BROOKLYN, Mich. — Before the FireKeepers Casino 400 on Sunday at Michigan International Speedway, Rusty Wallace and Walt Czarnecki were inducted into the Team Penske Hall of Fame.
Wallace, the 1984 Winston Cup Rookie of the Year and 1989 Winston Cup champion, is in four major car-racing Halls of Fame — the NASCAR Hall of Fame, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, and the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame.
Joining Penske racing in 1991 was a key moment in Wallace’s career and he has developed a tight relationship with Roger Penske first as a driver and since off the race track.
“He’s the man I wanted to drive for for a long time,” Wallace said of Penske. “When that opportunity came about, my good friend Don Miller actually put the relationship together, and we built a team back in 1991. It was a tough deal, but it was fantastic. It was so tough that I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, I don’t know if we are doing this right.’ That’s when Roger sat down with me and said we’ve got a little problem. That’s when I said, ‘Roger, don’t spin out on me, just stay calm and we well right the ship.’ It was an amazing opportunity. He’s taught me so much off the racetrack as well.”
Czarnecki, executive vice president of Penske Corp. and vice chairman of Team Penske, was honored to be one of the 2018 inductees.
“I’m honored and I’m very grateful,” Czarnecki said.
“Roger and I have been together for 48 years and this is certainly one of the highlights. I would say that for both of us at this particular place, there is probably about five gallons of our blood at MIS, so I’m honored.”
Czarnecki, a Detroit native, now lives with his family Bloomfield Hils, Mich.
“Walt’s really been my eyes and ears and someone who has put a lot of time and effort into our race team and our sponsors and the relationships we have with the sanctioning bodies,” Penske said. “More importantly, he is one of my best friends.”
FORD WITH STRONG SHOWING: On its home track at MIS, Ford cars dominated the race, with seven of the top eight drivers driving a Ford.
Race winner Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Paul Menard, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and Ryan Blaney each finished top eight with Toyota driver Kyle Busch finishing in fourth place as the only non-Ford driver.
“It’s just unbelievable the start to the season we are having with the wins and the success,” said Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Motor Co. “To come here to our home track with our employees here watching with their friends and family, to have this performance and strength across all of our teams and to win the race is just a tremendous feeling for the whole company.”
SHR TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer have led the charge for Stewart-Haas Racing in 2018, winning seven of the year’s first 15 races.
Harvick has five wins, while Bowyer’s win here gives him two this season.
TOP ROOKIE: The highest finishing rookie was William Byron, who drove the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to a 13th-place showing.
Contact Brian Buckey at: bbuckey@theblade.com, 419-724-6110, or on Twitter @BrianBuckey.
First Published June 11, 2018, 12:55 a.m.
