Don Miller, president of Penske Racing South, said the team is not looking to field a third car to join #2-Rusty Wallace and #12-Ryan Newman.( Roanoke Times )(6-4-2003) UPDATE 5: Penske Racing part-owner Don Miller said the team, which fields Dodges for drivers Rusty Wallace and Ryan Newman, has signed NASCAR Busch Series driver Chad Blount to an agreement to test the organization’s Winston Cup cars. Miller said, contrary to recent reports, that Blount has not been hired to drive for a Busch program. “We don’t have a Busch team and we don’t have any Busch cars,” Miller said. Miller said Penske’s agreement with Blount lasts through the end of the year.( ThatsRacin.com ) ….so Blount is not with Rusty in a Busch deal, but did run the #66 Miller High Life car for Wayne Jesel at Milwaukee with Penske-Jasper engines… AND The field at Milwaukee last week was set per owners points/the rules book [past winners, race attempts and qualifying draw]. No matter how #66 team owner Wayne Jessel figured it out, he was not able to get driver Chad Blount in the race as it was their first race of the season [no owners points of race attempts] and they hadn’t drawn a high enough position in qualifying [34th]. Jessel convinced the teams of #52-Brad Teague [10 attempts, 43rd owners points, 2nd in qualiying order], #70-Morgan Shepherd [4, 53rd, 21st], #97-Kenny Hendrick [3, 73rd, 11th] and #67-Brad Mueller [actually #66 was in better position then this team also attempting it’s first race and was 45 in qual order]…..to withdraw from the event and ensure his team a spot in the race [starting 43rd and finishing 40th]. No one would comment, but it reportedly took a low five-figure range to seal the deals. PLUS have heard that word around the garage area at Daytona this weekend is that Roger Penske funded the payoff of the four Busch teams to withdraw. It reportedly cost Penske $50,000 total to convince those four drivers to withdraw.(7-5-2003)
