#12 Team to go away? UPDATE 3: Mike Wallace will replace Mayfield in the #12 Fords for the rest of this season. The future of that car beyond that point is undetermined. It’s possible that Roger Penske’s operation could be a two-car team again next year with Rusty Wallace and Ryan Newman and the #12 team’s sponsor, Mobil, as an associate on both cars or sharing primary sponsorship with Alltel on Newman’s Fords(That’s Racin’)(10-5-2001) UPDATE: Officials at Penske’s shop say that there will be a No. 12 team next season, despite the loss of Mayfield. For one thing, Mobil’s sponsorship, an $11 million a year deal, has another season to run.(Winston Salem Journal)(10-7-2001) UPDATE 2: Rusty Wallace held court yesterday at Martinsville Speedway, offering his opinion on everything from the surface of the track to the future of the #12 team that recently cut loose driver Jeremy Mayfield. Wallace said he would not be surprised if Roger Penske’s No. 12 team did not run next season. “We don’t know if we’re going to continue on with the [12] car or not,” said Wallace, who co-owns his team with Penske but has no financial interest in the other Penske Racing teams. “We might just take the 12 car and shut the team down. . . . I wouldn’t bet against it and I wouldn’t bet for it. Right now, they’re trying to find out what they want to do.”(Richmond Times Dispatch)(10-13-2001) UPDATE 3: Rusty Wallace said the fate of his brother Mike’s [#12] team is still up in the air, and he’s not convinced a three-car team is the way to go. Ryan Newman will be stepping up to a full Winston Cup deal next season, leaving the Penske team that Mike Wallace drives for under an uncertain cloud. “If they want to keep the 12 car team going, I’m all for it,” Wallace said. “But if Mike wasn’t in the car, I’d say just close the sucker down.”(Winston Salem Journal) AND Whether Mike Wallaces performance will pay off in that car is undetermined. Roger Penske, who owns both Rustys #2 and Mikes #12, is considering shutting the #12 team down and pairing the #2 next year with rookie Ryan Newman, whose car at present wears #02.(Gaston Gazette)(10-21-2001) (10-20-2001)
