Team Penske (NASCAR)
The NASCAR operation of the racing team Team Penske is a unit based in Mooresville, North Carolina, USA. The team fields Ford Mustangs in the NASCAR Cup Series and the Xfinity Series and has won a total of three drivers' championships and over 170 races combined over both series.
The team has also used the following names:
- Penske Racing South: formerly used to differentiate the NASCAR operation from its open wheel and sports car racing operation that was based in Reading, Pennsylvania; the name ceased to be used when the entire operation moved to North Carolina.
- Penske-Kranefuss Racing: used from 1998 until 2001 when Michael Kranefuss, who had previously fielded a car with Carl Haas as a partner, merged his team with Penske's and brought Jeremy Mayfield, his driver, into the Penske fold in car #12. The partnership ended after 2001, but Penske continues to run car #12 to this day.
- Penske-Jasper Racing: used in 2004 and 2005. Roger Penske had been supplying Jasper Motorsports with engines for several years and bought a share of the team so he could run its #77 for Brendan Gaughan as part of the Penske team. The partnership dissolved after Penske gave up his stake in the team and fired Gaughan.
Background
The team did not run for eleven years, returning in 1991 with Wallace at the wheel again, with Rusty moving his Miller beer dollars to the new team from the recently suspended operations of Raymond Beadle's Blue Max Racing team. Early in 2008, Roger Penske and Penske Racing won the 2008 Daytona 500 with Ryan Newman, the first time Penske has won a restrictor plate race, winning with a 1–2 finish.
In 2003, Penske switched from fielding Fords to Dodges. By 2011, however, Penske was the only NASCAR team running Dodges full-time as most of the former Dodge teams had either folded or switched to other brands such as Chevrolet, Ford or Toyota. Owner Roger Penske announced on March 1, 2012 that the team would return to Ford in 2013.
In 2012, with Dodge, Brad Keselowski brought home Penske's first Sprint Cup title.
For the 2016 season Penske Racing South fielded the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion for Keselowski and the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Fusion for Joey Logano. The team also supplies cars to the historic NASCAR team, Wood Brothers Racing, who fields Penske development driver Ryan Blaney on a full-time basis.
In 2014, the team changed their name branding from "Penske Racing" to "Team Penske" to match their IndyCar name.
In 2018, the team fielded the No. 2 Ford Fusion full-time for Brad Keselowski, the No. 22 Ford Fusion full-time for Joey Logano, and the No. 12 Ford Fusion full-time for Ryan Blaney in the NASCAR Cup Series, as well as the No. 22 Ford Mustang full-time for part-time drivers Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, and Paul Menard, and full-time driver Austin Cindric, and the No. 12 Ford Mustang part-time for full-time driver Austin Cindric in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Cindric split his full-time 2018 schedule between the 22 and 12 for Team Penske, and the 60 of Roush Fenway Racing, before being signed by Penske for the full 2019 Xfinity Series season in the No. 22 car. Joey Logano won the Cup Series championship, giving Penske his second Cup title as an owner.
Cup Series
Car No. 06 history
In 2004, Penske occasionally ran a fourth car numbered 06, sponsored by Mobil 1. Craftsman Truck Series driver Travis Kvapil attempted four races, failing to qualify at Darlington, with a best finish of 21st at Martinsville. He would replace Brendan Gaughan in the 77 in 2005. Chad Blount also ran the car at Talladega, finishing 41st.The No. 06 returned in 2007 with Sam Hornish, Jr. in preparation for moving full-time in the 77 the next year. The No. 06 was sponsored by Penske Truck Rental and Mobil 1 Hornish, Jr. attempted eight races, but only qualified for the final two races of the season, with a best finish of 30th at Phoenix.
Car No. 06 results
Car No. 2 history
;Origins with Blue Max RacingThe No. 2 car's history can be traced back to the late 1970s with M. C. Anderson and Benny Parsons. Cale Yarborough drove the 27 Valvoline car in 1981 and 1982 respectively. In 1983, the team switched hands to Raymond Beadle and Blue Max Racing with Tim Richmond driving. The team picked up Rusty Wallace in 1986 and won a Championship in 1989. In 1990, the team barely made it through the season with the help of Roger Penske funding the team to keep going. By late 1990, the team was purchased as a base for Roger's new team. During the offseason, the team changed numbers from 27 to 2 and kept the Miller Sponsorship.
