CUP: Shell/Pennzoil Leaving RCR For Penske

Sprint Cup

CUP: Shell/Pennzoil Leaving RCR For Penske

Shell/Pennzoil is expected to leave Richard Childress Racing and driver Kevin Harvick at the end of the season and will sponsor a car at Penske Racing...

Bob Pockrass | http://www.scenedaily.com | Posted April 20, 2010 Charlotte, NC

Pennzoil has a long history in NASCAR with teams such as Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Richard Childress Racing. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Sources: Pennzoil leaving Kevin Harvick, RCR, headed to Penske, likely to sponsor Kurt Busch

Shell/Pennzoil is expected to leave Richard Childress Racing and driver Kevin Harvick at the end of the season and will sponsor a car at Penske Racing – likely for 2004 Sprint Cup champion Kurt Busch – beginning in 2011, according to sources familiar with the situation.

An announcement concerning the Shell/Pennzoil sponsorship is expected to come Wednesday.

According to sources, the leading candidate for the Pennzoil sponsorship is Busch, whose contract with Penske runs out at the end of this year but team owner Roger Penske has said he planned to pick up the option and just needed to negotiate terms with Busch.

Busch’s current sponsor, Miller Lite, could move to Brad Keselowski, whose car does not have sponsor logos but gets support from Verizon, which cannot be on the hood of a Sprint Cup car because of Sprint’s sponsorship of the series.

With Shell/Pennzoil as a sponsor, that means that Mobil likely is going away since Mobil and Shell are competitors. Mobil sponsors Penske Cup driver Sam Hornish Jr., a three-time Indy Racing League champion who has competed in Sprint Cup since 2008.

Shell/Pennzoil has been with Harvick since 2007, while Busch has been the Miller Lite driver since 2006.

The departure of Shell/Pennzoil from RCR leaves that organization, as well as Harvick, looking for a sponsor. Harvick’s contract expires at the end of this year.

Team and sponsor representatives did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

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