Penske Racing Drivers Named to 2008 All-America Team
December 2, 2008
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (December 2, 2008) - Drivers at all three levels of competition for Penske Racing have been recognized for their outstanding accomplishments this racing this season. Five Penske Racing drivers spanning stock car, open-wheel and sports car competition have been named to the 2008 All-America Auto Racing Team following voting conducted by the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association (AARWBA).
Both Team Penske IndyCar Series veteran driver Helio Castroneves and Penske Racing NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Justin Allgaier earned First Team All-America honors after championship-caliber seasons in 2008.
Castroneves produced two victories, four pole positions and 15 top-five finishes in 18 races this season and the popular Brazilian nearly claimed the IndyCar Series championship, finishing just a few points behind eventual series champ Scott Dixon.
Allgaier claimed the ARCA RE/MAX Series stock car championship after scoring six wins, including three straight victories to end the season in a dramatic title run. Allgaier joined Penske Racing as a development driver in September and the 22-year-old American rising star made four NASCAR Nationwide Series starts for the team at the end of the 2008 season. Allgaier will return to Nationwide Series competition for Penske Racing in 2009.
Both Castroneves and Allgaier are eligible to win the prestigious Jerry Titus award as the All-America Team's Driver of the Year. The award, given annually in remembrance of Titus - the late racer and journalist, will be presented to one of the 17 members of the First Team at the annual AARWBA Banquet in January.
Three more Penske Racing pilots were named to the All-America Second Team. Australian IndyCar Series racer Ryan Briscoe earned the honor after he posted three wins, three poles and a fifth-place championship finish in his first season competing for Team Penske.
Penske Racing sports car standout drivers Timo Bernhard of Germany and Romain Dumas of France were also named to the Second Team after another championship season. Bernhard and Dumas teamed up to capture the American Le Mans Series LMP2 driver's title in the DHL Penske Porsche RS Spyder for the second consecutive season in 2008. The duo produced four wins and five poles this season.
Two drivers from each of seven categories - open-wheel, stock car, road racing, drag racing, short track, touring series and at large - are elected to the First Team, two more to the Second Team, and all drivers receiving at least five percent of the vote earn honorable mention on the All-America Team.
All members of the team will be honored at the annual AARWBA Banquet to be held January 10, 2009 at the Hilton Hotel in Ontario, California.