Despite last weekend’s impressive performance at Phoenix, which saw Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge) lead 69 laps and earn his 20th top 10 finish of the season, the Penske Racing veteran has been mathematically eliminated from championship contention. Jimmie Johnson took the checkered flag and all but locked up his fourth-straight Sprint Cup title. Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon are the only drivers that have a shot at derailing Johnson’s title bid.

Busch would certainly be a candidate for “Comeback Driver of the Year” honors if NASCAR had such an award. Entering the season-ending event at Homestead last year, Busch was 19th in the point standings, trailing 13th-place David Ragan by 607 points. He had one win, five top–five finishes and 10 top-10 finishes. After 35 races this season, Busch is fourth in the Sprint Cup standings, trailing Johnson by just 211 points. He has two wins, nine top–five finishes along with 20 top 10s.
                     
Powered by the Dodge R6 engine, Busch has used consistent race cars and surgeon-like adjustments by crew chief Pat Tryson and the No. 2 team to vault the 2004 Sprint Cup champion into one of the most feared cars every weekend. Finishing strong at Homestead is definitely a priority for the veteran driver who seeks his 21st career Cup win.

“We’re only 42 points out of third in the point standings and have a pretty good buffer over fifth,” Busch said of his deficit to third-place Gordon and 74-point lead over fifth-place Tony Stewart. “We have a realistic shot at climbing up to third and that’s what we’re focused on doing this weekend.

“I’ve always thought that it was extremely important to end the season on a high note. Your last race out is the one that’s freshest on your mind and you certainly hope it’s memorable for all the right reasons. Closing out your season with a competitive weekend at Homestead is just that important.”

This weekend also marks the end of an era for veteran drivers Elliott Sadler (No. 19 Best Buy Dodge), Kasey Kahne (No. 9 Budweiser Dodge) and Reed Sorenson (No. 43 Siemens Dodge) as all will drive Dodge Chargers for the final time in Sprint Cup Series competition before an off-season manufacturer switch prior to the 2010 season. Kahne, the most decorated driver of the trio, earned all of his NASCAR Cup Series 10 wins, 42 top-five and 77 top-10 finishes in 215 starts under the Dodge banner.

Kahne earned the pole and led 90 laps in 2006 en route to his best Homestead finish of fourth. His 5.8 starting average in five races at Homestead is the best among drivers with more than one start at the 1.5-mile track.
 
“I’ve always liked Homestead,” Kahne said. “That’s where I won my first Nationwide race and I’ve run well there in a Cup car. Every year, we seem to qualify good there. It’s a different track. The banking … you go into Turn 1 and it is real flat and you hit the banking and you’ve already started turning. It’s kind of similar in (Turn) 3 and off of (Turn) 4. It flattens out before the exit of the corner, so it’s different. Your car changes a lot. But it’s a pretty neat track and I like racing there. I like trying to close the year out strong. We’ve been able to do that a couple of times there. I made a couple of mistakes there, but hopefully we’ll close out the year strong and finish top 10 in points. That’s all that we can shoot for.”
 
Dodge is seeking its second Sprint Cup win at Homestead and fifth win in the 2009 Sprint Cup season. All six Dodge teams are entered in the Ford 400 are assured berths into the event as they sit inside the top 35 in car owner points.
 
NASCAR Sprint Cup standings
(After Race 9 of 10 in the Chase)
1. Jimmie Johnson, 6,492
2. Mark Martin, -108
3. Jeff Gordon, -169
4. Kurt Busch, -211
5. Tony Stewart, -285
6. Juan Pablo Montoya, -289
7. Greg Biffle, -321
8. Denny Hamlin, -352
9. Ryan Newman, -411
10. Kasey Kahne, -476
11. Carl Edwards, -520
12. Brian Vickers, -666
 
What you need to know
The Race: Ford 400
The Place: Homestead-Miami Speedway (1.5- mile oval)
The Date: Sunday, Nov. 12
The Time: 3:30 p.m. EST (green flag)
Race Distance: 267 laps/400.5 mile
TV: ABC, 2:30 EST

