behind.

With 3:30 remaining, Busch was up to fourth as the No. 23, with Joey Hand behind the wheel, had major problems and was forced to the garage for repairs. Up front, it was a two-car battle, with the No. 6 Ford and the No. 01 Ganassi Lexus Riley the only cars in the lead lap. The No. 99 was third and running five laps down, with Busch fourth and running seven laps down.

Attrition continued to take its toll at the 20:42:30 mark as the No.6 (Friselle) was leading and apparently blew the engine, bringing out yet another full-course yellow.

The No. 6 Michael Shank Ford was out of the picture at 20:56:13 and Busch was fourth, racing the No. 76 Krohn Pontiac Riley, with Darren Turner at the wheel, for the third spot.

At the 21:00:00 mark, with three hours remaining in the race, it was the No. 01 Ganassi car, with Montoya behind the wheel, holding a five-lap lead over second-place Alex Gurney in the No. 99 car. Turner and Busch were third and fourth, both running seven laps down.

The Ganassi Team went into an ultra-conservative mode, running laps almost three seconds slower than the remainder of the top-five drivers.

A full-course yellow at 21:03:15 saw Castroneves back in the car and poised to attempt to make up ground when the race finally returned to green at 21:17:20. Montoya, in the No. 01, had a four-lap lead over Jimmie Johnson, in the No. 99 car. Castroneves was third, running six laps behind Montoya, with Nic Jonnson fourth and seven laps behind. The No. 10 SunTrust Racing “teammate” car was back up to fifth, with Valiante back behind the wheel and running 11 laps down. It was an amazing rebound for the Wayne Taylor Racing entry, after being relegated to the garage for a radiator change.

Castroneves was brought back down pit road at 21:29:04 to again “purge” the car’s cooling system. He was able to return to the race without losing a lap and was still third with less than two hours and 30 minutes remaining in the race.

The No. 9 car returned to pit road at 21:59:36 for additional service and four fresh tires.

With two hours remaining in the race – at the 22:00:00 mark – Montoya was still well in control of the race. His No. 01 Ganassi Lexus Riley held a four-lap lead over Alex Gurney in the No. 99 Gainsco/Stallings Pontiac Riley. Castroneves maintained the third position, still running seven laps behind Montoya. Jonnson, in the No. 76 Krohn Pontiac Riley was fourth, also shown as seven laps down to the leader. Valiente was still behind the wheel of the No. 10 car, running fifth and 10 laps behind Montoya.

Montoya exited the lead car at 22:07:45 and was replaced by Scott Pruett. The No. 01 car gave up a lap in the process, but still held a three-lap lead over second-place with all eyes focused on the countdown clock. Castroneves continued his steady pace and was shown as third and running six laps down.

Castroneves hit pit road again at 22:32:07 for another “purging session.”

Briscoe was preparing to relieve Castroneves when the 3.56-mile demanding road course again returned to a full-course yellow condition at 22:40:13. The team’s strategy was to do the opposite of leader Pruett.

When Pruett opted to stay out, Castroneves dove down pit road and, at 22:43:17, Briscoe was back in the driver’s seat of the No. 9 car. The game plan now was for Briscoe to finish the race.

At the 23:00:00 mark – with only an hour remaining – Pruett was still leading second-place Gurney by three laps, with Briscoe running third and six laps down.

The lead car hit pit road again for service at the 23:07:40 mark and exited with a two-lap lead on second-place Gurney (No. 99) and a five-lap lead on the No. 9 (Briscoe). The No. 76 (Jonsson) was fourth and seven laps down and the No. 10 (Angelelli) was fifth and running eight laps down.

Briscoe was called in and pitted at 23:19:55 for tires and fuel, with the plan to have only one more stop before the 24-hour clock expired.

At 23:46:15, Briscoe did indeed hit pit road for a final “purging” stop. He maintained the third spot when he returned to the track.

None of the top-five positions changed during the waning minutes of the race and Pruett (No. 10 Ganassi Team that also included Dario Franchitti, Memo Rojas and Montoya) emerged as the winner, continuing the team’s winning streak here in the Rolex 24. The team completed 695 laps during the “twice-around-the-clock” challenge.

Gurney (No. 99 Gainsco/Stallings Team that also included Fogarty, Johnson and Vasser) came home as the runner-up and was shown as two laps down to the winners.

The “All-Star” No. 9 Toshiba Team of Castroneves, Busch and Briscoe rounded out the podium finishers, completing 689 laps. The No. 76 Krohn Racing Team finished fourth and the No. 10 SunTrust Racing Team rounded out the top-five finishers.