Yates thinks Penske will jump to Toyota

UPDATE Penske officials announced a contract extension that will keep Alltel as Ryan Newman’s sponsor through the 2008 season. Walt Czarnecki, Penske Racing LLC president, also said the team has “a long-term commitment from Dodge," obviously implying that no move to Toyota was imminent. “We wanted to answer that question because I anticipated that coming up," he said. Gaston Gazette

AND John Fernandez, Dodge's racing boss, was asked about the possibility that some of his Dodge teams might jump ship. "Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi and Ray Evernham are all under contract for periods of time beyond when Toyota is coming into the marketplace," Fernandez said. "Nothing is guaranteed, but we believe those people will be loyal to us." Penske Racing's Don Miller said that Roger Penske's Dodge contract runs through the end of 2009. Winston Salem Journal

01/26/06 There is still a strong feeling in NASCAR that Roger Penske will eventually move to Toyota. Ford's Doug Yates said he's convinced that is coming, which would put Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch in the Toyota camp. If, as expected, both Penske and Chip Ganassi leave Dodge for Toyota, that could give Toyota 10 drivers eventually. Winston Salem-Journal