[Racer Duck]

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – There was a definite IndyCar Series flavor to the 50th Daytona 500 -- from Indy-car racing legends Mario Andretti and A.J. Foyt among the former Daytona 500 winners honored to two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves at the track to support Penske Racing teammate Sam Hornish Jr. in his Daytona debut.

The highlight came in Victory Circle, where Roger Penske stood for the first time. The IndyCar Series team owner, who has 14 Indianapolis 500 victories, had drivers Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch complete a 1-2 sweep.

"I've been here almost 30 years trying to get in Victory Circle," Penske said. "To achieve this with this competition, with Ryan Newman, a student of the sport, and (crew chief) Roy McCauley and the whole team, this is just unbelievable.

"At Indy, a Penske Racing car is expected to win the 500. In NASCAR, a Penske win in the Daytona 500 was completely unexpected. Comparing it to the Indy 500, as Ryan knows, we're open-wheel guys. Coming down here has been tough. This has got to go to the top of the charts here. To see this win, I'm going to try to have them back to back and have one in May, too. That's my real challenge right now."

So Penske is laying down a challenge to Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe to produce in May.