;Rusty Wallace
The No. 2 team has not seen many changes since its debut under the Penske banner at the 1991 Daytona 500, where it finished 27th after a crash late in the race. Wallace drove the car from 1991 to 2005, with some form of Miller Beer as the primary sponsor of the team. Wallace moved to Penske from Blue Max Racing, which suspended operations after 1990. The team in its first year won two races and finished 10th in points. In 1992, Wallace won one race and finished 13th in points. Things then turned around for him and Penske, winning 25 races over the next four years, despite never winning the championship.
The team switched from Pontiac to Ford in 1994. The season finale at Atlanta Motor Speedway and the entire 1996 season saw a small change when the popular Miller Genuine Draft paint scheme was replaced with a red, blue and yellow splashed scheme that advertised the Miller brand. After winning five races that season, Wallace donned the blue and white colors of Miller Lite in 1997. After winning one race a piece over the next three years, he put together four wins and won nine Bud poles in 2000, the highest total of his career. In 2002, he failed to win races, marking the first year since 1985 that he was winless throughout a season. After that year, the team switched manufacturers from Ford to Dodge. In 2004, Wallace announced the 2005 season would be his last in the Cup Series, citing his son's racing career and wanting to concentrate on his Busch Series team, Rusty Wallace Racing, for the departure. During that season, Wallace returned to victory lane for the first time since 2001 at Martinsville, one of his historically strong racetracks. Although he would not win a race during his final season, Wallace qualified for the Chase for the Nextel Cup and finished eighth in series points.
won the 2012 Sprint Cup Series Championship.
;Kurt Busch
In order to replace the retiring Wallace, Penske tabbed 2004 Nextel Cup Champion Kurt Busch. However, this caused a problem with Busch's then-current team, Roush Racing, as he was still under contract for the 2006 season. The situation was resolved thanks in part to the resolution of another disputed contract with Roush. Roush Racing signed Jamie McMurray to drive their No. 6 car for the 2006 season but his previous team owner, Chip Ganassi, would not let him drive for Roush. Eventually, an agreement was struck where McMurray was released from his team to replace Busch in the No. 97 car, therefore freeing up Busch to drive the No. 2 car. He quickly brought the team back to victory lane by winning in his fifth start with the team at Bristol, his only win of 2006. The No. 2 team finished 16th in the season points. Busch won six additional races with the No. 2 car, his last being the 2010 Coca-Cola 600. He qualified for the Chase three times, with a best finish of fourth in the final standings in 2009.
;Brad Keselowski
In 2011, the No. 2 team swapped numbers with the No. 12 team of Brad Keselowski, which secured Keselowski's run with the No. 2 team's points. Jay Guy was replaced by Nationwide Series crew chief Paul Wolfe as the team's crew chief. The No. 2 team with Keselowski and Wolfe initially struggled for the first half of the season, although they won a fuel-mileage race at Kansas. The team's performance started to improve dramatically after Keselowski injured his leg during a testing crash at Road Atlanta. Keselowski and Wolfe grabbed two more wins at Pocono and at Bristol and rallied to make the 2011 Chase field. However, the final 10 races would be an up and down affair for the team, and they were knocked out of contention after finishing 18th at Phoenix. Nonetheless, Keselowski managed a fifth-place finish in points, a dramatic turnaround from his 2010 performance.
2012 would be Keselowski's breakout season, as he won five races at Bristol, Talladega, Kentucky, Chicagoland, and Dover, with the last two being his first Chase wins. He would ultimately win Team Penske its first Sprint Cup title after a close battle with Jimmie Johnson. This would also be the final year of Dodge in the Cup series.
With Dodge's departure, Team Penske switched back to Ford in the 2013 season. Compared to his 2012 championship run, Keselowski's 2013 season was a step back, as he opened the season with four top fives but struggled with consistency from there and eventually missed the Chase altogether. He would win a single race, at Charlotte in October, and rallied to finish fourteenth in points, the highest rank outside the Chase field.
