January 26, 2007

Lee Spencer


During the five years Rusty Wallace and Ryan Newman spent bickering at Penske Racing, there were two prevailing questions:

How could a champion car owner -- and Roger Penske certainly is that -- allow such shenanigans on his watch?

More important, what would The Captain do to right his ship?

Nothing, really. Despite the 25-year friendship between Penske and Wallace, his star in the No. 2 car, there was no stopping the ego that roared. Even someone of Penske's stature couldn't expect Wallace, the 1989 Cup champion, to play nice with Newman, a younger, formidable opponent who Wallace claimed didn't respect him. Of course, Newman's early success exacerbated the problem.

The relationship became more caustic over time to the point that the Nos. 2 and 12 didn't communicate with each other. Headlines coming from Penske Racing focused more on the squabbles between Wallace and Newman than on the teams' performances.

Although fans miss Wallace on the racetrack, his retirement after the 2005 season was necessary for Penske Racing to move forward. Even so, remnants from the feud remained going into 2006. But over time the arrival of Kurt Busch provided a fresh start and allowed teamwork to be more than a foreign word for the employees of the Nos. 2 and 12 teams.

Had the teams gotten up to speed on the track last year, the recovery process would have accelerated, but progress was stalled by the organization's inability to let go of the Intrepid and embrace the Charger. That had irrevocable repercussions on the teams' intermediate programs and hampered any chance of either car qualifying for the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup. Busch won six poles in 36 races, which shows his cars were competitive in qualifying, but driving in traffic was another matter. Busch and crew chief Roy McCauley worked tirelessly last season on setups, so now each knows what the other is looking for in the car. And the new Dodge nose introduced for 2007 promises better balance for the Chargers and a better ride for the drivers.

I spoke with Newman and Busch during Daytona testing, and it appears the camaraderie between the Penske drivers has reached a new height and that they are forging a working relationship that will benefit everyone.

"At the Memphis test with the Car of Tomorrow (December 13 and 14), it was the first time we'd ever switched drivers in cars," Newman says. "I'd driven Rusty's cars before, but he never drove mine.

"When Kurt feels like he's happy with his car and it's a little bit loose, that's drivable for me. It was a great opportunity to get an understanding of our language and our definitions of loose and tight and things like that."

Busch says success will come from "playing nice together." He thought "having a big group of teammates (the case at Roush Racing) would pay dividends," but there was no communication among the drivers. That's not the way it is now at Penske Racing.

Penske president Don Miller says he is convinced the operation will flourish with Mike Nelson, Newman's former engineer and new crew chief, and McCauley leading the teams. With Newman and Busch on the same page, I agree. The most improved organization for 2007 will be Penske Racing -- hands down.

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Ryan Newman, Daytona 500 Champion!!
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