Penske acquires #22 and owner points; Davis minority owner

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Penske buys the #22, Davis a minority owner: Bill Davis is now a minority owner in Penske Racing. Penske has acquired Davis' #22 and will keep the number for further consideration to align with the #2 and #12. But for now, the #77 Mobil 1 Dodge driven by Sam Hornish Jr. will take the 22's owner points and start the 2009 season 31st, which guarantees it a position in the Daytona 500. "As a business person, you have to look at what your options are," Penske said by phone Tuesday. "I think the key thing right now is it's too bad that anyone who has run a full season whether they're in the top 35 or not — and I don't mean the ones that run a half season — but if you run the full season last year, every car in every race, you hope you would be given some kind of priority."(FoxSports)

~Jayski~

Not sure how/if this will effect the Bud Shootout, but the 22 was higher in owner points than the 7. Since they are both going to be Dodges in the Shootout, we may see the 7 bumped from the field.

Hornish will NOT be in Shootout

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Even though some last-minute deals are taking place to lock drivers into the first five races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season, any new developments will not impact the field for the Budweiser Shootout on Saturday, NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp said today.

However, Penske Racing officials confirmed Tuesday night that Sam Hornish Jr. would end up having the 2008 owners points of the Bill Davis Racing No. 22 car and will be locked into the field for the first five events. The former BDR team was 31st in the points last year.

Being 31st instead of 38th in owners points moved Hornish from eighth to sixth among the current Dodge drivers, and the top six plus a seventh “wild card” were eligible for the Budweiser Shootout.

But NASCAR has already set the field for the Budweiser Shootout, and there will be no changes, Tharp said. Richard Petty Motorsports’ AJ Allmendinger remains in the field as the seventh Dodge.

Bill Davis sold his team in December but retained the rights to the points. NASCAR does not allow teams to buy points outright but allows an offseason transfer to another car as long as the original owner has at least a minimal ownership stake in the car.

~Scene Daily~

The Shootout is not a big deal anymore.
There is nothing special about it now.

they can do this because Sam's not a rookie but as far as a stock car goes Brad K has more talent in his pinky toe than all of what Sam has total