Penske strengthened team in offseason

Penske Racing has shuffled its deck for the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season and hopes a revised ownership and personnel roster means across the board success.

	Ryan Newman's eight victories in 2003 were in the most since Jeff Gordon's 13 in 1998. Credit: Kevin Wakefield

Penske added a third team when the organization purchased a controlling interest in Jasper Motorsports' No. 77 team. Penske Racing general manager John Erickson took an ownership role in that team.

But the main elements that succeeded for Penske in 2003 remain intact.

Penske's anchor in 2003 became Ryan Newman, who set the series on its ear with eight victories and 11 Bud Pole Awards in the No. 12 Alltel Dodge.

But while that only left Newman sixth in the final Winston Cup standings, he and crew chief Matt Borland return with a crew that is virtually intact..

"I'm looking forward to this season," Newman said. "I think we've got great potential, just like the other three times we've done this (so) I'm just going to go out and do the best I can."

That's an attitude that led Newman to a couple career marks last season.

"We got our first top-five at a restrictor plate track (and) we got our first top-five at Martinsville, which was pretty big for us," Newman said. "Those things we can take into this year, and we couldn't do that last year (and) it will make a big difference.

Ryan Newman  Driver Page  Video Highlights  Merchandise

"We (race) four times at the restrictor plate tracks and two times at Martinsville. That's a sixth of the season that we have better mentality and momentum to approach."

Newman, who was married in the off-season, refuses to get drawn much into talking about his past triumphs. He's more concerned about his next victory.

Rusty Wallace  Driver Page  Video Highlights  Merchandise  Official Site

"If you do win a few races, you're more in tune with what you're going to do to win the next one as you are when you haven't won one yet," Newman said of his philosophy. "For me, I was always focused on what we had to do to win the next one.

"With that in mind, you don't spend a lot of time gloating about what you have done -- you think about what you can do."

That's an attitude that puts Newman near the top of any list of 2004 Nextel Cup championship contenders, but don't expect him to have much to say about that, either.

"I don't know (who the favorite is) and it doesn't matter to me," Newman said. "I guess the best way to gauge it is the top-10 from last year, but everything else is just pure opinion.

	Wallace has a new crew chief this season -- and a new outlook. Credit: Kevin Wakefield

"There are some tough competitors outside of the top 10, so I'm limiting it to that, but the top-10 is a good place to start. Favorites are just favorites."

A real fan favorite is the veteran Rusty Wallace, who was one of Penske's partners when the business and motorsports magnate started his Winston Cup team in 1991.

Wallace has broadened his ownership in the organization to include a piece of its third team for Brendan Gaughan.

But most importantly for his short-term success in the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge -- and breaking a 98-race winless streak -- Wallace welcomes a new crew chief, Larry Carter.

Carter wasn't the only change Wallace made in his team over the winter, and when the group tested at Daytona in early January, it made Wallace blink for a second.

"This is our first test since we ran at Homestead in November, and this is the first chance I had to work with all the new people," Wallace said. "I almost needed a program with pictures and names so I'd know who I was talking to."

Beyond Daytona's Speedweeks, Wallace is of the opinion that NASCAR's new rules mandating decreased downforce and softer tires will play to his favor.

"I'm more of a hands-on chassis guy," Wallace said. "A lot of these races last year were just track position. You couldn't get around the guys.

"We're really going to show the new rules when we show up at Vegas. That's where they're really going to shine."

The sparkplug in Penske's deal this season could be Gaughan, who dominated the Craftsman Truck Series in 2003 only to hit a couple coral reefs in the last few races, which knocked him back to fourth in the standings.

But Gaughan brings plenty of confidence to the No. 77 Kodak Dodge, along with his hand-in-glove crew chief, Shane Wilson. Bill Wilburn, who served as Wallace's chief mechanic the last two seasons, slides over as prep shop foreman.

	Brendan Gaughan

"I've got Shane Wilson here with me now, and chemistry-wise, that's a huge plus (because) Shane and I work great together," Gaughan said. "I'm a cheerleader. I jump up and down. We're all going to have some fun."

Gaughan, as part of a strong, six-man rookie class, said he's not fazed in the least by the recent spate of rookie successes.

"I want to look like Ryan Newman and Jimmie Johnson when they came out," Gaughan said. "We want to be up front often (because) Kodak expects big things from this team.

"You hope for half this opportunity. To have all this is phenomenal. I'm very stubborn. I tend to have higher expectations than most people (and) our expectations are high.

"I've got a teammate by the name of Ryan Newman and another teammate named Rusty Wallace that have quite a few wins between themselves. If I can't win with this type of knowledge around me...

"They're going to give me everything I need to go fast, and I'm going to do everything I can to make the guys on the team happy. If the guys on the team are happy, they're going to go to war for you and build good stuff."