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PENSKE RACE REPORT


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Challenging Day at Michigan for Penske Racing Trio

BROOKLYN, Mich. – August 19, 2008 - Penske Racing drivers Ryan Newman, Sam Hornish Jr. and Kurt Busch finished 21st, 22nd and 36th, respectively, in Sunday's 3M Performance 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

Although Newman qualified in the 20th position on Friday, the Alltel team had to make an engine change during the first practice session which relegated the No. 12 machine to the last starting position in the field of 43 cars. Newman's No. 12 Alltel Dodge team fought handling issues and tough competition for the duration of the 400-mile event, but the Alltel team never gave up and worked on the car throughout the day, resulting in a 21st-place finish. Newman now is in 17th place in the 2008 NASCAR Cup Series driver point standings, 211 points behind the 12th-place cutoff for the 2008 "Chase for the NASCAR Cup."

Hornish and the No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge returned to racing in front of his "home" crowd on Sunday. After qualifying in the 23rd position, the Defiance, Ohio native battled an ill-handling car throughout the day, but drove hard and avoided trouble, finishing in a respectable 22nd place and earning the Raybestos "Rookie of the Race" honor. The No. 77 team remains 34th in the 2008 NASCAR Cup Series owners points standings.

After starting 13th and running as a solid top-10 contender for the first half of the Michigan race, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge driver Busch saw his day take a turn for the worse down the stretch, as he dropped to a 36th-place finish. The result saw Busch fall a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series driver point standings to 19th.

Helio Castroneves Dances in the "D" for the Belle Isle Grand Prix

DETROIT, Mich. – On Thursday, August 14, Helio Castroneves, driver of the No. 3 Team Penske Dallara/Honda car in the IndyCar Series, visited Detroit to give the locals a preview of the upcoming excitement of the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix to be held August 29-31.

“We had a very full day in the Motor City promoting the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix,” said Castroneves, who currently ranks second in the 2008 IndyCar Series championship standings. “It was great to get a chance to see and drive the race track on Belle Isle again. It’s a place that has a lot of great memories and hopefully we can create a few more on Labor Day weekend.”

Castroneves’ day started out with an eye-opener to local media outlets, as he gave them high-speed rides of the challenging 14-turn Raceway at Belle Isle Park street course in a Chevrolet Corvette, the official vehicle of the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix. For two hours, the two-time Indy 500 champion and two-time Belle Isle winner drove representatives from more than 10 media outlets around the 2.07-mile track, and all emerged with smiles on their faces (and weak knees).

Afterwards it was time to take in a bit of Detroit’s and America’s favorite pastime – a little baseball with the Detroit Tigers. At Comerica Park, Castroneves did interviews and photo ops, but the highlight was the Brazilian throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. The toss was a little high, but the ball made it over the plate with ease. Detroit won over the Toronto Blue Jays in an exciting game, no doubt due to a little luck provided by the race-winning driver’s presence.

Castroneves and Team Penske teammate Ryan Briscoe will take to the streets of Belle Isle August 29-31. This weekend Team Penske will be back in action at the PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma County at Infineon Raceway. The race will be broadcast live on ESPN2 beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 24.