Penske switched from Fords to Dodges in 2003, after Dodge returned to the sport. That year, Ryan Newman won eight races in a Penske Dodge. He went on to win three more times in Dodges, while his teammate Rusty Wallace won once in a Penske Dodge in 2004. Kurt Busch won 10 times in Penske Dodges, while Keselowski has won three times. 

If this news is confirmed, Robby Gordon Motorsports would be the only team fielding Dodges in the Sprint Cup Series. Derricke Cope was rumored to be starting a team that would field Dodges, but nothing concrete has come through.

This news comes 10 days before Dodge planned to unveil their 2013 Dodge Charger for use in Cup competition.

Update: Penske confirmed the news with an announcement.

Mark Fields, Ford’s president of The Americas said:

This is an historic day for our racing program, and we are thrilled to see another member of the extended Ford family coming back. Working together with Penske Racing gives Ford another championship-level program, and we are excited to take our racing program to all-new levels.

Roger Penske added:

We look forward to joining the Ford Racing NASCAR program beginning in 2013. We appreciate the long-term commitment that Ford has made to Penske Racing and for their continued support of the sport.

The team had sponsorship to run the No. 62 of Michael Annett from Pilot Travel Centers, but it was unable to secure significant sponsorship to run the No. 66 of Steve Wallace.  Annett has been released to pursue other opportunities.

RWI will continue to operate, assisting Steve Wallace in his pursuit of other opportunities in his racing career. RWR will also maintain and manage sponsor relationships on Steve Wallace’s behalf.

Team owner Rusty Wallace said:

A lot of teams would have run with the level of funding we have now, but we want to ensure that our team has the resources necessary to compete and to improve our operations. I promised myself and my family long ago that if the team wasn’t funded to a level with which we were comfortable, we just wouldn’t run it. I’ve worked way too hard to put part of my life savings into a race team. So, we collectively decided to take a break, regroup and focus on the future. We’ll keep working hard on sponsorship programs for Steve (Wallace) and for future seasons. This also allows us to focus on the other aspects of our companies and our brand as well, whether it’s our car dealerships, new track design projects, licensing, personal services or even something new.

At a test session at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Jimmie Johnson said:

I wouldn’t run [IndyCar] on ovals. There’s just no need to. Those cars are fantastic for street circuits, for road courses. I hate, hate, hate that this tragedy took place. But hopefully they can learn from it and make those cars safer on ovals somehow. I don’t know how they can really do it. Myself, I have a lot of friends that race in that series, and I’d just rather see them on street circuits and road courses. No more ovals. … Their average was 225? I’ve never been 225 mph in my life – and that’s their average around an oval. They are brave men and women that drive those things. There’s very little crumple zone around the driver, it’s an open cockpit and then you add open wheels – it’s just creating situations to get the car off the ground at a high rate of speed. And you can’t control the car when it’s off the ground.

Johnson makes very valid points. To put things in perspective, this graphic shows the difference between an Indy car and a stock car. The most noticeable difference is the weight. A stock car weighs 3,400 – 3,450 lbs, compared to 1,525 – 1,600 lbs for an Indy car. Yet, a stock only produces 100 more HP than an Indy car. An Indy car’s light weight and aerodynamic shape in combination with long straightaways and banked corners makes them capable of achieving speeds in excess of 220 MPH on ovals.

At speeds that high, drivers have thousandths of a second to react, which leaves no margin for error.

In 2004, Rusty Wallace tested a stock car without a restrictor plate at Talladega Superspeedway. He reached a top speed of 228 MPH. He said afterwards:

There’s no way we could be out there racing at those speeds… it would be insane to think we could have a pack of cars out there doing that.

But, that’s what happens at every Indy oval. That’s what happened at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

It’s not realistic to expect IndyCar to stop racing at ovals. I don’t think Johnson expects it either. He was reacting based on his emotion and the loss of a fellow racer. As the emotions subside as time passes, Johnson will surely see why that is highly unlikely. Instead, Indy should focus on making the cars safer and tracks safer; much like NASCAR did after the tragic death of Dale Earnhardt.

Johnson is now eighth on the all-time wins list with this victory, tying Rusty Wallace’s 55 wins.  Chevrolet has now claimed the manufacturers championship for the season, their 35th championship overall.  Johnson led the race from lap 24 and dominated the field the entire race.  He had to beat his future teammate Kasey Kahne, who finished the race in second place.  Critics who doubted the No. 48 team are now retracing their statements and tucking their tail between their legs.

You can never count out five-time champion Jimmie Johnson.  Before the race at Kansas, the No. 48 team was in the midst of 21 race winless streak.  Many drivers go over 100 races without a win, yet the media was concerned with 21 for Johnson?  The battle for this championship gets more intense every week and you definitely can’t count out Johnson for this championship title.

Keselowski Stays Consistent

Brad Keselowski keeps up his consistent finishes after finishing second at Kansas Speedway.  He moved up to the fourth position in the standings, just 11 points behind the leader.  Keselowski has finished in the top-5 three out of the past four races.  Although he finished in 20th position last weekend at Dover, he overcame power steering issues to finish strong.

Like I’ve said before, Keselowski is one of the biggest contenders for this championship.   He never gives up and has consistent finishes every week.  He came into the Chase as the underdog and will leave it as the champion, or as the driver who gave the champion a run for his money.

Carl Edwards Takes Over Points Lead

Leaving Dover last week Carl Edwards was tied with Kevin Harvick for the points lead, in second position.  He is now leading the standings, one point ahead of Harvick.  Edwards salvaged a fifth place finish at Kansas after falling a lap down during the race.  In post-race interviews Edwards said that he felt like he won the race.  Managing to finish in the top-5 after overcoming such obstacles is a big accomplishment for the No. 99 team.

Dale Earnhardt Jr Just Wants to Win a Race

After the race at Kansas, Dale Earnhardt Jr is leaving with a different mind-set.  ”I just want to win a race,” he said. “That’s a goal of mine right now, is to just go out there and win. Man, if we could do that, no matter what happened in the Chase I think we’d be real happy with our season”.

Earnhardt seemed to have a fast car throughout the race, but wasn’t happy with his tires.  He said during the race that the various sets of Goodyear tires were inconsistent, and he couldn’t figure out why.  Earnhardt finished the race in 14th position.  He gained one spot in points, moving to ninth position.

Gordon’s Chase Hopes Take A Big Hit

Although Gordon ran in the top-10 for most of the race, he was never happy with how his car was handling.  With 23 laps to go, Gordon noticed smoke coming from underneath the hood.  The team knew it was a matter of time before their day was over.  With two laps to go, the engine expired, leaving Gordon with a 34th place finish.  His finish dropped him down to 10th position in the points.

Being 47 points behind the leader, are Gordon’s championship hopes over?  With just six races left in the season, Gordon would need a miracle to win the championship.  However, if the drivers ahead of him in points were to finish poorly in the last few races and Gordon was to finish top-5 every week, he may still have a chance.  With the points battle being so close this season, he still has a small chance.

Chase for the Sprint Cup

As we head to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the fifth race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Carl Edwards is now your points leader.  Kevin Harvick lost the points lead, but only by one point, leaving him in second place.  Johnson gained two positions and is now in third place,  just four points behind Edwards.  Keselowski and Matt Kenseth both gained two positions, now sitting in fourth and fifth place, respectively.

Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart both dropped positions in standings and now are sixth and seventh place, respectively.  Kyle Busch remains in eighth position and is now 20 points behind the leader.  Earnhardt gained one position, moving him to ninth position with his teammate Gordon in 10th.  Newman and Hamlin’s chase hopes are no longer viable, sitting in 11th and 12th position, more than 50 points behind the leader.

Wallace joined the network after retiring in 2005. He has serves as the lead analyst for NASCAR Countdown and NASCAR Now. He also contributes to SportsCenter, First Take, and ESPNNews in addition to calling Nationwide Series races on ESPN. He also served as an IndyCar analyst for the network.

ESPN also recently expanded the on-air duties of Ricky Craven.

Wallace and Gaughan are both in the top 10 in Nationwide Series starts, but neither has won a race this season.

Separately, Rusty Wallace has agreed to represent the Toyota brand nationally.

Wallace said:

I’m very proud to have the opportunity for the team and I to represent the Toyota brand. Our team’s decision on manufacturers involved input from a lot of people within the organization. We decided that at the end of the day, our goal as a race team is simple: To win races and championships. Thus, we all had to take a long look at which manufacturer partner could best help us reach that goal.

Lee White, of TRD, said:

We are looking forward to our partnership and working together with Rusty Wallace Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. As a former Cup Series champion who is now a team owner, Rusty knows what is required – in terms of equipment and people – to win races and compete for championships. The team is a first-class organization, and we are proud that they will be a part of the Toyota Camry roster.

Kenny Wallace, Rusty’s brother, wrote:

All I can say is that where there’s smoke, there’s fire. And he is definitely considering stepping back into a race car.

Wallace attributes the thought of Rusty returning to Mark Martin’s return to full time racing next season in Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 5.

Also, Wallace will drive Michael Waltrip Racing’s No. 00 at this weekend’s Amp Energy 500 from Talladega Superspeedway.