NASCAR Wrecks - Penske Ponders Michigan
Penske Racing duo hope to build on recent success at Michigan
By Greg Engle - Cup Scene Daily
For the Penske South Racing duo of Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman, the cornerstone has been laid. And at Michigan International Speedway this weekend both drivers hope to build on their recent success.
The newest member of the Penske South Racing team, Kurt Busch is currently mired 17th in points.
He won at Bristol earlier in the year but up until last week, Busch had finished no higher then seventh and owned an average finish of 20.6.
Then came Pocono last Sunday where Busch scored a second place finish. The 2004 champion and his team led by crew chief Roy McCauley have gone the extra mile in preparation for this weekend’s stop at MIS hoping to continue that momentum.
“I said that last weekend’s Pocono race would be the perfect spot for our Miller Lite Dodge team to get headed back on the right track and we did just that,” said Busch. “It was just the solid weekend we were hoping for. Our goal is to keep on logging those top-fives and top-10s all the way through the September Richmond race and make our way back up there into the top 10 in the points. What we accomplished at Pocono is a great start to launch us in that direction.”
“That right there was just what the doctor ordered,” added McCauley. “We needed a race where everyone performed at their best and that certainly was the case at Pocono. Kurt was on the wheel and in championship form, the guys had an absolutely incredible day in the pits and our communication, strategy and execution were terrific all day long.”
The Penske South Racing duo of Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman will have extra motivation to win this weekend in their boss's backyard Ryan Newman needs a good run as well. He sits just behind his new teammate in the points and although he does have one pole this season and he’s yet to visit victory lane. Newman had an average finish of 21.2.
Newman has two wins at Michigan August 2003 and June 2004 – and four top-five finishes in nine starts.
“I’m excited to be going back to MIS,” Newman said. “The past couple of weeks, we’ve been getting good finishes, but we need to be a whole lot better if we’re going to make it into the Chase this year, and I think Michigan will be a good place for the entire Alltel team.”
One advantage the duo might have here is their boss, Roger Penske. Penske, a Michigan native and Detroit-area resident, owned the Michigan track from 1973 until July 1999 and has five series wins here. Both Busch and Newman have the extra motivation to win this Sunday on their boss’ former turf.
“There's always a sense of pride when you get to go race at Michigan Speedway because of the auto manufacturers, and my team owner, of course,” Busch said.
The Penske Racing South duo need to score some strong finishes and make it into the top ten in points if they want to represent their boss in this year’s edition of the Chase for the Nextel Cup. Busch is a former champion and knows what it takes to get inside that coveted top ten.
“You definitely have to race to the Top 10,“ Busch said. “There's still plenty of races for things to go wrong and things to go right.”
Busch is filled with all the optimism that he needs to stage a turnaround and perhaps help carry both Penske drivers into the final stretch towards the Chase for the Nextel Cup
“Our goal is to keep on logging those top-fives and top-10s all the way through the September Richmond race and make our way back up there into the top 10 in the points,” Busch said. “What we accomplished at Pocono is a great start to launch us in that direction.”
By Greg Engle - Cup Scene Daily
For the Penske South Racing duo of Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman, the cornerstone has been laid. And at Michigan International Speedway this weekend both drivers hope to build on their recent success.
The newest member of the Penske South Racing team, Kurt Busch is currently mired 17th in points.
He won at Bristol earlier in the year but up until last week, Busch had finished no higher then seventh and owned an average finish of 20.6.
Then came Pocono last Sunday where Busch scored a second place finish. The 2004 champion and his team led by crew chief Roy McCauley have gone the extra mile in preparation for this weekend’s stop at MIS hoping to continue that momentum.
“I said that last weekend’s Pocono race would be the perfect spot for our Miller Lite Dodge team to get headed back on the right track and we did just that,” said Busch. “It was just the solid weekend we were hoping for. Our goal is to keep on logging those top-fives and top-10s all the way through the September Richmond race and make our way back up there into the top 10 in the points. What we accomplished at Pocono is a great start to launch us in that direction.”
“That right there was just what the doctor ordered,” added McCauley. “We needed a race where everyone performed at their best and that certainly was the case at Pocono. Kurt was on the wheel and in championship form, the guys had an absolutely incredible day in the pits and our communication, strategy and execution were terrific all day long.”
The Penske South Racing duo of Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman will have extra motivation to win this weekend in their boss's backyard Ryan Newman needs a good run as well. He sits just behind his new teammate in the points and although he does have one pole this season and he’s yet to visit victory lane. Newman had an average finish of 21.2.
Newman has two wins at Michigan August 2003 and June 2004 – and four top-five finishes in nine starts.
“I’m excited to be going back to MIS,” Newman said. “The past couple of weeks, we’ve been getting good finishes, but we need to be a whole lot better if we’re going to make it into the Chase this year, and I think Michigan will be a good place for the entire Alltel team.”
One advantage the duo might have here is their boss, Roger Penske. Penske, a Michigan native and Detroit-area resident, owned the Michigan track from 1973 until July 1999 and has five series wins here. Both Busch and Newman have the extra motivation to win this Sunday on their boss’ former turf.
“There's always a sense of pride when you get to go race at Michigan Speedway because of the auto manufacturers, and my team owner, of course,” Busch said.
The Penske Racing South duo need to score some strong finishes and make it into the top ten in points if they want to represent their boss in this year’s edition of the Chase for the Nextel Cup. Busch is a former champion and knows what it takes to get inside that coveted top ten.
“You definitely have to race to the Top 10,“ Busch said. “There's still plenty of races for things to go wrong and things to go right.”
Busch is filled with all the optimism that he needs to stage a turnaround and perhaps help carry both Penske drivers into the final stretch towards the Chase for the Nextel Cup
“Our goal is to keep on logging those top-fives and top-10s all the way through the September Richmond race and make our way back up there into the top 10 in the points,” Busch said. “What we accomplished at Pocono is a great start to launch us in that direction.”
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