Keselowski recovered quickly in 2014, winning the third race of the year at Las Vegas after Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran out of gas on the final lap. He later dominated and won Kentucky to become the first two-time winner at the track, and dominated the July race at Loudon and the September race at Richmond as well, to secure the top seed in the reformatted Chase for the Sprint Cup. Keselowski then won back-to-back for the first time in his career in the first Chase race at Chicagoland, to secure an immediate transfer into the Contender round of the new Chase. After suffering a blown tire at Kansas and tussling with Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin at Charlotte, Keselowski went to Talladega needing to win to make the Eliminator round, which he ultimately did after outbattling Ryan Newman on the final lap. However, he suffered a mechanical failure that caused him to wreck at Martinsville, and subsequently tangled with Gordon at Texas, which led to a post-race brawl that became one of the highlights of the season. Keselowski would ultimately be eliminated from the Chase after Phoenix, and finished fifth in the final points, with his six wins being a career high.
Keselowski won his first race of 2015 at California after taking advantage of two late cautions to run down the dominant car of ex-teammate Kurt Busch. This would prove to be the only win of his season, but Keselowski once again advanced to the Eliminator round of the Chase before suffering another wreck at Martinsville, and after leading the majority of the Texas race only to be passed by Jimmie Johnson with six laps to go, Keselowski was once again eliminated from championship contention after Phoenix.
Keselowski got back to his winning ways in 2016, breaking through at Las Vegas for the second time in three seasons. He also scored his third win in the GEICO 500 at Talladega, then found his first Daytona win in the Coke Zero 400, followed by his third career win at Kentucky.
Keselowski got his first win in 2017 after Kevin Harvick had trouble in the pits at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He was leading at Las Vegas when something broke in the car with two to go. He hung on for fifth. He remained consistent, winning the STP 500 for his first Martinsville win. He continued to be consistent until a strange crash early in the Coca-Cola 600, when a piece of metal from Jeffrey Earnhardt pierced Chase Elliott's grill and went into his engine, causing a mass oil leak and fire. Brad slid in the oil, right to Elliott's rear end. Keselowski would go on to make the playoffs for the sixth time in his cup series career and score an additional win in the wreck infested Alabama 500 at the Talladega Superspeedway and have the dominant car at Martinsville before a late race caution and contact with Chase Elliott took him out of contention for the win and he would finish 4th. Keselowski made the final round at Homestead-Miami speedway finished 7th in the race and 4th in the final standings to champion Martin Truex Jr.
In 2018, Keselowski scored three wins in a row at Darlington, Indianapolis, and Las Vegas, but his run at the Playoffs was marred by bad finishes at the Charlotte Roval, Talladega, and Dover, resulting in his elimination from the Round of 12. Keselowski finished the season eighth in points.
Keselowski started the 2019 season with a 12th-place finish at the Daytona 500. A week later, he won at Atlanta; this gave him his 60th overall win with Team Penske and the first MENCS win for the new Ford Mustang GT. Keselowski also scored wins at Martinsville and Kansas and finished eighth in points for the second consecutive year
Car No. 2 results
Car No. 12 history
;Kranefuss-Haas RacingThe current 12 car started out in 1994 at Michigan as the No. 07 Ford driven by Robby Gordon and owned by German-American businessman and former Ford executive Michael Kranefuss along with Newman/Haas Racing co-principal Carl Haas. The car started and finished 38th after Gordon crashed on lap 70. After another start with Geoff Brabham at the Brickyard 400, the team— known as Kranefuss-Haas Racing— went full-time in 1995 with John Andretti driving the Kmart/Little Caesars-sponsored No. 37 Ford. Andretti won the pole at the Mountain Dew Southern 500 and finished 18th in the points. The team struggled in 1996 and Kranefuss decided to replace Andretti with Jeremy Mayfield in what amounted to a driver swap between Kranefuss-Haas and Cale Yarborough's team as Andretti replaced Mayfield in Yarborough's No. 98. The team picked up co-sponsorship from Royal Crown Cola for the following season and improved to be 13th in the points in 1997, but it was obvious the team wouldn't succeed if it only fielded one team. At the end of the season Kranefuss and Haas dissolved the partnership and the Kmart sponsorship moved over to Travis Carter's team, which became Haas-Carter Motorsports and the Little Caesars sponsorship left the team.
;Jeremy Mayfield
In 1998, Kranefuss and Penske Racing announced a merger, with Mayfield coming aboard to drive the No. 12 Mobil 1-sponsored Ford Taurus as a teammate to Rusty Wallace. The move turned out to be a success, and Mayfield became the next big star. He won the pole at Texas, and at one point in the season, found himself in the points lead. Mayfield won his first race at the 1998 Pocono 500 in June and his breakout year ended with a seventh-place finish in the points. He struggled in 1999 with no wins and an 11th-place finish in the standings. In 2000, he won at California and Pocono. Midway through the season, Kranefuss sold his share of the team to Penske. Mayfield then suffered a concussion while practicing for the Brickyard 400. He missed two races recuperating from his injury and finished 24th in points. In 2001, Mayfield posted seven top ten finishes, but was fired following the race at Kansas. Rusty Wallace's younger brother Mike Wallace took over, and came close to winning at Phoenix before settling for second place to Jeff Burton.
;Ryan Newman
Ryan Newman and his Alltel team took over the No. 12 car in 2002, although Mobil 1 stayed on as primary sponsor for several races per season. In his rookie year, Newman waged a spirited battle with Jimmie Johnson for NASCAR Rookie of the Year honors. Newman won The Winston, and the fall event at New Hampshire, as well as six poles. Although he did not win as many races as Johnson and finished behind him in the points, he finished ahead of Johnson to win the Rookie of the Year honors. After the switch to Dodge in 2003, Newman won eight races and eleven poles, and finished sixth in points.
In 2004, Newman won twice, earned nine pole positions, qualified for the inaugural Chase for the Nextel Cup, and finished seventh in points. Newman finished 2005 with eight pole positions, but only one win. He qualified for the Chase for the Cup for a second year in a row and ended up sixth in the final standings. He failed to win a race and missed the Chase in both 2006 and 2007. However, he found himself back in the winners circle early in 2008, taking victory in the 50th running of the 2008 Daytona 500 to open the season, claiming Penske's first Daytona 500 win. Following the Daytona 500, the team struggled and Newman announced during the summer that he would leave to drive the No. 39 Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing.
;David Stremme
The No. 12 car lost its sponsor in 2009 as Cellco Partners, a joint venture of Verizon and Vodafone, closed the deal to purchase Alltel in January 2009, thus voiding the terms of the grandfather clause that allowed the No. 12 car to run with a sponsor that is a direct competitor to that NASCAR series' sponsor, Sprint Corporation. The team announced that they would move the Wireless sponsorship to the IndyCar Series and the NASCAR Nationwide Series and renamed the team to Verizon Championship Racing, a reference to Verizon Wireless' Penske-wide marketing through both its IndyCar and NASCAR sponsorships, complete with its heritage of champions. Penske hired David Stremme to race the car in a largely unbranded fashion for 2009, but he did not produce results and was fired toward the end of the season.
;Brad Keselowski
Brad Keselowski, who had recently signed with Penske when he was unable to procure a seat at Hendrick Motorsports, took over the car toward the end of the 2009 season. He then ran the No. 12 full-time in 2010 unsponsored, although FloTV and AAA sponsored several races. Keselowski moved to the No. 2 car following the season to replace Kurt Busch, who moved to the new No. 22.
;Part-time and hiatus
The No. 12 did not run any races in 2011. In 2012, Sam Hornish Jr. drove the No. 12 at Kansas in April with SKF sponsorship. The No. 12 was also scheduled to run at the October Talladega race with Hornish, but after the termination of A. J. Allmendinger from the No. 22, Hornish replaced him full-time. Hornish's SKF sponsorship was transferred to the No. 22 for this race.
In 2013, Hornish again qualified at Kansas, but crashed out of the race in a multi-car wreck. He attempted the fall Talladega race, but failed to make the race after qualifying was rained out.
With Hornish leaving for Joe Gibbs Racing, the part-time No. 12 was split by various Penske drivers in 2014. SKF sponsored three races, with Ryan Blaney at Kansas in April and Talladega in October, and Juan Pablo Montoya at Michigan in June. Montoya also drove the No. 12 in the Brickyard 400 with sponsorship from Penske Truck Leasing.
;Ryan Blaney
In June 2017, Penske implied that Blaney would soon drive a third Ford for Penske Racing. This was later confirmed a month later when they announced that Blaney would drive the No. 12 car in 2018, with Paul Menard replacing him in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing car, continuing the technical alliance that the two teams have. Blaney started the 2018 season with a seventh-place finish at the Daytona 500 and stayed consistent with five top-fives and eleven top-10s before qualifying in the Playoffs. He scored his first win with Team Penske at the inaugural Charlotte Roval race after Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr. spun out before the finish line. Following the Kansas race, Blaney was eliminated from the Round of 12 of the Playoffs. He finished the season 10th in points.
Blaney continued to stay consistent enough to make his third straight Playoff appearance. He won at Talladega to advance to the Round of 8 of the Playoffs.
Car No. 12 results
Car No. 22 history
;Ryan NewmanPenske's No. 22 team originally began running in the ARCA RE/MAX Series in 2000 as the No. 27 Ford sponsored by Alltel and driven by Ryan Newman. Later in the year, the team made its NASCAR Cup Series debut with Newman at Phoenix as the No. 02 Alltel Ford, finishing 41st due to engine failure. In 2001, Newman split time between ARCA, the NASCAR Busch Series, and the NASCAR Cup Series. He drove in 15 Busch races and won at Michigan. In the Cup Series, he participated in seven events, and almost won The Winston Open before his engine expired in the closing laps. He put together two top-five finishes, which included a second-place finish at Kansas, and a pole in his abbreviated schedule.
at Daytona in 2008.
;Brendan Gaughan
In 2004 after Penske merged with Jasper Motorsports. Brendan Gaughan was hired as the driver and the car was renumbered to 77, with Kodak sponsoring. Gaughan had four top-ten finishes and finished 28th in points in his rookie year. Gaughan was fired for lack of performance at the end of the season.
;Travis Kvapil
Gaughan was immediately replaced by Travis Kvapil in 2005. Kodak continued to sponsor the team, though Mobil 1 came on to sponsor one race. Kvapil had two top-tens and finished 33rd in points. The No. 77 team shut down for the next two years due to a lack of sponsorship.
;Sam Hornish Jr.
In late 2007, Penske Racing announced that the No. 77 team would return to racing with Mobil 1 as a sponsor and that Sam Hornish Jr., one of Penske's IndyCar series drivers, would switch to NASCAR full-time and drive the car in 2008. The team underwent a points swap with Kurt Busch's No. 2 car to guarantee Hornish a spot in the first five races while allowing Busch to qualify automatically if necessary with his Past Champion's Provisional starts.
The team did the same in 2009 as Bill Davis sold the owner points from his No. 22 Toyota to Penske, which guaranteed Hornish a spot in the first five races of the season. Hornish's performance improved enough in this year that the No. 77 ended the year in the top 35 in owner points.'s crew performs a pit stop at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2014
;Kurt Busch
With the departure of Mobil 1 to Stewart Haas Racing for the 2011 season, Shell and Pennzoil came over to Penske and sponsored the newly renumbered No. 22 Cup car in 2011 with Kurt Busch. The No. 22 shared the Shell sponsorship with Penske's IndyCar driver Hélio Castroneves. The team won two races at Sonoma and Dover and made the Chase, but poor finishes during the Chase left Busch 11th in points. Busch and Penske Racing agreed to mutually part December 5, 2011. though there was strong speculation that he was fired for an incident involving reporter Jerry Punch that was caught on amateur video.
;Allmendinger and Hornish Jr.
On December 21, 2011, A. J. Allmendinger was announced as the driver for the 2012 season, moving over from Richard Petty Motorsports. He would team up with newly promoted crew chief Todd Gordon after the departure of Steve Addington to Stewart-Haas Racing. Allmendinger got off to a slow start to the season, but took advantage of a late wreck among the leaders to finish second at Martinsville. After he failed a drug test before the July Daytona race, he was removed from the car. Penske Nationwide series driver Sam Hornish, Jr. was named as replacement for the remainder of the season. Hornish challenged for a win at Watkins Glen, and ended up finishing fifth. After failing to record another top-10 finish, Penske removed him from the car at season's end.
;Joey Logano
On September 4, 2012, Joey Logano was announced as Hornish's replacement in the No. 22 car in 2013. Logano became the fourth driver of the No. 22 in three years, but had a successful 2013 season, making the Chase, and returned in 2014, becoming the first driver to return to the No. 22 car for more than a single season. Logano won five races in 2014, two more than in his entire previous career, and made the Championship round of the revamped Chase, only to suffer pit road miscues at Homestead that relegated him to fourth in the standings.
Logano then began the 2015 season by winning the Daytona 500. He then won five further races, including repeat wins in the Bristol Night Race and the Kansas Chase race, part of a streak of three wins in a row that allowed him to sweep the Contender round of the 2015 Chase. However, a feud with Matt Kenseth derailed Logano's season when Kenseth wrecked him out of the lead at Martinsville; heavy damage from a blown tire the next week at Texas and his failure to win at Phoenix resulted in Logano's elimination from the Chase.
Logano's 2016 season saw him making it all the way back to Homestead, this time with three wins with a shot to win the title. Logano was able to get past a late race incident with Carl Edwards and finished second in the standings behind Jimmie Johnson.
Logano's 2017 run was a disappointment. He won the spring Richmond race, but the victory was encumbered after his car was revealed to have a rear suspension issue during post-race inspection. This was followed by a string of disappointing finishes, which resulted in Logano missing the Playoffs and finishing 17th in the standings.
The 2018 season saw the No. 22 returning to competitive form, winning the spring Talladega race and securing the team in the Playoffs. A win at the fall Martinsville race locked Logano in the Championship 4. Logano won the 2018 Ford EcoBoost 400 and became the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Champion.
For the 2019 season, Logano scored wins at the Gander RV Duel 2 at Daytona and at Las Vegas. At Martinsville, Hamlin collided with Logano on turn four, squeezing Logano into the outside wall and causing him to lose a tire and spin out two laps later. Despite the damage, Logano finished eighth. After the race, Logano and Hamlin had a discussion on the incident before Logano slapped Hamlin's right shoulder, sparking a fight between the two. NASCAR suspended Dave Nichols Jr., the No. 22 team's tire technician, for one race for pulling Hamlin down to the ground during the altercation.
Car No. 22 results
Xfinity Series
Penske's first entry in the now Xfinity Series was in 1997, with Cup driver Rusty Wallace at Auto Club Speedway. Wallace started 37th and finished 21st in his Miller Lite Ford.Car No. 02 / 39 / 48 history
Penske Racing's next foray into the Busch Series was in 2001. Ryan Newman drove 15 races in the 02 Alltel Ford in preparation for moving up to the NASCAR Cup Series the next year. "Rocket Man" Newman had 6 poles and only two starts outside the top 5. Newman had eight top 10s including a win at Michigan International Speedway, and would finish 28th in points despite running less than half the season.In 2005, Penske returned to the second-tier series with Ryan Newman. Newman drove an Alltel/Mobil 1/Sony Dodge numbered 39, his sprint car number whose digits coincidentally add up to the number 12 he used in the Cup Series. He ran only 9 of 25 races, but had four poles and six victories. In 2006, Newman and Kurt Busch shared the ride. Busch ran seven races and won twice; Newman's best finish was 2nd in six starts. IndyCar Champion Sam Hornish, Jr. began racing the No. 39 in the last two races of the year, crashing out of both races. Newman also ran a 02 car at Watkins Glen, finishing 41st after an engine failure.
The only race for the 39 in 2007 was at Watkins Glen International, where Kurt Busch started on the pole and finished 3rd.
In 2013, Penske ran a third team part-time, numbered 48. Joey Logano ran the car at Watkins Glen with Discount Tire as the sponsor, starting 3rd and finishing 21st. Ryan Blaney then ran the car at Phoenix with AutoZone, finishing 10th. Brad Keselowski ran the car at Homestead with Discount Tire, winning the race.
