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Q&A: Roger Penske on Detroit’s renaissance, NFL Draft, EV adoption and Le Mans
Posted by Talbot Payne on February 27, 2024
Detroit — Roger Penske came to Detroit in the early 1970s when he opened a Chevrolet dealership. He stayed, building the Penske Corp., which today employs 17,000 people at 3,200 locations worldwide, including car dealerships, truck rental outlets and a formidable racing team that has won 19 Indy 500s and other titles.
“I was bitten by the bug,” Penske said, explaining his fondness for the Motor City to NBC Sports broadcaster Mike Tirico on Thursday at the Downtown Detroit Partnership’s annual meeting at the MGM Grand Casino. “I was a car guy, it was in my DNA.”
Fifty years later, the Bloomfield Hills-based business legend is a community fixture. Penske, who turned 87 this past Tuesday, has helped broker the 2006 Super Bowl at Ford Field, the M1 downtown transportation corridor, the imminent 2024 NFL Draft at Campus Martius — and, of course, the Penske Entertainment-run Detroit Grand Prix, which returned to downtown Detroit’s streets in 2023 after years on Belle Isle.
Detroit News auto critic Henry Payne sat down with “The Captain” — as his troops fondly refer to him — for a wide-ranging discussion covering everything from Detroit to IndyCar to electric vehicle mandates to his bid to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans, one of the few trophies that has eluded his trophy case.
Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Question: Roger, you’ve been at the center of Detroit’s downtown renaissance, including Super Bowl XL, the Detroit Grand Prix, and now the NFL Draft in April. What do these events do for downtown Detroit?
Answer: Go back to the 2006 Super Bowl — it was two years before that when Bill Ford picked up the phone and called me. He said would I like to be the Super Bowl chairman? I had two options: I could have said no and hung up — but I said yes.
It’s game day at last. Super Bowl XL fans enter Ford Field on Feb. 5, 2006. Ankur Dholakia , The Detroit News
Along with Susan Scherer (executive director of the Super Bowl XL Host Committee) we were able to put a team together and really build an offense. We had to go to the NFL owners to find out would they approve Detroit with a new stadium. To me that was the linchpin, because we were able to showcase our city for what it was — and the ability to get the business community and people within Detroit and the surrounding region to come together and pull that off. It was amazing.
This past year the (Detroit Grand Prix) downtown with 150,000 people — half of them able to come for free. We had 80 companies around Detroit that supported the race, and $100 million worth of economic benefit for the city, which is just amazing.
A race volunteer watches as Alex Palou, driver of Chip Ganassi Car #10, goes around Turn One with Franklin and Rivard street signs visible during the 2023 Detroit Grand Prix. Robin Buckson, The Detroit News
Many other things have taken place. Dave Bing (asked): ‘What are we going to do with parks for kids when the summer comes? I need 100 police cars. I need EMS units.’ The Downtown Detroit Partnership was able to pull that together. We built the M1 Corridor, which has created about $10 billion in benefit there. I could state so many different things.
Q: The pandemic was difficult for this city. Do you see the NFL Draft as a reboot for downtown?
A: We were on a charge, then we had the COVID pandemic and things really slowed down. I feel the momentum coming back, and certainly big events are key for the city — the Grand Prix, and the NFL Draft coming in April is a reboot. I think the city now has a great reputation now to be safe and secure.
Q: Let’s shift gears. You are in the auto dealership business, and we’re seeing the biggest government regulation of the auto industry since the 1970s. There’s been some pushback from unions and dealers that the government is forcing EVs a little too fast. What would you like to see be done?
A: What I would like to see maybe can’t happen. Electrification certainly has slowed (but) California and other states have made mandates coming up very quickly. Today, the consumer really is not ready for electrification. The infrastructure, the cost, the range — all of these things seem to be stumbling blocks.
Doing business as a dealer across the United States — 50% of our EVs we sold in California. And 90% of them were lease. So there’s a lot of work that has to be done. I think we have to push that EV mandate out. I think renewable fuels are key for us as we go forward.
A driver charges his electric vehicle at a charging station in Monterey Park, California. Sales of EVs in the Golden State fell in the second half of last year, the first decline in more than a decade.Frederic J. Brown, AFP/TNS
Q: In your dealerships, do EVs seem to be more of a luxury play, is it a niche market right now?
A: I would say it’s really based on price. With higher interest rates, it’s really had an impact on the business. We’re seeing leasing coming back. I think that we’re going to be seeing people maybe stepping down from a Q7 to a Q5, until we see the interest rates coming down. But today there is a pent-up demand on new vehicles. We need more used vehicles in the market. That’s been a big thing. It’s impacted our profitability over the last three years.
Q: Go back again to the 1970s and the big impact that government regulation and the oil embargo had on motor racing. The 1974 Daytona 24 Hour race was canceled and NASCAR shortened races to conserve fuel. Fast forward to today — governments want to ban gas engines but racing series are thriving. Why is racing ascendant in the U.S.?
A: The fan base is so strong — you have Formula One, NASCAR, IndyCar, IMSA — all (with) different demographics. To me, it’s never been stronger.
At Indianapolis (which Penske Entertainment owns) our ticket sales are up 11,000 compared to last year. We’ll have 300,000 people in a single day for the Indy 500. It’s going to be one of the greatest races we’ve ever had.
Q: You are teamed with Porsche in IMSA. Cadillac, Chevy and Ford are also there. Chevrolet and Honda anchor IndyCar. What is it about racing that attracts so many manufacturers?
A: I think the racing technology transfers into the passenger car. But even more important is the training of the industry people in Original Equipment Manufacturers (automakers) that get involved in the motor racing product: design, execution, and obviously performance. Those are the things that have kept the OEMs in racing. And guess what? If you win it helps you from a brand perspective . . . with your customer base.
Q: Win on Sunday, sell on Monday in your dealerships?
A: That’s correct.
Q: Huge start for you to the 2024 racing year. You won the Rolex 24 Daytona for the first time since 1969. But the ultimate prize in endurance racing is Le Mans, one of the few races you have not won. Looking forward to June in France?
Roger Penske’s team captured the Rolex 24 Daytona last month in the #7 Porsche 963 GTP, driven in turns by Matt Campbell, Felipe Nasr, Dane Cameron and Josef Newgarden. Michael L. Levitt, LAT Images
A: There will be 17 hypercars in the race this year, which is amazing. It’s been a Toyota race for the last couple of years, but to see the interest from Ferrari, BMW, Lamborghini, Porsche and others is amazing.
It’s the one hill we’ve not climbed yet and gotten to the summit. (We’re entering) three cars this year and I think it’s going to be a real opportunity. Reliability is going to be the critical factor.
The effort that Porsche (has) put into this is amazing. We have come together as one organization, Porsche Penske, which is exciting for me. To have our brand associated with Porsche in this event is something I never believed I could do.
Q: Before you go to France in June, you’ll have the Porsche Penske cars right here at the Detroit GP going up against Cadillac. That’s going to be a big weekend.
A: I think having IMSA here along with IndyCar is going to be amazing. People are going to see cars they really haven’t seen before. The hype with GM, BMW, Porsche, the rest of these manufacturers is just going to be terrific.
Q: Thank you, Roger
A: Thank you.