Penske Racing Teams Up with Cunningham Motorsports
June 13, 2008
With the consistent growth of Penske Racing, which currently competes with three Dodge Chargers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and one Dodge Charger in NASCAR Nationwide Series competition, the 2008 Daytona 500 championship team is eager to add to its history of motorsports success. As it looks for talented personnel to join the team in the future, Penske Racing will partner with Cunningham Motorsports, an established and proven team across the developmental racing ranks.
Through this partnership, Penske Racing will work with the Cunningham Motorsports teams racing in USAC Midget, ARCA RE/MAX Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competition. Penske Racing will also help develop the talented young drivers in the Cunningham Motorsports program as well as identify potential crew and team members to add to its staff in the future. In addition, the partnership will provide Penske Racing another source for testing as well as engine and chassis development as it continues to enhance its program.
"While we're certainly focused on the task at hand in 2008, Penske Racing is always looking to the future to figure out ways to improve the team and continue to raise the bar," said Tim Cindric, President of Penske Racing. "We're excited to partner with Cunningham Motorsports because they've got a proven track record competing across a wide range of racing series and we believe they'll be a great resource for Penske Racing as we look down the road."
Over the past several years, Cunningham Motorsports has played a key role in the Dodge Motorsports driver development program. By establishing the relationship with Penske Racing, Cunningham Motorsports aligns itself with one of Dodge's top teams competing in NASCAR.
"This partnership provides a great opportunity for Cunningham Motorsports," said Kerry Scherer, team Managing Partner. "We pride ourselves on our ability to cultivate promising young drivers and produce top-notch team members. Being associated with Penske Racing will only help attract more talent to our teams and it's our goal to develop that talent and be a part of the future success of Penske Racing for years to come."
Cunningham Motorsports was founded in 1996 by Briggs Cunningham and Kerry Scherer. During the time since, the team has run in the ARCA RE/MAX Series and in NASCAR in the Craftsman Truck, Nationwide and Sprint Cup series. Since 2001, Cunningham Motorsports has partnered with Dodge to develop drivers for NASCAR. Among those who have driven for the team include Chase Miller, Josh Wise, Steven Wallace, Scott Lagasse Jr. and Marc Mitchell - all of whom are racing in either the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series or the Nationwide Series.
Today, Cunningham Motorsports consists of three divisions - Cunningham Juniors, a USAC Midget program headed by Bob Perona, Cunningham Motorsports, an ARCA RE/MAX Series program headed by Kerry Scherer, and CHS Motorsports, a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series program headed by Carl Hartman. For more information on Cunningham Motorsports and its programs, please contact Dave Goodman at dgoodman@mountainempiresmg.com.
Penske Racing is one of the most successful teams in the history of professional sports. Competing in a variety of disciplines, cars owned and prepared by Penske Racing have produced 300 major race wins, over 350 poles and 21 National Championships. This season, Penske Racing competes in the NASCAR Cup Series with 2008 Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman and the No. 12 Alltel Dodge, 2004 Cup Series champion Kurt Busch and the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge and former three-time IndyCar Series champion and current NASCAR Cup rookie of the year contender Sam Hornish Jr. in the No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge. For more information about Penske Racing, please visit its newly redesigned web site at www.penskeracing.com.