Ryan Newman is Loose in Turn 3

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Ryan Newman is on the loose.  From team Penske, at least.  Everyone seems to think they know where he’s going.  But so far, the Rocketman has kept mum. 

You would think that, with the Sprint Cup Series off this weekend, some of this silly season stuff would settle out.  But that probably makes too much sense.   

The Bench Racing blog’s slice of the Loose in Turn 3 pie has to do with Newman’s seat in the #12 Alltel Dodge.

Who is your choice as the next driver at Penske Racing?

Charlie:  I’ve read and heard the Juan Pablo Montoya speculation. I heard months ago, that Martin Truex Jr was headed to Penske, and a fourth car there, along with his Bass Pro Shops sponsor. For sponsors, those deals make sense. But the #12 already has Alltel. I think that Casey Mears is the better teammate for “the franchise”, which is still Kurt Busch. The Mears name and Penske go way back. This could be the perfect place for the talented Casey to flourish.

Bruce:  After the Sam Hornish debacle, and that’s what I think it is, they need to make sure that they get themselves a good talent, and they need to put more into that No. 12 team than it’s been getting. It’s got an odd history of mediocre performance. Mears is a great emotional choice, but if you look at the business side of things, Juan Pablo Montoya would be a great addition to the team. He’s got the experience that Hornish can lean on and Penske and toy the guys with rides in “other” series.

TZ:  The idea of Montoya being a candidate for the 12 car is news to me, but I guess I shouldn’t be too shocked considering the interest he showed when they announced Mears’ departure from Hendrick. But, really, I think Penske comes out of this Silly Season as the biggest loser. They’re not going to field a fourth car next year because they can’t even get any of the three that they already have into the Chase, so they’d just be creating a formula to wind up just like Ganassi. David Stremme gets the 12 car, end of story.

That’s what we think.  What do you think?  Leave you feedback in the comments section of this post.

Then go to TZ’s DoYouNascar and weigh in on this topic….

What are the realistic expectations for the newly formed Stewart-Haas Racing in 2009?

Then cruise over to Bruce’s NASCAR Bits for this one…

Do you think with the purchase of the Budweiser maker, Anheuser-Busch by InBev will have any sort of impact on the sponsorship of NASCAR teams and events?

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