Car No. 12 history
;Sam Hornish Jr.The 12 car debuted in 2007, running 20 total races. Kurt Busch ran 3 races with Penske Truck Rental, with a best finish of 4th at Las Vegas. Sam Hornish Jr. ran 9 races but had no top 10s and four crashes. Ryan Newman ran 8 races with Kodak and Alltel, with a best finish of 3rd at Richmond.
The team returned return on limited basis in 2008, with Hornish driving most of the races early in the season. Hornish attempted 10 races with fewer DNFs and a best finish of 11th at Darlington. ARCA Champion Justin Allgaier ran four races later in the year, with an 11th-place finish at Phoenix.
;Justin Allgaier
In 2009, Justin Allgaier moved into the car full-time. After Verizon, taking on the sponsorship responsibilities of Alltel, was barred from sponsoring the No. 12 Cup car under terms of the Viceroy Rule – preventing competition with title sponsor Sprint NEXTEL – the company moved their sponsorship to the Nationwide Series. Allgaier was involved in a close rookie battle with Michael McDowell and Scott Lagasse Jr., but eventually won the 2009 Rookie of the Year, scoring 12 top 10s en route to a 6th-place points finish. Allgaier and Verizon returned for 2010. Justin took his first career victory in the fourth race of the season at Bristol Motor Speedway. The team had an impressive 20 top 10s and finished 4th in points.
in the 12 car in 2012.
;Sam Hornish Jr.
Due to Verizon's departure from NASCAR for Penske's IndyCar team, the No. 12 team scaled back to a limited schedule in 2011, prompting Allgaier to move to Turner Motorsports. Sam Hornish Jr., recently losing his Cup ride with Penske, took over the car on a limited basis with Alliance Truck Parts sponsoring his effort. Hornish won his first Nationwide Series race at Phoenix, a track where he had had success in IndyCar. Alex Tagliani drove the No. 12 in Montreal with sponsorship from Hot Wheels.
Hornish returned for the full season in 2012, with expanded sponsorship from Alliance Truck Parts. Hornish had arguably his strongest season in stock cars to date after struggles in past Sprint Cup and Nationwide endeavors, scoring 10 top 5s and 22 top 10s en route to a fourth-place points finish.
Hornish returned to the car in 2013, and scored his second NASCAR victory at Las Vegas. He was a strong contender for the drivers' title, earning 4 poles, 16 top 5s and 25 top 10s, but ultimately finished second to Austin Dillon in the final points standings, despite Dillon not winning a race. Hornish was left without a full-time ride, as longtime owner Roger Penske did not have any opportunities for his former champion, though he did say Hornish deserved another opportunity at NASCAR's top level. Sponsors Alliance Truck Parts, WURTH, and Detroit Genuine Parts would move up to sponsor Brad Keselowski's Sprint Cup car in 2014.
;Part Time
In 2014, after Hornish left for Joe Gibbs Racing, Team Penske narrowed down their Nationwide Series fleet to one full-time ride – the No. 22 team –leaving the No. 12 as a part-time ride. Ryan Blaney ran four races in the car, with Joey Logano running a single race at Watkins Glen, with sponsorship from Snap-on Tools and Western Star Trucks. Logano would win the pole with a new track record, and go on to win the race.
In 2016, Ryan Blaney drove the No. 12 in May at Charlotte and again in July at Kentucky. Joey Logano then drove the No. 12 at Watkins Glen in August and again at Charlotte in October, winning both races. Snap-On Tools was the primary sponsor for all the races except the October Charlotte race, where PPG Industries was the primary sponsor.
On August 12, 2016, Team Penske announced that the No. 12 would return to full-time competition for the 2017 season. However, after sponsorship failed to materialize, the car competed in only five races, with Logano winning at Las Vegas and Blaney winning the summer Charlotte race.
In 2018, Austin Cindric raced at 8 Xfinity Series races with the No. 12, claiming top 5 finishes at all but one, and Keselowski drove the car once.
