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SPORTS Saturday 4 January 2020
Kyle Busch brings the Rowdy show to the Rolex 24 at Daytona

By JENNA FRYER er Penske returned to the
AP Auto Racing Writer series. Juan Pablo Mon-
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) toya and Dane Cameron
— Fresh from a holiday trip teamed to give Penske the
to the Bahamas, NASCAR's overall IMSA championship
newest two-time champi- this past year, and they've
on raced back to the track got reigning Indy 500 win-
to open the new year. ner Simon Pagenaud on
Kyle Busch stepped out of their team this year. The
his comfort zone at Day- second Penske car of Helio
tona International Speed- Castroneves and Ricky Tay-
way on Friday, pulling on a lor will be joined by Alexan-
white helmet adorned with der Rossi, another Indy 500
his nickname "Rowdy" and winner.
climbing into a Lexus RC-F "When you drive for Rog-
to test for the upcoming er, the goal is to win every
Rolex 24 at Daytona. The race, every time out," Mon-
prestigious sports car race toya said. "So the pressure
always features some of is there."
the top talent in the world, The event also features
and Busch just might be this 18-year-old Hailie Deegan,
year's main attraction. a rising star in motorsports
Last year's running of the recently named a devel-
twice-round-the-clock opment driver with Ford
endurance race fea- Performance. She will run
tured two-time Formula Kyle Busch heads to his garage during testing for the upcoming Rolex 24 hour auto race at select sports car events
One champion Fernando Daytona International Speedway, Friday, Jan. 3, 2020, in Daytona Beach, Fla. in the IMSA Michelin Pilot
Alonso and former CART Associated Press Challenge this season and
champion Alex Zanardi, turned her first laps with
who raced for BMW with- loted by drivers with far less the racing season, will be is seeking its first Rolex vic- teammate Chase Briscoe
out his prosthetic legs and experience. Busch brought closely watched but this tory in three tries since Rog- on Friday.q
relying on a specially built his regular spotter from race is rich in story lines.
steering wheel to control NASCAR to assist, but can't Wayne Taylor Racing is Houston Hogg, helped integrate
the car. Alonso and Zanar- realistically gauge the dif- the defending race win-
di stole the spotlight from a ficulties he may face until ning team but returned SEC at Kentucky, dies at 71
stacked field that includes race time. only two members (Renger
champions from racing se- For now, he has to figure van der Zande and Kamui
ries all over the world. out the anti-lock braking Kobayashi) to its four-man
This year, the group includes system, which is foreign to roster.
Busch, who wrapped up his his regular car. Alonso won't be back amid
second NASCAR title less "I am used to our big, heavy speculation he will return
than six weeks ago. stock cars where you have to the Indianapolis 500
He's driving for Aim Vasser to start the slow down pro- this year and has been re-
Sullivan in the stacked GTD cess way early, and the placed by five-time Indy-
class — at 18 entries that braking zone is forever Car champion Scott Dixon.
class has the most in the and by the time you turn Dixon became available
field — and drew the big- in you've got to be off the when Chip Ganassi shut
gest crowds Friday as he brakes, otherwise the inside down his sports car team at
prepped for his first stint in wheels will lock up," Busch the end of last season be-
the car. Busch had one day said. "Completely different cause Ford ended its pro- In this Sept. 22, 2016, file photo, from left, Mel Page,
of simulator work with Ro- techniques with these cars. gram. representing his brother Greg Page; Nate Northington; Wilbur
lex teammate Jack Hawk- You can just drive the snot Taylor also hired Ryan Bris- Hackett; and Houston Hogg pose after statues of them were
unveiled at the University of Kentucky in Lexington.
sworth before the test and out of them, you can just coe, a former Rolex winner Associated Press
recognized quickly what throw it off the corner as for Ganassi, to drive for the
he needs to work on to be far as you feel like you can team full-time as a replace- LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Northington and Greg
ready for the Jan. 25 race. get in there and stomp the ment for Taylor's son, who Houston Hogg, one of Page arrived in Lexington
"I've got my NASCAR driv- pedal as hard as you think earned a factory-backed four African-American to become the first black
ing techniques just embed- your leg will allow you to do job with Corvette Racing football players at Ken- players to enroll at an
ded in my brain and I've it." this season. The decision to tucky who helped break SEC school. Hogg played
got to get rid of those a Even out of his element, in a leave his father was difficult the Southeastern Confer- freshman football that
little bit more and get more new car and a different se- for Jordan Taylor, but an ence color line in the late season, when Northing-
accustomed to what this ries, Busch remained both opportunity he could not 1960s, has died. He was ton made his historic var-
car can take and what the demanding and exact in turn down. 71. sity debut for the Wildcats
driving techniques are," he how he likes his car to feel. The Taylor team in its Ca- The school announced on Sept. 23, 1967, and
said. During an early debrief, he dillac will compete for Friday that Hogg died in played his first SEC game
Because the Vasser Sullivan "suggested we get a little the overall win against Owensboro, Kentucky. a week later against Mis-
team races in a lower class, softer and they said 'We're Mazda Team Joest, which The former Wildcats run- sissippi. Northington's SEC
Busch will not be in con- as soft as we can get,' and this week announced for- ning back and defensive debut came a day after
tention for the overall vic- I said 'Well, that ain't soft mer Indianapolis 500 win- back entered Kentucky Page died from a neck in-
tory. He will also be mired in enough.'" ner Ryan Hunter-Reay will with Wilbur Hackett in jury sustained in practice
traffic, potentially at night, His debut in the Rolex, be part of the lineup, and 1967, a year after Nate that summer.q
stuck behind slower cars pi- the unofficial opener of Acura Team Penske, which