As a prerequisite for Shell/Penzoil to become official Corporation sponsor for Penske Racing was Kurt Busch to remain in the team in a long-term basis. And Kurt Busch itself couldn't then not to express his desire to finish his career with the team, as happened successfully with Gil de Feran in the open-wheel series.
When Shell-Pennzoil decided to shop their sponsorship around, Roger Penske's organization were late entries in the game. But being able to showcase Busch, the 2004 Cup champion, was a major selling point. As a consequence Kurt Busch will go from driving the Miller Lite's "Blue Deuce" to a No. 22 Dodge expected to be adorned in yellow and red, beginning with the 2011 season.
In a press conference Kurt Busch revealed:
"One of the prerequisites from Shell was that I would be driving the Shell/Pennzoil Dodge in 2011. That was really the only option that they gave us. So it didn't fit for Brad [Keselowski]. It didn't fit for Sam [Hornish Jr.]" It's not my place to say who we were up against, competing [for the deal]," Busch said. "The names that were in the mix, it was a really powerful group. And for them to side with us and to commit to Roger and myself makes me feel very special. It's humbling in one sense because it's such a big organization, globally known and recognized. Just talking with some of their executives over the phone, it has all the potential in the world to be one of the biggest programs that we've seen in Cup in some time. The business-to-business side and what they bring from a global alliance was very powerful and helped make the decision with them and Roger.
At the same time, Busch has mixed feelings about ending his close association with Miller.
"The Miller family and all their executives are good friends of mine and we were in a partnership together. You're the name and image of the brand associated on the motorsports side of it, which was a great feeling to have. Those ties aren't cut. I'll still be with those guys. They'll be at Penske Racing. ... In a nutshell, it was a tough decision to step away from something ... because I'm such a loyal guy and I'm very committed to any program that I start, but in the end, being committed to Roger Penske is the ultimate balance."
Kurt itself also revealed to the media that contract extension talks were literally done in the dining room.
"We started with just a light-hearted sit down at a dinner one night, almost like one of those napkin sketches of, 'Hey, this is what I'd like to see and this is what might happen,' " Busch said. "Then this opportunity just came up a few weeks ago and it changed the whole landscape that we ended up with."
Busch admitted the idea of trying to work out a lifetime contract to stay with Penske was enticing.
"It definitely crossed my mind to work with Roger on a lifetime-type deal," Busch said. "This program presented itself ... and it happened at such a quick time frame that it didn't allow time to develop any further. It was almost like, 'Hey, you going with me? I've gotta go make this happen. It was a situation that I felt very comfortable with. I now know Roger for working with him the last five years. I definitely look to have my career end here at Penske Racing -- hopefully that's 10-15 years down the road. Being only 31 years old, there's still so much potential, blue sky, and so much fun that we can have together. I look at the business-to-business relationship as being an important factor in signing with Roger."