Penske let Keselowski, Logano, Paul Menard and Ryan Blaney drive the No. 12 two times each in 2019, collecting four top 5 finishes.
In the 2020 Xfinity Series season, Keselowski drove the car at Phoenix.
Car No. 22 history
In 2009, Penske developmental driver Parker Kligerman made his debut at Kansas Speedway, winning the pole, leading 7 laps, and finishing a respectable 16th. Parker also attempted the season finale at Homestead, but failed to qualify, running the No. 42 car instead.;Brad Keselowski
For 2010, Penske Racing ran two full-time Nationwide series cars with Discount Tire and Ruby Tuesday coming on board to sponsor Brad Keselowski in the No. 22. They continued to use Dodge engines, despite Dodge cutting their Nationwide support. On November 6, 2010, Brad Keselowski and the No. 22 Discount Tire/Ruby Tuesday Nationwide team secured the NASCAR Nationwide driver championship by finishing 3rd at Texas Motor Speedway. By holding an insurmountable 465-point lead over Carl Edwards with two races left in the season, the No. 22 team delivered Roger Penske's first NASCAR title of any kind.
For the 2011 season, Penske continued to run the No. 22 full-time with Brad Keselowski. In August, Keselowski suffered a hard crash while testing at Road Atlanta. He was replaced in the No. 22 by Hornish Jr., Kurt Busch, and Parker Kligerman. Formula 1 Champion Jacques Villeneuve drove the No. 22 at the road courses. The No. 22 team scored five wins with Keselowski and another with Busch at Watkins Glen.
;Multiple Drivers
In 2012, Keselowski was scheduled to split the 22 ride, with Parker Kligerman running between 5 and 7 races. However, after only running three races with the team, Kligerman was replaced in both the Nationwide Series and his Camping World Truck Series ride at BKR with fellow up-and-coming driver Ryan Blaney, who ran the standalone oval races. Villeneuve was named to drive at Road America and Montreal for the team.
's winning car at Road America.
In 2013, Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney were scheduled to share the No. 22, joined by new Penske driver Joey Logano. In June, former Penske Cup driver A. J. Allmendinger signed on to run two races in the 22, at the road courses Road America and Mid-Ohio. Allmendinger won the pole at Road America, then proceeded to win the race, his first career Nationwide win, after leading 29 laps. Allmendinger then won at Mid-Ohio after starting second and leading 73 of 94 laps. Ryan Blaney then won his first career race at Kentucky Speedway, after leading 96 of the final 100 laps of the race. The team won the Nationwide Owners' Championship on the strength of twelve total race victories among the four drivers. This was the first Nationwide Owners title for Team Penske.
In 2014, the No. 22 car was shared by Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, and Alex Tagliani in hopes of defending the Nationwide Owners' Championship. Michael McDowell ran the car at Kentucky in September, the fifth driver to run the car in 2014. The No. 22 team beat the No. 54 JGR team once again for the owner's title. They again beat the No. 54 team for the owners title in 2015, before going winless in 2016.
In 2017 Brad Keselowski brought the 22 back to victory lane at Pocono after a last lap pass on Kyle Larson. Keselowski won another race at the fall Richmond race and Ryan Blaney won the fall Dover race. The 22 won the owners championship again at Homestead with Sam Hornish Jr. driving the car to a second-place finish.
The No. 22 team is known for its competition for the Nationwide Owner's Championship with the equally strong Joe Gibbs Racing and their No. 18 and No. 20 teams.
;Austin Cindric
For the 2019 season, Austin Cindric was announced as the full-time driver of the No. 22 with sponsorship from MoneyLion. On July 11, 2019, crew chief Brian Wilson was suspended for one race after the car scheduled to race at Kentucky was discovered to have an illegal body modification. The L1-level penalty also resulted in a deduction of 10 points for the team and Cindric, and a $10,000 fine. Cindric scored two wins and 14 top 5s, but had a poor race at Kansas and could not advance to the Championship 4.
In 2020, Cindric became the ninth different driver to win three consecutive races in series history by winning back-to-back races at Kentucky as well as Texas where he had initially finished in 2nd-place until race-winner Kyle Busch was disqualified for failing post-race inspection.