NASCAR 2011 season

[80coupe]

so who do we think will take his place in the #22?

Sam Hornish, Jr
Brian Vickers

sam.

[pHILSANITY07]

sam.

bobby labonte, a boy could hope

[80coupe]

It could be anybody. i just wonder who will pick up kurt lol.

[line-em-up]

...

Kurt Busch will no longer be driving for Penske Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, according to multiple reports Sunday.

Penske will be replacing Busch for the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, according to The Charlotte Observer, which first reported the breakup.

Busch, 33, has been with the organization since 2006. He has 11 full seasons of NASCAR Sprint Cup competition to his credit and won the 2004 championship.

He has 24 wins in his Cup career. He has 169 top-10 finishes, 88 of them top fives, as well as 15 pole positions.

However, the driver has been the center of controversy off and on this season after a series of confrontations with media members and verbal diatribes against his own crew during races.

After the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Busch was fined $50,000 by the sanctioning body for an inappropriate hand gesture and for being verbally abusive to a media member. This followed a pair of confrontations with media members after the final regular-season race, at Richmond International Raceway.

After the latest incident, Busch issued an apology, and his sponsor weighed in with its own response.

“Shell and Pennzoil are disappointed with recent actions by driver, Kurt Busch, at the final race of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race season,” the company said in a statement. “His actions are in no way consistent with the way we want our brands represented and we have expressed our disappointment and concerns directly to Penske Racing.”

Penske issued a statement shortly after the race weekend when a video of Busch’s reaction to a reporter was posted by a fan on YouTube.

“These actions do not represent Penske Racing and are inconsistent with the company’s standards for behavior, respect for others and professionalism,” the statement read. “This matter is being reviewed internally with no further comment at this time.”

During Champions Week festivities in Las Vegas, Busch acknowledged to working with a sports psychologist to work on his demeanor.

''You can work 364 days on being positive and building toward a better platform, and it can take just one day to knock it all back,'' he said. ''I need to harness what happens in the race car and keep it there, and then I need to step out of the car and understand that if we didn't reach our goal for that day or that moment, that it's going to be alright at the end.''

Speculation points to David Ragan as the leading candidate for the job. Ragan, 26, spent the 2011 season with Roush Fenway Racing, but his future has been in doubt since the team lost sponsorship for next season. He earned his first career Sprint Cup victory this season, at Daytona International Speedway.

Other candidates for the job include David Reutimann and Brian Vickers - two drivers who drove in the Sprint Cup Series this past season but are without a ride for 2012 - and Sam Hornish Jr., who has previously driven for Penske at the Sprint Cup level.

[pHILSANITY07]

id get vickers out of all the guys looking for rides

[pHILSANITY07]

