PENSKE RACE REPORT

Kurt Busch Finishes 10th To Lead Penske Racing at the Glen

PenskeWATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Penske Racing drivers Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman and Sam Hornish Jr. finished 10th, 26th and 32nd respectively in Sunday's Centurion Boats at the Glen NASCAR Cup Series race, held at the famed 2.45-mile Watkins Glen International road course.

After rain showers washed out qualifying on Friday, Busch started his No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge in 19th position and hovered around 15th in the running order for much of the 90-lap race. Despite having a splitter problem that caused a vibration in the car with 20 laps to go, Busch held on to finish 10th, his fifth top-10 finish of the 2008 NASCAR Cup Series season. Busch remains 18th in the 2008 NASCAR Cup Series driver point standings, 359 points behind 12th place, the cutoff for the 2008 NASCAR "Chase for the Cup," which begins in September.

Newman and the No. 12 Kodak Dodge team started 16th and ran in the top 10 for most of the day, but a spin going into turn one with just 13 laps remaining began a chain of events that relegated the team to a 26th-place finish. Newman remains in 15th place in the 2008 NASCAR Cup Series driver point standings, 204 points out of 12th place.

After starting 34th, Hornish, driver of the No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge, finished 32nd. Hornish was able to finish on the lead lap despite being involved in a stunning multi-car accident on lap 82, which saw the No. 77 hit broad-side into the barrel barricade at pit road entrance. Despite the hard hit, both Hornish and the Mobil 1 Dodge emerged relatively unscathed and were able to continue. Hornish and the No. 77 team remain 34th in the 2008 NASCAR Cup Series owner point standings.

Visit PenskeRacing.com for the complete story, photos and more... Accident Ends Nationwide Series Race for Sam Hornish Jr. at Watkins Glen

PenskeWATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Sam Hornish Jr., driver of the No. 12 Penske Truck Rental Dodge in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, was on course for his best finish of the season in NASCAR’s second-tier series before an accident in the Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International relegated him to a 36th-place result. Running inside the top-10 for the first half of the 82-lap race, Hornish was spun on lap 40 and subsequently hit by another car, ending the afternoon early for the No. 12 team.

Hornish is no stranger to the 2.45-mile upstate New York road course, as he has competed at The Glen in the IndyCar Series with much success. That experience showed in Saturday morning’s qualifying session when Hornish initially secured the eighth starting position for the Penske Truck Rental team. However, at the end of the session, Hornish spun in the inner loop during his final qualifying lap and flat-spotted the tires on the No. 12 machine, necessitating a tire change. That post-qualifying tire change forced the Penske Truck Rental Dodge to start from the back of the field, due to “unapproved adjustments” at an impound race.

After racing action began on Saturday afternoon, Hornish came to pit road on the fifth lap for four tires and fuel as the team employed pit strategy to gain track position. He restarted the race in 39th place. When a full-course caution came out on lap 11, the Penske Truck Rental team opted not to pit as part of the strategy, and Hornish was catapulted into fifth place once stops cycled through.

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Helio Castroneves Finishes Second In Thrilling Kentucky Finish

PenskeSPARTA, Ky. – An exciting fuel-strategy gamble saw Helio Castroneves almost win his first race of 2008 on Saturday night at Kentucky Speedway, but he was able to grab second place in the Meijer 300, chalking up a record seventh second place finish this season. Castroneves remains second in the 2008 IndyCar Series point standings, 78 points behind leader and Kentucky race winner Scott Dixon.

It wasn’t until the last turn of the last lap that Castroneves’ No. 3 Team Penske Dallara/Honda shuddered and ran out of fuel, handing Dixon the win. Castroneves was in 14th spot when team strategist Tim Cindric had the No. 3 team top off its fuel tank with 57 laps remaining in the 200-lap event. It was this strategy, and careful and patient driving by Castroneves, that saw the No. 3 machine take the lead when the remainder of the field pitted for fuel late in the race.

On lap 199, Castroneves knew that he was running low on fuel and increased his pace, appearing to have enough momentum to win as he headed into turn 3 of the 1.5-mile oval. “At that point, I saw the lights on the dash and they were all lit,” said Castroneves. “But I still expected to get to the finish line first – unfortunately Dixon got by me at the last second.”

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Penske ALMS Porsches Finish Second, Fourth at Road America

PenskeELKHART LAKE, Wis. – Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas, driving the No. 7 Penske Racing Porsche RS Spyder, maintained their American Le Mans Series LMP2 drivers points lead by climbing up to second place (fourth overall) during the final stretch of the Generac 500 at Road America Saturday.

Bernhard and Dumas, who won the LMP2 championship a year ago with podium finishes in all 12 races, have now extended that streak to 27 straight races dating back to Mid-Ohio 2006, and given Porsche a 13-point lead over Acura in the manufacturer standings.

“Because of the good points situation, the results today were okay, but after all the hard work the team put into this weekend, we have to be a bit disappointed,” said Bernhard. “We had a pit strategy that would have put us in a position to win, but all the late yellow flags gave the others a chance to catch up. Still, we achieved our overall strategy – progress towards another championship.”