Johnson, the No. 6 qualifier and driver of the Mopar/J&J Racing Dodge Stratus R/T, drew Deceglie in an opening-round battle of J&J Racing-prepped Mopar HEMI®-powered Dodges. The left lane appeared problematic for the pro stockers during the first two matchups, prompting Johnson to switch to the right lane. The decision proved prescient as Johnson captured the round win with a 6.648-second elapsed time (ET) at 207.18 mph, with Deceglie struggling to make it down the track with a 7.187/128.19 mark.

Johnson squared off with Line in the second round. Johnson was first off the starting line with a reaction time of .023 (.000 is perfect) to Line’s mark of .057, but his lead was short-lived, as his Mopar Dodge shook the tires shortly after takeoff, bringing an end to his 2009 campaign.

“I’m not that happy with our ending today,” Johnson said. “I think we had a package there that maybe could have knocked him (Line) out. We had a really good light. It’s not the ending we wanted. But, you know, it’s been another year and we’re all safe. We’ll come back next year and try to get that title.”

Johnson finished the season with two victories, at the O’Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals in Topeka and the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals in Denver. The two triumphs were a single-season career high for the Greeneville, Tenn., native. The Team Mopar veteran also captured his seventh career No. 1 Qualifier Award at the NHRA Northwest Nationals in Seattle. Johnson is scheduled to switch to a new Mopar Pro Stock Dodge Avenger in 2010.

Mopar-powered driver Johnny Gray went down in defeat in the first round, losing to Kurt Johnson. HEMI-powered pro stockers Larry Morgan and Rickie Jones also exited in the opening stanza. Allen Johnson finished seventh in the final NHRA pro stock countdown to 1 point standings, with Gray ninth and Jones 10th. The 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series will begin with the 50th Annual Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Feb. 11-14.
 

Capps finishes third in funny car standings

Mopar® HEMI®-powered NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger R/T funny car driver Ron Capps reached the semifinal round at the 45th annual Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals on Nov. 15 before he was defeated by Ashley Force Hood. Capps ended up third in the final 2009 NHRA Full Throttle funny car point standings, having earned the most class victories (five) this season.

En route to the semifinal, Capps dismissed Bob Tasca III in the opening round with a 4.312-second elapsed time at 236.67 mph, then disposed of his Mopar-fueled Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) teammate Matt Hagan in the second round, with a 4.144/310.48.

Force Hood was there for the taking after she launched with a .143 reaction time to Capps’ .086, but the veteran lost traction, allowing Force Hood to take the win with a 4.133/307.09 pass, while Capps followed with a losing 4.775/248.25.

“We were still on a mission to try to stand on the podium at the awards banquet in second place,” said Capps, who missed out on his fourth runner-up season finish by 48 points. “It would have been nice after winning five races this year to finish second. We ended up third, and that’s OK.”

Capps’ DSR teammate, Jack Beckman, lost in the opening round at Pomona, finishing fifth in the standings. Capps and Beckman (two wins) combined to drive Mopar HEMI-powered Dodge Charger R/T funny cars to seven wins during the 2009 season.

Shaul claims stock eliminator victory at NHRA finals

John Shaul, of Fultonham, N.Y., drove his AA/SA 1964 Plymouth Fury to the overall stock eliminator class victory on Nov. 15 at the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif.

The veteran Mopar® Sportsman driver defeated Tony Janes, Phil Mandella, Larry Petersen, Jeff Jerome (driving a 1973 Duster) and Jody Lang, in order, to set up his finals appearance against the 1969 Camaro of Jimmy DeFrank.

Shaul hauled in his Wally trophy by scoring a holeshot win against DeFrank. Shaul recorded an elapsed time of 9.772 seconds with a reaction time of .019 to DeFrank’s 9.736 run, paired with a slower .064 reaction time. Shaul’s margin of victory was 23 inches.

The Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 is set for Sunday afternoon at Phoenix International Raceway, in Avondale, Ariz., the 35th of 36 races on the 2009 schedule.

There may be a second reason for the early arrival in Phoenix in addition to a couple days relaxation in the “Valley of the Sun” with his wife, Eva, and friends. Busch’s had plenty of success in recent outings on the tri-oval with a curve, often referred to as a dogleg, in the middle of the backstretch.

Busch finished second in last year’s fall event and was third at the one-mile track in April. He led more than 60 laps in each of those events and 571 in 13 previous starts. In addition to a win in 2005, Busch has four top-five and seven top-10 finishes at Phoenix.

Currently fourth in the Sprint Cup standings, Busch has used the 10-race Chase to the Championship to flex the muscles of the Pat Tyson-tuned “Blue Deuce” with an average finish of 11th over the first eight races of the Chase. If not for a final-lap incident at Talladega that dropped Busch from a top-10 finish to 30th, the 2004 series champion stats would even be more impressive.

Speaking of stats, there have been 10 perfect driver ratings in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series since the inception of the Loop Data statistic in 2005 (178 races). Of those 10, Dodge’s Kurt Busch holds two perfect ratings including his April 2005 perfect rating at Phoenix where Busch had an average running position of 1.9, recorded 76 of the fastest laps run in the event, led 219 laps and spent all 312 laps running in the top 15.
 
“Our one–mile, flat–track program has been one of the biggest highlights for our Miller Lite Dodge Team over the last couple of seasons,” Busch said. With the runner-up finish last fall and the third back in the spring, we’ve been knocking on the door for another Phoenix win.  We’ve been right there racing them ‘till the very end. We’re hoping to really rise to the occasion there this weekend and earn another trip to Victory Lane.”
 
For Crew Chief Pat Tryson, knowing Busch is strapped into the 900-horsepower Dodge Charger is “comfort food” while he sits atop of the pit box.
 
“Kurt is as good as they get on those tracks and his record certainly shows that,” Tryson said. “He’s won a ton of races on the flat one–mile tracks and is always on top of his game every time we race there. When we get out to Phoenix, Kurt seems to have some extra swagger going and I’m sure that’ll be the case again this weekend. He has such a strong background and connection with that track.”

Kasey Kahne (No. 9 Budweiser Dodge) is set to make his 11th career Sprint Cup Series start at Phoenix and his 215th career start in NASCAR’s premier series. In 10 previous outings at Phoenix, Kahne has one top-five and three top-10 finishes.

Kahne is currently 10th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver point standings, 75 points behind ninth-place driver Ryan Newman.

“Phoenix is a pretty unique race track,” Kahne said. “To me, it’s a neat place to go (race). The weather always seems to be good out there. That’s a track that I haven’t really run that well at.  Early on (in my career) I did … my first year. We’ve kind of been up-and-down there. I feel like this year, with where we’re at right now and the gains that we’ve made in the last month.  Phoenix will be another track where we can run pretty well.”

Dodge is seeking its first Sprint Cup win at Phoenix and fifth win in the 2009 NASCAR season.  All six Dodge teams are entered in the Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 and assured berths in Sunday’s race.
 
Sprint Cup Chase standings:
(After race 8 of 10 in the Chase)
1. Jimmie Johnson, 6,297
2. Mark Martin, -73
3. Jeff Gordon, -112
4. Kurt Busch (Dodge), -171
5. Tony Stewart, -178
6. Juan Pablo Montoya, -236
7. Greg Biffle, -247
8. Denny Hamlin, -322
9. Ryan Newman, -324
10. Kasey Kahne (Dodge), -399
11. Carl Edwards, -440
12. Brian Vickers, -520
 
Other notes:
• Brad Keselowski (No. 12 Penske Racing Dodge Charger) will be making his first appearance at Phoenix in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. In five NNS starts at Phoenix, Keselowski has one top-five and one top-10 finish.
• Dodge has earned four poles at Phoenix since returning to NASCAR’s premier series in 2001 (Casey Atwood- 1, Ryan Newman – 3).

What you need to know:
The Race: Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500
The Place: Phoenix International Raceway (1-mile oval)
The Date: Sunday, Nov. 15
The Time: 2:30 p.m. EST
Race Distance: 312 laps/500 Kilometers
TV: ABC, 2:30 EST

Saldana’s victory was his second of the season at the state-of-the-art four-tenths-mile track. He joins a short list of drivers who have won 20 or more A-Feature events in a season: 20-time series champion Steve Kinser, three-time titlist Sammy Swindell, two-time champ Mark Kinser and Doug Wolfgang accomplished that feat prior to Saturday night. Including a preliminary feature win during the Gold Cup Race of Champions in September, Saldana finished the year with 21 overall triumphs.

“This is great,” Saldana, driver of the Kasey Kahne Racing Budweiser sprinter, said. “Not many men have done that and it’s a pretty tough feat to accomplish. It means our team is going in the right direction and we know we can do it.”

Saldana finished third in the final World of Outlaws Sprint Series standings and led the series in laps led and money earned. He wrapped up the 2009 campaign with 48 Top-10 finishes of which 37 were top-five performances.

Attendees at the 2009 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show in Las Vegas, Nov. 3–6, got the first glimpse of the new Pro Stock Dodge Avenger. The 2010 NHRA Pro Stock Mopar Dodge Avenger of Team Mopar driver Allen Johnson was on exhibit in the Mopar display at SEMA.

The new Pro Stock Mopar Dodge Avenger has been officially approved for competition by the NHRA. The Dodge Avenger is targeted for its competition debut at the 50th Annual Kragen O’Reilly NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Calif., Feb. 11–14, 2010. The Mopar Dodge Avenger replaces the previous Dodge Stratus R/T body, which had been in use by Mopar HEMI®-powered NHRA Pro Stock competitors since the midpoint of the 2003 season.

The new Pro Stock Mopar Dodge Avenger was developed in-house at Chrysler Group LLC. The project used Chrysler Group tools and resources also employed to build the production Dodge Avenger, creating a connection between the street car and the quarter-mile racer.

The greatest challenge to the Dodge Motorsports engineering team tasked with the project was maintaining maximum identity of the Dodge Avenger in the new body without forsaking performance on the drag strip.

“Our team worked within NHRA’s rules to balance aerodynamic performance goals and maximize Dodge Avenger identity,” Joe Vitous, SRT and Motorsports Aero-Thermal Manager, said. “The new Mopar Dodge Avenger meets or exceeds the aero goals we established.”

Driver Allen Johnson said: “I’m very excited to race the new Mopar Dodge Avenger. We’ve been racing the Stratus since mid-2003. Just having a change is an upgrade. We feel we’ve been at a disadvantage with some of our competitors who have been racing in newer bodies for the last few years. I was fitted for the new body in late September. NHRA was there, and we spent a lot of time going over the templates. That was exciting. I’m glad we’re going ahead full bore.”

It was the Busch Brothers’ Show—Kurt and Kyle. Kurt dueled with his younger brother Kyle through most of the race and then stretched the fuel an extra couple laps over the final 20 circuits to take the win, the 20th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory of his career.

Busch was never outside the top six except during a green-flag pit cycle. He led six times for 89 laps including the last three as his brother, who led 232 laps, needed a trip to pit road for a splash of fuel to make it to the checkered flag. That was the case for all the challengers except Busch, the only driver that could stretch the fuel window 62 laps. He needed a push to victory lane, out of fuel.

“Unbelievable! I’m proud of our team and everybody pulling together hard. Racing my little brother head to head for the win is bitter sweet. I was rooting for him, but at the same time, we wanted to put our Miller Lite Dodge in victory lane. We raced hard. It was cat and mouse on those restarts. Then it came down to the crew chief, Pat (Tryson) putting in the right calls and getting us the fuel mileage to bring it home.”

