Sam Hornish Jr. finished 28th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points in 2009. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

And clearly, Penske has discussed the Montoya comparisons with Hornish.

“Juan had a really tremendous season this year, and I think that if we can go out there and do what we know we can do, we're going to hopefully be in the Top 15 in points by the end of the season,” said Hornish. “That's what we need to do, that's what we all want to do. We want to go out there and win races and do things like that, but we need to make sure that our bad days are a 20th-place finish, not 35th.”

As for Keselowski, he made headlines last year for scoring a huge upset victory in one of James Finch’s cars at Talladega, and for feuding with Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin. He will be an interesting fit at the button-down Penske organization.

“He's an on-the-gas fellow,” Kurt Busch said of Keselowski. “He likes to know what's going on with the team at all times. He's definitely driving the car to the best of his ability every lap. Sometimes when he steps over the boundary he learns pretty quick on what to do different next time. It's just great. It's always easier to rein somebody back when they're riding too hard than it is to smack them on the behind and tell them to go faster. So Brad is one of those guys where you want to rein him back, but not too often, because you've got to let him go out there, find success, find trouble, and you learn from it all in the end.”

This much is clear: Keselowski speaks his mind, which is probably a good thing. Of his relationship with his new team owner, Keselowski had this to say: “I think there is a part in all car owners that is kind of stern — all successful car owners — that's kind of stern and proper-like. Certainly Mr. Penske has that. As you spend time with him, we both kind of lower our guard, so to speak, and kind of have fun and really make progress. It's really only when you lower your guard that you can get anywhere on conversations.

“It was funny because I was with Dale (Earnhardt Jr.) one time and we were talking about Rick (Hendrick) and Roger and similarities between the two. And we all talked about how he'll be in the middle of a conversation and you kind of look at him and give him that look and say, “OK, now stop giving me the car salesman talk and tell me how you're really feeling.’ That's kind of where we're at. That's important. It's important to have an open dialogue to where everybody calls a spade a spade.”

Busch, of course, is no shrinking violet, either. But like his teammates, he’s both looking forward to a good season and is appreciative of Penske as a boss.

“I have to applaud him and thank him for putting up with some of my stubborn moments and at the same time giving me a quality crew chief like Steve Addington to work with to continue our competitive efforts,” said Busch. “If you find yourself with a weak link anywhere, which is the benchmark of the 48 car (Jimmie Johnson), and you don't compare in every area they're going to beat you. To fill this chew chief spot with somebody that's got as much power as Addington, this can only move us forward.”




Tom Jensen is the Editor-In-Chief for SPEED.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing.