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2008 NASCAR Tickets & NASCAR Schedule
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Penske looking for 1st California win since '01 Posted:0535hrs By Charles Krall,Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service After 14 victories in the Indianapolis 500, team owner Roger Penske finally picked up his first win at the House that France Built -- Daytona International Speedway.
Ryan Newman and his "best teammate ever," Kurt Busch, gave Penske a 1-2 finish last Sunday in the Daytona 500. Newman hasn't had a top-10 finish at California since 2005, but Busch has started from the pole in three of the past four Cup races at California since he began racing for Penske in 2006. "We've always run well at California, we just haven't gotten to victory lane," Newman said. Penske has a long racing history on the West Coast. He was a successful sports car driver and collected wins at the now closed Riverside International Raceway before becoming a powerhouse owner. In 1973, Mark Donohue scored Penske's first Cup Series win, at Riverside, and added two more over the next two years at the winding Riverside road course and Ontario Motor Speedway. When both of those facilities were shuttered in the 1980s, Penske filled the void and built California Speedway. The track opened in 1997 and has been a part of the NASCAR schedule since. It since has been acquired by International Speedway Corp., which is controlled by the France family. His boss may have built the track, but California Speedway has been less than kind to Newman. In 10 career starts, he has an average finish of 19.5. His driver rating over the past three Cup races at California is 75.6, 17th best. Matt Kenseth tops the series at 113.9. A perfect rating is 150.0. "We have a pole there and three top 10s. I think we learned a lot in our test there earlier this year, so I expect to be very competitive," Newman said. "We accomplished our first goal by winning the Daytona 500, now we have to look ahead to our ultimate goal and that is making the Chase and winning the Cup championship." Crew chief Roy McCauley agrees. He has been busy preparing Newman's No. 12 Dodge for California. Daytona is history. --(Cont'd From Front Page)--
Now, Penske wants to end another drought by winning his first race since 2001 at the track he built -- California Speedway in
Fontana, site of Sunday's Auto Club 500 Sprint Cup race.
Ryan Newman and his "best teammate ever," Kurt Busch, gave Penske a 1-2 finish last Sunday in the Daytona 500. Newman hasn't
had a top-10 finish at California since 2005, but Busch has started from the pole in three of the past four Cup races at
California since he began racing for Penske in 2006.
"We've always run well at California, we just haven't gotten to victory lane," Newman said.
Penske has a long racing history on the West Coast. He was a successful sports car driver and collected wins at the now
closed Riverside International Raceway before becoming a powerhouse owner. In 1973, Mark Donohue scored Penske's first Cup
Series win, at Riverside, and added two more over the next two years at the winding Riverside road course and Ontario Motor
Speedway.
When both of those facilities were shuttered in the 1980s, Penske filled the void and built California Speedway. The track
opened in 1997 and has been a part of the NASCAR schedule since. It since has been acquired by International Speedway Corp.,
which is controlled by the France family.
His boss may have built the track, but California Speedway has been less than kind to Newman. In 10 career starts, he has an
average finish of 19.5. His driver rating over the past three Cup races at California is 75.6, 17th best. Matt Kenseth tops
the series at 113.9. A perfect rating is 150.0.
"We have a pole there and three top 10s. I think we learned a lot in our test there earlier this year, so I expect to be very
competitive," Newman said. "We accomplished our first goal by winning the Daytona 500, now we have to look ahead to our
ultimate goal and that is making the Chase and winning the Cup championship."
Crew chief Roy McCauley agrees. He has been busy preparing Newman's No. 12 Dodge for California. Daytona is history.
NOTE: I'm a one man show, not supported by anyone. If you wish to donate to help offset expense, it would be appreciated:
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