PENSKE RACE REPORT - October 20, 2008

Penske Racing NASCAR Trio Suffers Tire Issues at Martinsville

MARTINSVILLE, Va. - Tire issues plagued Penske Racing drivers Ryan Newman, Sam Hornish Jr. and Kurt Busch at Martinsville Speedway in Sunday's TUMS QuikPak 500 as the trio finished 23rd, 34th and 36th respectively.

Inclement weather rained out qualifying at Martinsville on Friday afternoon, so the field was set by 2008 owner points.

Newman and the No. 12 Alltel Dodge took the green flag in 16th place. Fighting an ill-handling race car early on, Newman ran as high as second place and solidly in the top 15 for more than half of the 504-lap event. However, Newman blew a right front tire at lap 332 which caused him to slap the wall in turn four. He was forced to pit under the green flag and fell two laps down to the leaders as a result. Newman was never able to make up the lost laps at the .526-mile oval and he finished the afternoon in 23rd place. With four races remaining in the 2008 NASCAR Cup Series season, Newman is 17th in the driver point standings.

"We fought a tight-handling race car all day, but we were working on it and it seemed to be getting better with the track bar adjustments that we were making each stop," Newman said. "But when we blew the tire, that pretty much ended our day. It was a disappointing afternoon for the Alltel Dodge team."

After starting 36th, Hornish unfortunately suffered the same fate as the No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger finished in 34th position, 31 laps down, after a blown right-front tire on lap 161 sent the team to the garage for repairs. Despite the incident, Hornish received "Rookie of the Race" honors for the second week in a row as the top-finishing rookie racer.

Busch started 19th on the grid and endured a multitude of tire and brake issues early on, relegating his No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger to a 36th-place finish, 34 laps down to winner Jimmie Johnson.

Penske American Le Mans Series Team Secures Manufacturer's Title For Porsche

MONTEREY, Calif. – The DHL Penske Porsche American Le Mans Series (ALMS) teams entered Saturday’s Monterey Sports Car Challenge, the final round of the 2008 American Le Mans Series, with the LMP2 prototype driver’s and team championships already clinched, but the manufacturers title was still up for grabs.

In a four-hour race which featured 13 caution periods and a racing surface filled with gravel due to many off-track incidents, Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Romain Dumas (France) guided the No. 7 DHL Penske Porsche RS Spyder to a third-place LMP2 class finish (fifth overall) – high enough to edge Acura by a single point in the final standings.

Porsche ended the season with 214 points, and Acura, with a one-two finish at the 2.238-mile, 11-turn Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca road course, finished second with 213.

Team Penske IndyCar Series drivers Ryan Briscoe (Australia) and Helio Castroneves (Brazil) finished fourth in the LMP2 class (fifth overall) in the No. 5 DHL Penske Porsche RS Spyder, and Sascha Maassen (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA) finished eighth in class (10th overall) in the No. 6 DHL Penske Porsche RS Spyder.

Earlier this month at the 2008 Petit Le Mans, Penske Racing had secured the LMP2 team title – their third straight – and the second consecutive driver’s title for Bernhard and Dumas.

Visit PenskeRacing.com for the complete story, photos and more...

Sam Hornish Jr. Finishes Ninth at Martinsville in Truck Series Debut

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Sam Hornish Jr., driver of the No. 4 Penske Truck Rental Dodge Ram in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in conjunction with Bobby Hamilton Racing, had an impressive series debut, capturing a ninth-place finish Saturday in the Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway.

In a day full of on-track activity, as he was pulling “double duty” in the Truck Series and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Hornish qualified the Penske Racing Dodge Ram in the 16th position on Saturday morning. After two subsequent Cup Series practice sessions, Hornish strapped in for 200 laps at the “paperclip” shaped oval.

In the final five laps of the race, Hornish picked up three spots on track, catapulting into the top 10 in the running order. He finished ninth in his first-ever NASCAR Craftsman Truck start and gained valuable experience, while also having a great time.

“I really enjoyed having the opportunity to race in the Penske Truck Rental Dodge Ram,” said Hornish. “I had heard that Truck Series races were fun and I had a great time out there today.”