It's a move that had been anticipated
for quite some time. Penske Racing has hired David
Stremme to replace Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman, who is leaving the Number-12 Dodge at the end of the season to drive
for Tony Stewart's new team. Stremme has been under contract as a
test driver for Penske while waiting for an open Sprint Cup seat.
Stremme spent two seasons driving for Chip Ganassi (guh-NA'-see)
Racing in the Sprint Cup Series, but was let go at the end of last
year to make way for Dario Franchitti (fran-KEE'-tee).
Stremme passed on several sub-par Cup rides, choosing instead to
sit the year out and run most of the second-tier Nationwide Series
schedule for Rusty Wallace. He's ranked 12th in the Nationwide
standings, with 13 top-10 finishes in his 24 starts.