Top 5 Worst Performing Team Penske (NASCAR) drivers


Top 5 Worst Performing Team Penske (NASCAR) drivers
By: Brian Cotnoir

Everyone in racing knows the name Roger Penske; he’s a legend in Indycar, Sportscars, Endurance Racing, and the Automotive Industry.   In fact, he recently became owner of the Indianapolis Motorspeedway AND the IndyCar Series, but when it comes to Stock Car Racing, though Penske has surprisingly accomplished a lot. Roger Penske’s only been in NASCAR since the early 1990’s though and despite the fact having the legendary Rusty Wallace drive for him for decades it wasn’t until just recently that he became a championship winning owner in NASCAR.  Penske builds fast cars and wins lots of races, so if you can’t win in a Team Penske car, something is seriously wrong, and unfortunately for these 5 drivers they have the unfortunate distinction of never having won in a Team Penske car.

5.)  AJ Allmendinger

Despite not really having much success early on in his cup career, AJ Allmendinger achieved his goal of driving for Roger Penske when he was named the driver who replaced longtime driver Kurt Busch in the #22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford.  Allmendinger struggled to find his footing at first with the team, and almost won the Spring race at Martinsville.  He scored back-to-back Top-10 finishes at Sonoma and Kentucky and finally looked like his season was going to rebound….and then he failed a drug test and was suspended by NASCAR and dropped form Team Penske.  Allmendinger would be replaced by long-time Penske driver Sam Hornish Jr. for the rest of the season (but more on him later).  All-and-all Allmedinger only drove half a season for Team Penske, while his teammate Brad Keselowski would go on to win the 2012 Drivers Championship. 


Allmendinger’s story does have a happy ending though.  He completed NASCAR’s Road to Recovery Program and eventually would return to NASCAR in part-time role.  He even managed to run part-time for Roger Penske again in the IndyCar series and the Xfinity Series.  He would go on to win 2 races while driving for Penske in the Xfinity Series, and would eventually go on to earn a full-time Cup Series ride for several seasons.

4.)  Brendan Gaughan

Brendan Gaughan made his Cup Series debut in 2004 driving the #77 car that was part of a Penske-Jasper Motorsports merger.   The car—for lack of better term—was an R&D car.   While Gaughan’s teammates, Rusty Wallace & Ryan Newman, were winning Gaughan struggled to keep up.  He scored four Top-10 finishes in his only season with the team, and his best Finish was a 4th place at the Fall Talladega Race.


3.)  Sam Hornish Jr.

Sam Hornish Jr., is one of my favorite racecar drivers of All-Time.  He won the 2006 Indianapolis 500 & Drivers Championship while driving for Roger Penske, and followed the trend of Open-Wheel drivers making the jump to NASCAR.  Hornish was put in #77 Mobil 1 Dodge for the 2008 season.  Hornish was a back-field maker for his 3 full-time seasons at Penske.  His best points finish was 28th in 2009, that season he also scored a career best 4th place at Pocono.


 Hornish would lose his full-time Cup seat after the 2010 season, but would go on to race for Penske in the Xfinity Series where he’d score the first NASCAR victory of his career and he almost won the 2013 Nationwide/Xfinity Championship, narrowly losing a close points race to Austin Dillon.  Hornish would eventually find his way back into a Cup Ride at Penske when he replaced the suspended AJ Allmendinger.   However, despite showing signs of improvement from his first stint with the team, Hornish would be replaced at seasons end with Joey Logano.

2.)  David Stremme

How the hell did David Stremme get another top ride in NASCAR?   Was the driver pool really that bad in 2009?   Well after Ryan Newman left Penske to go join Tony Stewart at the newly formed Stewart-Haas Racing, Stremme took his seat in the #12 Dodge.  Stemme had some very big shoes to fill in that seat, and just wasn’t cut out for it.  His time at Penske was so bad he was replaced for the final 3 races of the season by an up & coming driver by the name of Brad Keselowski.


1.)  Travis Kvapil

How could anyone be worse than that?   Well let me tell you about Travis Kvapil.  Kvapil was once an up & coming talent.  He shocked the NASCAR World when he became the 2003 Craftsman Truck Series Champion in one of the most controversial season finales in history.  He’d go on to run full-time for multiple seasons in the Truck Series before making the jump to the Cup Series.  He replaced Brendan Gaughan in the #77 Car and…it was a disaster.   He had a 7th place finish at Bristol, but he struggle so hard to finish in the Top-20.  His final point’s standings in the 2005 season was 33rd place, an absolutely terrible Rookie season.



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