The strategy started some 120 laps earlier for Tryson as he let Busch log a couple of extra laps to create the one-stop fuel window.

“It takes good adjustments,” Busch said. “It takes a fast car. At the start of the race we had one. It was a great Miller Lite Dodge today.”

Busch’s win turned a $50,000 prize into a $1 million payday for an agricultural teacher and horse training business owner form Broken Bow, Okla. Michael McGee was named the 2009 American Worker of the Year on Oct. 30 in Las Vegas by race-sponsor Dickies. He received a $50,000 prize and a trip to Texas for the Dickies 500. His opportunity to win a million came Friday when he randomly selected Busch’s number for the group of 12 Chase drivers as part of the sponsor’s promotion. Busch’s win left the teacher speechless and in tears.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” McGee said. “It was amazing to win the title of American Worker of the Year, and now this. At my age, it’s truly an honor to be recognized for my hard work and achievement from a respected company like Dickies.”

Busch made the presentation of an “extra large” check to McGee in victory lane.

“When your number is picked, you feel that special person riding with you,” said Busch. “Whether that’s an angel from above or what, we thank the Good Lord. He (Michael) won more money than I did tonight. We got a big piece of hardware. I’m happy. Most of all, Operation Home front, they come away the biggest winner tonight.”

Tryson, who will be leaving the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge team at the end of the season, told his driver they were one lap short on fuel and they would make it if he would save enough over the final 20 circuits to cover that final lap. Each time Busch asked Tryson “are you sure,” Tryson responded, “yes, we’re good. Just save enough for a lap.”

Tryson credited his team’s hard work. “It was just a great day,” he said. “The 18 was going to win it, but they didn’t get as good (fuel) mileage as us. We worked pretty hard in practice and Kurt (Busch) saved a bunch (of gas) there at the end.”

Busch, who started third, moved up two spots to fourth in the Chase standings. He’s 59 points out of third and 171 behind the point leader, Jimmy Johnson who was involved in a mishap on the second lap of the 334-lap event and finished 38th.

“A full team effort all the way around,” he said. “From the pit stops to pit strategy to the guys back in the shop building a fast race car that I was a little apprehensive to bring to the race track, it was a total team effort. It shows what I know and what they know. Just keep me in the car and let them do the engineering. In the end, this makes a real solid team. We were well rounded tonight with power, downforce, handling, and in the end, strategy. That played out for us to come out on top. A small bit of fuel mileage we had to play, but it wasn’t very much. For us, just one lap shy (of making it to the end). Our Dodge (R6) engine gave us the fuel mileage we needed to come out on top of everybody.”

The win was the 45th since Dodge’s return to NASCAR’s premier series in 2001. It was Team Penske’s 61st win. Roger Penske was on hand to witness the victory.

“I think it’s a real credit to Kurt,” Penske said during post-race interviews. “Great job tonight. He had to pick up a lap on fuel. We told him early on, Pat, it’s your call there to stay out. Kurt had a little vibration, but he stayed out longer. He had to race pretty hard to get back up there, but we were really picking up on the 18 and the 00. He took his time. At the end, I really wasn’t concerned because Pat said we only needed one lap. I knew Kurt could make at least one lap. You could see that.

“Pat, great job for you. I appreciate the commitment you made in these last races. I want to say that publicly. I know you’re a first-class guy. What a great win for you and for the team.”

Part of the Texas Motor Speedway victory lane tradition is to provide the winning team with cowboy hats. Both Busch and Tryson wore their black hats to the post-race interview session. Penske was asked why he wasn’t wearing his cowboy hat.

“I don’t know,” he responded to the media question. “Sorry about that. I got my Dodge hat on. I don’t know where it (cowboy hat) is.”

Busch added, “he’s got the more important one (Dodge hat) on. Any hat that he wears is more important.”

