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Stremme Gets A 2nd Chance

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By TONY FABRIZIO

afabrizio@tampatrib.com

Published: February 7, 2009

DAYTONA BEACH - Many drivers who fall flat when they make it to NASCAR's top level don't get a second shot.

David Stremme has not only gotten a second shot, but he's also moved up a notch.

Ousted by Chip Ganassi Racing after the 2007 season to make room for Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti, Stremme has resurfaced in Penske Racing's No. 12 Dodge.

It's the car that won the Daytona 500 last year, although it's black now because sponsor Alltel was purchased by Verizon Wireless. (There are no Verizon decals because of Sprint's exclusivity status as title sponsor).

Stremme, who failed to get a top-five finish in 75 starts with Ganassi, makes his Penske debut in tonight's Budweiser Shootout.

"There's a lot of pressure, no doubt, because they won the 500 here last year, but I feel like I can do the job," he said. "I feel there's more pressure wearing the Penske name on my suit and driving for Roger than I do coming to just this one race, because he has such a deep history in NASCAR and motor sports."

Stremme signed with Penske last spring when Penske started a test team dedicated to improve the team's floundering performance with NASCAR's "car of tomorrow." He didn't know that Ryan Newman, who was in the final year of his contract, would move on to race with Tony Stewart at Stewart-Haas Racing.

Penske liked what he saw in Stremme - Newman, Kurt Busch and Sam Hornish Jr. did start getting better results with the C.O.T. late in the year - and in September named him to drive the No. 12 car for 2009.

It's where Stremme wanted to drive all along.

"You look at how they present themselves at the track, to their performance, to Roger being so competitive," he said. "That's stuff I like. And I feel like I fit in there."

Penske is banking on Stremme being a better driver then he showed at Ganassi. And Stremme is banking on Penske being a better situation.

He believes it is.

"It's nothing against Chip and them, but it's just the whole structure of the system, how they go about doing things - there's no comparison," he said. "I felt like Chip's program was going through so much change, and they're still looking for direction. At Roger's, it's been solid. They've had not a lot of movement of people."

THUMBS (UH, FINGER) UP: Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson's injured finger apparently isn't giving him too much trouble. He had the fastest speed in Friday night's final Budweiser Shootout practice.

Johnson cut the middle finger of his left hand while trying to punch a hole in his driver's suit for a cooling tube during the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. He underwent surgery to repair a tendon.

TWIN BEAMERS: An odd sight in the garages Friday: Two virtually identical No. 7 Jim Beam-sponsored cars parked side-by-side, except for one being a Toyota and the other a Dodge.

Actually, Robby Gordon has made up his mind what he's driving. He'll pilot the Dodge in the Shootout, then switch to the Toyota for the 500 and the remainder of the season.

You might remember Gordon drove Chevys in 2006, Fords in 2007 and Dodges in 2008. If things don't work out with Toyota, he'll have to wait for a new manufacturer to come into NASCAR before he can try something else new.

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