Penske's NASCAR and IRL teams
Roger Penske, who owns teams in NASCAR and the Indy Racing League, combined his operations into one building in North Carolina.
Now, his NASCAR teams, with Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman, are working side-by-side with his IRL teams and drivers Sam Hornish Jr. and Helio Castroneves.
Busch said during testing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway that it's great to have everybody in one building.
"Right now it's a matter of getting settled in for those guys," said Busch, who drives the No. 2 Dodge for Penske Racing South. "Some of those guys have actually helped with extra hands around the racetrack, whether it's a semi-truck driver driving to one our tests, whether it's Tom German, the guy that actually makes the calls for Sam on the pit box, Tim Cindric, general manager and president of Penske Racing. He now has his hands on the Cup and Busch program. He's the guy that makes the calls for Helio Castroneves in the pit box. We're starting to see all of that intertwine, how it can produce results."
Hornish, a three-time IRL champion, will be entered in some NASCAR Busch Series events this year. Castroneves, a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, has indicated he would like to drive in some NASCAR races eventually as well.
Busch was asked if he had any interest in trying to race in an Indy car event any time soon.
"All of our guys love to drive," Busch said. "That's why Roger chose Sam and Helio, Ryan and myself. I'd love the chance to have Sam repay the turn on teaching me in an IRL car, as much time as we spent together in that Busch car getting him up to speed. Just some nice test sessions here and there.
"I look forward to the future of possibly running some road racing events after I retire, but that's 20 years down the road. Nothing on the forefront. I have a good home with the NASCAR program, working with Miller and Dodge to make our No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge go faster."



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