While Busch was cashing in, it wasn’t the same kind of results for the other Dodge teams including Kasey Kahne, the second Dodge driver in the Chase. Kahne started second in the No. 9 Budweiser Dodge Charger and ran in the top 15 until running out of gas in the closing laps. He finished 33rd. Only six cars finished on the lead lap.

“Overall, today was a tough day,” Kahne said. “The Budweiser Dodge team fought all day, but we ended up running out of fuel at the end. The guys did a good job making adjustments. We just couldn’t tighten it up enough to get out front and then we had an engine issue at the end.”

Kahne dropped two spots in the Chase standings, to 10th. He is 75 points out of ninth.

Bard Keselowski, making his first start in the No. 12 Penske Racing Dodge Charger, finished 35th after being caught up in an accident just past the halfway mark. The damage required a trip to the garage for repairs.

“I thought that we did a good job with our Penske Dodge,” said Keselowski. “We had some bad circumstances today, getting caught up in a wreck. That took our right-front out. After we got the car fixed, we moved up positions all race. I think that we had a top-15 car, but just got caught up in the wrong spot at the wrong time. That’s racing. I’m proud of my guys. Congratulations to Kurt (Busch) and the Miller Lite Dodge guys. That’s a great win for those guys and I’m happy for my new teammate. They definitely had a great car all night.”

Two races remain in the 2009 Sprint Cup Series season. The next stop is Phoenix International Raceway on Nov. 15 followed by the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 22.

Driver, team, finish
Kurt Busch, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger, Winner
Elliott Sadler, No. 19 Stanley Dodge Charger, 22nd
Kasey Kahne, No. 9 Budweiser Dodge Charger, 33rd
Brad Keselowski, No. 12 Penske Racing Dodge Charger, 35th
Reed Sorenson, No. 43 Valvoline Dodge Charger, 36th
Sam Hornish Jr., No. 77 AAA Dodge Charger, 40th

Chase point standings
(Race 8 of 10 in the Chase)
1. Jimmie Johnson, 6,297
2. Mark Martin, -73
3. Jeff Gordon, -112
4. Kurt Busch (Dodge), -171
5. Tony Stewart, -178
6. Juan Pablo Montoya, -236
7. Greg Biffle, -247
8. Denny Hamlin, -322
9. Ryan Newman, -324
10. Kasey Kahne (Dodge), -399
11. Carl Edwards, -440
12. Brian Vickers, -520

Kahne is Dodge’s most decorated driver at the 1.5-mile oval at Texas. He won the 2006 spring event. In 11 starts, he has two top-five finishes. Kahne’s 2006 win is the only time a driver has reached victory lane after starting from the pole.
 
“Getting into Turn One can be tricky,” Kahne said. “It is real flat and then as you are coming into the corner, you get into the banking. It’s almost like you fall into the corner at 190 miles per hour. Turn Three is similar, but it is not as drastic. It is a difficult place to get your car to handle the way you want. It is a great track, but you really need your car to handle well on entry to be competitive.”

Penske Racing announced this week that Brad Keselowski will take over the No. 12 Penske Racing Dodge for the rest of the season. He was scheduled to move into the seat in 2010.

“Penske Racing wants to give Brad an opportunity to work with the team and get to know the race car as we prepare for the 2010 season,” owner Roger Penske said. “These three races will provide a good base for both Brad and the team as we head into next year.”
 
Keselowski is ready for the move to the Dodge ranks with Penske Racing.
 
“I am very excited to begin working with the Penske Racing team and I look forward to competing in the No. 12 Penske Dodge in the final three races of the year,” Keselowski said. “We all have high expectations for next season and beyond, and being able to race with the team this year will only help us as we look toward 2010.”
 
Dodge is seeking its third NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win at Texas and fourth win of the 2009 season. All six Dodge teams are entered in the Dickies 500 are assured berths in Sunday’s starting field. 
 
