In 2009, Stremme signed to drive the No. 12 car for Penske Racing full-time in the Sprint Cup Series, replacing Ryan Newman who moved to the No. 39 car for Stewart Haas Racing. The team lost its sponsor when Verizon Wireless bought Alltel, thus negating the grandfather clause. The car was blanked similar to the Penske used in the IRL, censoring their Phillip Morris USA sponsorship with "Team Penske". Stremme nearly won the 2009 AMP Energy 500 running near the front for the lead, but a green-white checkered ruined his day, causing him to run out of gas. Throughout Stremme's season, he did not score a single top 10 and missed the Texas race and failed to qualify for the Homestead race driving for James Finch in the No. 09 car. Stremme was released from the contract on November 3, because their new driver for 2010, Brad Keselowski, was finished with his prior contract agreements with Hendrick Motorsports. His 2009 was incredibly poor; the No. 12 Penske team went from contending for wins with former driver Newman to rarely cracking the top 20 with Stremme.