Penske Racing still backs Busch

LONG POND, Pa. (AP) _ Even with a lighter wallet, and an unexpected and unnecessary climb ahead in the standings, Roger Penske is still in hot-tempered Kurt Busch's corner. <br/><br/>While Penske was

Sunday, June 10th 2007, 5:48 pm

By: News On 6

LONG POND, Pa. (AP) _ Even with a lighter wallet, and an unexpected and unnecessary climb ahead in the standings, Roger Penske is still in hot-tempered Kurt Busch's corner.

While Penske was upset with how Busch handled himself in a pit row dustup that saw him nearly take out a member of Tony Stewart's crew, the car owner remained supportive of Busch.

``Kurt has a great talent in driving and I think this was a time that he checked out in maybe using his head and moved into a situation that put him at risk,'' Penske said at Pocono Raceway on Sunday.

Busch and Stewart were involved in an accident on the track at Dover that carried over into the pits late in the race. Busch pulled his No. 2 Dodge next to Stewart's car, forcing jackman Jason Lee to jump back and onto the hood.

Penske's called Busch's lack of control in the pits, ``the wrong move.''

Busch was docked 100 points, fined $100,000 and placed on probation until the end of the year.

Penske, who had no plan to appeal, also was penalized 100 owner points. Penske told Busch he had to spend quality time with his crew to make amends and make sure they were all on the same page.

``We're going to try and keep our nose clean,'' Penske said. ``I'm going to continue to support him, the team's going to support him and we've got to move on.''

Penske wondered if he could have prevented the dustup if he was at the race, but said he's been pleased overall with Busch's conduct since joining the team in 2006. Busch joined Penske on the heels of being charged off the track with reckless driving and a tarnished reputation.

``What he's done for us, he's been pretty cool,'' Penske said. ``When we signed him up, word was he had a DUI, which was not the case at all. That was a cloud we had to work our way out of for quite a bit of time. I think we've done that.''

It was the first Nextel Cup race since former chairman Bill France Jr. died Monday. The raceway hung a banner thanking France for all he did for NASCAR and a moment of silence was held before the green flag was dropped.

``I'm sure the legacy will continue on as it did when big Bill passed away,'' Penske said. ``I see things moving on.''

Penske could forget about poor pit conduct and penalties for a night. He had something to celebrate when Sam Hornish Jr. won his first Indy Racing League race of the season at Texas on Saturday night. Penske said Hornish wouldn't compete in the Cup race at Indianapolis, and the IRL driver was firmly focused on the ARCA race this weekend at Michigan.

``He's really looking forward to it,'' Penske said. ``Last night, we really got the monkey off our back. He really had a strong car and ran strong all night. People are saying he's doing too much. But that's not the case. Racers are racers.''

Penske said he would not commit to a third Nextel Cup team for 2008 and he denied interest in switching from Dodge to Toyota.