Sprint Cup Chase standings
(After Race 7 of 10 in the Chase)
1. Jimmie Johnson, 6,248
2. Mark Martin, -184
3. Jeff Gordon, -192
4. Juan Pablo Montoya, -239
5. Tony Stewart, -279
6. Kurt Busch, -312
7. Greg Biffle, -340
8. Ryan Newman, -402
9. Kasey Kahne, -414
10. Carl Edwards, -437
11. Denny Hamlin, -448
12. Brian Vickers, -556
 
Other notes 
* Elliott Sadler (No. 19 Stanley Dodge Charger) returns to the seat of a Dodge Charger for the remaining three races.
 
What you need to know
The race: Dickies 500
The place: Texas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile tri-oval)
The date: Sunday, Nov. 8
The time: 1 p.m. EST
Race distance: 501 miles/334 laps

Penske Racing's Justin Allgaier (left), driver of the No. 12 Verizon Dodge Challenger, is joined by (left to right) Dodge executives Brian Viger (Dodge Motorsports and SRT), Mario D'Ovidio (Dodge Marketing, Dodge Small Car, SRT and Motorsports) and Dave Bailey (Senior Manager of Motorsports Engineering and SRT Body, Interior and Electrical) for the unveiling of the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series Dodge Challenger at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

On Oct. 30, Dodge Motorsports revealed the Dodge Challenger as the “New Car” for the NASCAR Nationwide Series and announced an expansion of its partnership with Penske Racing beginning in 2010.

Dodge will provide support for Penske Racing’s two-car operation in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, in addition to Penske’s three teams in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

“As the performance brand of our new company, we are excited to expand our relationship with Penske Racing and introduce the iconic Dodge Challenger as our entry into the NASCAR Nationwide Series,” Ralph Gilles, President and CEO, Dodge Car Brand said. “Motorsports are a significant part of the Dodge brand’s legacy. Penske Racing has such a rich tradition in motorsports, and our partnership in the Nationwide Series will provide an excellent opportunity to showcase the Challenger and offer our loyal Dodge enthusiasts plenty of excitement in this very competitive series next year.”

Penske Racing will field two teams, both running the full-season schedule. The Dodge Challenger will be used at the four “New Car” races NASCAR has designated, starting at Daytona in July. At the other 31 events that complete the 35-race season, Penske Racing will field Dodge Chargers as it did this season with the No. 12 Verizon Wireless Dodge Charger driven by Justin Allgaier. NASCAR is expecting full integration of the “New Car” in 2011.

Joining Allgaier will be Brad Keselowski in the No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge. He also will compete in the Dodge Challenger for the four designated races and in a Charger for the remainder of the schedule.

“Today’s announcement further reinforces our relationship and commitment to Dodge Motorsports, and we are excited about our future with this great brand,” Tim Cindric, president of Penske Racing. “We believe Dodge’s relationship with Penske Racing will continue to elevate and highlight both our brands and deliver value to Dodge enthusiasts.”

Allgaier, in his rookie season in the Nationwide Series, is currently fifth in the season point standings and the leader among Rookie of the Year candidates.

“Penske Racing has a very successful relationship with the Dodge brand,” Allgaier said. “I am honored to be one of Dodge Motorsport’s drivers and to be able to drive the new Challenger in the NASCAR Nationwide Series is going to be awesome. The car looks great and will give the Nationwide Series its own identity.”

“The Dodge Challenger has proven to be one of the most sought after high-performance vehicles on the street today,” said Dave Bailey, Senior Manager of Motorsports Engineering and SRT Body, Interior and Electrical. “Sharing our consumer’s passion for performance through the race version of our Dodge Challenger will continue to showcase the unique engineering brought to our race and production vehicles.”

Dodge will continue its support of Penske Racing’s three-car operation in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2010 with drivers Kurt Busch, Sam Hornish Jr. and Keselowski.

The No. 12 Dodge Challenger will take part in Monday’s NASCAR Nationwide test session at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway for the “new cars” with Allgaier driving.