from jayski.com this morning

Kurt Busch out at Penske? UPDATE mutual agreement to part ways: Penske Racing officials are meeting Monday to determine the future of driver #22-Kurt Busch. Penske officials were contacted by ESPN.com on Sunday, but would not confirm or deny the meeting over Busch's status, while the Charlotte Observer reported that Busch has been fired. Busch has been involved in several behavior incidents on the track this season, including the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Busch made an obscene hand gesture leaving the track after his transmission failure early in the race. He also had a profanity-laced tirade at ESPN's Dr. Jerry Punch and his camera crew in the garage moments later, which went viral on YouTube. NASCAR later penalized Busch $50,000 for the two incidents. Penske officials, along with team sponsors Shell Pennzoil, publicly reprimanded Busch afterward. Sources confirmed that Shell Pennzoil officials have spoken with team owner Roger Penske and expressed concerns about Busch continuing as the driver. Penske spokesman Bud Denker and Walt Czarnecki, the executive vice president of Penske Corportation, said they will stand by their comment made after Busch was fined by NASCAR that they will not comment further until their internal review is complete. Kurt Busch had an earlier incident with reporters this season at Richmond in September, the final event before the Chase started. He had to be restrained from a NASCAR.com reporter on pit road. Busch also tore another reporter's interview transcript in half after being questioned about recorded comments that he denied making. Last week in Las Vegas, Busch said he was seeing a sports psychologist to deal with his anger issues.(ESPN)
AND Speculation points to David Ragan as the leading candidate for the job. Ragan spent the 2011 season with Roush Fenway Racing, but his future has been in doubt since the team lost sponsorship for next season. He earned his first career Sprint Cup victory this season, at Daytona International Speedway. Other candidates for the job include David Reutimann and Brian Vickers two drivers who drove in the Sprint Cup Series this past season but are without a ride for 2012 and Sam Hornish Jr., who has previously driven for Penske at the Sprint Cup level.(FoxSports)(12-4-2011)
UPDATE Penske Racing announced today that it has reached a mutual agreement with driver Kurt Busch to end its driver/race team relationship, effective immediately. The team will evaluate its options for the driver of the #22 Sprint Cup Series car in the future while Busch will seek new opportunities with another race team. "I appreciate the victories that Kurt has brought Penske Racing and our sponsors over the past six years," said Roger Penske. "While I am disappointed that Kurt will not be racing for our team in the future, both Kurt and I felt that separating at this time was best for all parties, including our team and sponsors. I wish Kurt the best in his future racing endeavors."
"I am grateful to Penske Racing for six very productive years," said Busch. "Together we won a lot of races -16 in all. Leaving a great organization and a lucrative contract is not easy, but it's an important step for me and allows me to take a deep breath to work on things that can make me a better driver and a better person. I want to personally thank Roger Penske for the opportunity that he has given me."(Penske Racing)
AND been told Ragan has been released by Roush Fenway Racing and Ford to pursue other oppurtunities. Supposedly he was in line to run the #51 Chevy in 2012, but now hearing he will sign a one-year deal to run the #22 Dodge for Penske.(12-5-2011)
AND III: Penske was out of the country and unavailable to comment directly. But Bud Denker, a senior vice president for Penske Corporation, said the split was best for all parties. "Kurt had some concern with our performance,'' Denker told ESPN.com. "Obviously, we had concerns with his on and off the track behavior. We agreed to take the high road for both of us. We agreed that separating at this time was best for all parties, including Kurt and the sponsors.'' Denker would not comment on whether Penske Racing had to meet any financial obligations to Busch, who had several years left on his contract. But he said "we have no further obligations, financially or contractually.'' Denker said while Shell Pennzoil was consulted in the decision, "it was ultimately our decision.'' "It's important for people to understand the nature of what we've done,'' Denker said. "It's a mutual separation. Kurt came to the conclusion and we have as well that it's time to move on. Kurt has been a terrific driver for us. He's a friend. We have been working with problems and issues in the past. It's well documented by everyone. As we looked at 2012 and beyond it was time to move on based on that incident at Homestead.'' Denker said it was a difficult decision, noting Busch has done a great job promoting sponsors for Penske Racing.
One of the criteria Shell Pennzoil had when it signed with Penske Racing last season was to have a championship-caliber driver. That prompted the move of Busch from the #2 Miller Lite car to the #22. Denker said Busch's replacement "may not be a championship driver right now,'' but said Shell is behind anybody they choose. He acknowledged that David Ragan, who won at Daytona in June, might be a possibility. Ragan remains under contract with Roush Fenway Racing, but he doesn't have a ride for 2012 because he lost sponsor UPS. Initial inquiries, multiple sources said, have been made. "It could be David, it could be others,'' Denker said. "We have not started that process yet

[Lone Sailor]

bobby labonte, a boy could hope

Not going to happen. Bobby Labonte is under contract with JTG Daugherty Racing.

[pHILSANITY07]

2011 Full Time Drivers Looking For A Ride In 2012

David Reutimann -Previously Drove Aarons #00 For Micheal Waltrip Racing
Brian Vickers - Previously Drove Red Bull #83 For Red Bull Racing
Kurt Busch - Previously Drove Shell/Pennzoil #22 For Penske Racing
David Gilliland - Previously Drove #34 For Front Row Motorsports
Travis Kvapil - Previously Drove #38 and #55 For Front Row Motorpsorts
J.J. Yeley - Previously Drove #38 and #55 For Front Row Motorports.

[pHILSANITY07]

Not going to happen. Bobby Labonte is under contract with JTG Daugherty Racing.

I thought it was a 1 year deal with an option for 2012. Hopefully JTG and have a good chance for a win next year.

[pHILSANITY07]

Joe Gibbs Racing has released Mike Ford who is the crew chief of Denny Hamlin. He has been Hamlin's crew chief since 2006 when Hamlin was a rookie. It is rumored that Darian Grubb could replace Ford as Hamlin's crew chief. This is from jayski.com

[T-TOPPS5.0]

I just saw where RPM is interested in Kurt Busch under the right circumstances. If something happens, I read he could take the best buy car(43) that AJ currently drives. Has anybody heard if he is being let go or will he be the odd man out with RPM looking for a new sponsor for him?

They are keeping Marcos Ambros in his current ride from what the report said.

[80coupe]

haven't really keep up with anything lately so that's the first iv heard of it.

[pHILSANITY07]

Dont get it, I think AJ Allmendinger has talent behind the wheel. Sucks if this happens cause Allmedinger would be out of a ride and a lot of the good rides have been filled already. I thought Red Bull made a mistake for releasing him over Scott Speed a few years ago. His rookie season was bad but he was new to stock car racing. But since his 2nd year he has gotten better and better every year.

[pHILSANITY07]

haven't really keep up with anything lately so that's the first iv heard of it.

other than this new Kurt Busch news and the Grubb going to JGR news there hasnt been much news. The best place to get news IMO is jayski.com

[80coupe]

yeah i checked it today but didn't see that but may have just posted it.