“The team did a good job with our Budweiser Dodge,” Kahne said. “We had a good handling car, but lost the draft a couple of times.  We needed to be in the middle of the draft.  I was just in the right place at the right time.”

Kahne moved up two spots to ninth in the Chase standings, just 12 points out of eighth.

“It unfolded well for us at the end,” Kahne said. “If we got back in the pack, we’d lose the draft. We needed to have cars around us and tried to keep cars behind us mainly. If we were able to do that, we could race pretty decent. The car handled well. We just kind of shot up through there, had great track position on that restart and ran second. It was good for our Budweiser Dodge team.”

Kurt Busch overcame obstacle after obstacle during the scheduled 188-lap event and was in position to challenge for the win in the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger. He restarted ninth when the race was extended beyond the scheduled distance due to a five-car mishap on lap 184. He didn’t make it to the checkered flag when the race ended with the “big one”—a 13-car mishap—which has become a Talladega trademark. Busch finished 30th.

David Stremme had his best run of the season, leading the race twice for 10 laps in the No. 12 Penske Racing Dodge Charger and was in the top five for the final restart, but ran short of fuel when the race was extended the three extra laps. He finished 22nd.

NASCAR issued a warning during the driver’s meeting about bump-drafting, specifically in the corners. For Busch, not everyone would heed the warning. A bump from behind early in the race crumpled the sheet metal up against the rear tire on the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, resulting in a flat tire. Busch restarted two laps down.

 
He got one of the laps back by not stopping during the third caution and received the free pass during the fourth caution on lap 138. That gave (crew chief) Pat Tryson and the crew a chance to make sure the repairs made earlier were ready for the final laps.

Busch worked his way inside the top 10 with 16 laps remaining, but another hit from behind created a tire rub on lap 180 and a flat tire two laps later. That would have been another major setback and one difficult to overcome, but a caution came out while Busch was on pit road and he didn’t lose a lap. With the race extended, several other competitors were running low on fuel and had to stop.

Busch was back in the thick of the battle for the win or at least a top-10 finish. Unfortunately, disappointment was just ahead in the form of a 13-car mishap.

“It was the most emotional highs and lows that I’ve experienced since I’ve been racing here at Talladega,” Busch said. “Early in the race, I was bump drafting with the 83 and had contact which pushed in our right-rear quarter panel and ended up cutting down our right-rear tire. We came to pit road which put us down two laps, but caught a break when the next caution came out. We decided to stay out and take the wave around even though we were seven laps shy of our fuel window. Then another yellow flag came out when we were racing the 44 for the lucky dog position. We passed the 44 which gave us the pass and put us on the lead lap.

“After the restart, we fought our way all the way from 35th to ninth when we cut a left-rear tire on lap 181. That set us back again. We had to pit and amazingly enough, we caught another break when the 39 and 47 got together and the big wreck happen. We started ninth on the green-white flag restart and started to make a push to the front when I get tapped from behind again that sent our Miller Lite Dodge into a spin and into the infield wall, part of the big one. It was just a really strange day.”

Busch remains sixth in the Chase standings, 33 out of fifth, with three races remaining in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

Driver, team, finish
Kasey Kahne, No. 9 Budweiser Dodge, 2nd
Reed Sorenson, No. 43 Liberty Medical Dodge, 16th
David Stremme, No. 12 Penske Racing Dodge, 22nd
Kurt Busch,No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, 30th
AJ Allmendinger, No. 44 Hunt Brothers Pizza Dodge, 33rd
Sam Hornish Jr., No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger, 40th

Chase point standings
(Race 7 of 10 in the Chase)
1. Jimmie Johnson, 6,248
2. Mark Martin, -184
3. Jeff Gordon,-192
4. Juan Pablo Montoya, -239
5. Tony Stewart, -279
6. Kurt Busch, -312
7. Greg Biffle, -340
8. Ryan Newman, -402
9. Kasey Kahne, -414
10. Carl Edwards, -437
11. Denny Hamlin, -448
12. Brian Vickers, -556