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<\/p>\n<\/div>When the green flag falls on the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, Roger Penske marks his team\u2019s 50th year in racing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Captain,\u201d as the 79-year-old Birmingham resident is affectionately known, will celebrate the milestones where he always does: on the pit wall. Headset on. Helping manage race strategy for his four drivers \u2014 three-time winner Helio Castroneves, Will Power, defending champion Juan Pablo Montoya and Simon Pagenaud.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not a guy who sits in the suite having a cold beer,\u201d said Penske, who calls the race for Castroneves (Team Penske president Tim Cindric calls the race for Power, Jon Bouslog for Montoya and Kyle Moyer for Pagenaud). \u201cI want to be on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n
Said Pagenaud, IndyCar points leader: \u201cRoger knows everything about everything in the race team. It\u2019s incredible knowing how busy he is. He\u2019s got more passion than anyone I know.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s fitting America\u2019s most iconic track shares an anniversary with its most revered sportsman. A legend who has won at every level of motor sports, Penske also has built the second-largest auto dealer network in the world.<\/p>\n
Ironically, the billionaire businessman \u2014 a successful amateur racer in his 20s \u2014 might have been an Indy driver had his business ambitions not intervened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a chance to go to Indy and take a rookie test in the early \u201960s, but I was working for Alcoa and couldn\u2019t get the time off,\u201d he said. \u201cMario Andretti took my place. Then in \u201965 I became a Chevy dealer in Philadelphia and one of the prerequisites was that I (couldn\u2019t) be a race driver.\u201d<\/p>\n
The rest is history.<\/p>\n
Penske entered his first, Sunoco-sponsored, car at the Brickyard in 1969, with his first win coming three years later.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe decision to become a dealer … has really turned out to be the foundation of our company,\u201d he says. \u201cThe racing has been a common piece through all our businesses, and has helped build our brand.\u201d<\/p>\n
When America\u2019s Super Bowl of motor sports celebrates its anniversary, Penske will be at the helm. He will pace the 33-car field to the green flag in a 2017 Chevrolet Camaro SS \u2014 then scramble to the pit wall and try to help Castroneves navigate the grueling 500 miles to a record fourth victory \u2014 and give Penske, the winningest owner in Indianapolis 500 history, his 17th.<\/p>\n
Adding the Camaro to his collection \u2014 Penske paraded all 16 honorary pace cars he\u2019s won at the Woodward Dream Cruise last August \u2014 would be \u201cpretty special,\u201d he said. He will stake his claim with arguably the most talented group of drivers he has assembled.<\/p>\n
\u201cJuan Montoya is tougher than nails,\u201d Penske said. \u201cWill Power is a series champion. Castroneves with three wins going for his fourth \u2014 and now Pagenaud leading the series and has the hottest hand of anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
His best Indianapolis 500 memory? True to his savvy business demeanor, Penske cites a teachable moment \u2014 not a triumph.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 1994 we took the pole and led every lap but two and won,\u201d he said. \u201cThen we came back in \u201995 (and) didn\u2019t make the race. That made us a much better organization. That taught us the lesson: It\u2019s not what you did yesterday, it\u2019s what you do today.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a lesson he carries with him.<\/p>\n
After Jordan Spieth\u2019s final round collapse at this year\u2019s Masters, Penske \u2014 who befriended the 22-year-old golf phenom \u2014 sent him a letter.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to tell him about the problem I had in a similar situation \u2014 Indy is the Masters of our sport \u2014 and we came back stronger than ever,\u201d he said. \u201cThose experiences in your life that are so public really makes you a better competitor and a better person.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a half-century at Indy, Penske has witnessed transformational changes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were running lap times of 150 mph in the \u201960s,\u201d he said. \u201cQualifying was over 230 mph this year. The aerodynamics have changed, which give us downforce so that (cars are) like airplanes upside down. That gives us speeds of 225 through the corners.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yet, paradoxically, that speed has come with safety improvements that have made a race once synonymous with fiery crashes a model of safety.<\/p>\n
\u201cSoft walls, Hans devices, Nomex suits … the sport has become a technical exercise,\u201d Penske said approvingly.<\/p>\n
Though a native of Cleveland with business interests worldwide, Penske has adopted Detroit as his home. A week after the Indianapolis 500, he will be back in the Motor City preparing for a race perhaps even closer to his heart: the Belle Isle Grand Prix.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2007 when we decided we wanted racing back in Detroit, we took on the role as promotor for the city,\u201d he said. \u201cDetroit is the heart of the auto industry in the U.S. and coming here right after Indy … we get two days of national TV, which showcases our city. It\u2019s our ability to give something back.\u201d<\/p>\n
This weekend, however, it\u2019s all about the 100th.<\/p>\n
And the 50th.<\/p>\n
Everyone in the Penske pit knows what it means to their \u201cCaptain.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not something we talk about all the time because it would freeze you,\u201d Pagenaud said. \u201cIndy is special, but anytime you win for him it\u2019s special.\u201d<\/p>\n
Said Penske: \u201cIf you can run at Indy \u2014 the greatest race in the world \u2014 it can change your life and your business.\u201d<\/p>\n
Getting to know … Roger Penske<\/strong><\/p>\n Position: <\/strong>Chairman of the board and chief executive officer,\u00a0Penske Automotive Group.<\/p>\n Birth date: <\/strong>Feb. 20, 1937 (Shaker Heights, Ohio)<\/p>\n College: <\/strong>Lehigh (BA, 1959)<\/p>\n Family: <\/strong>Wife Kathryn; five children<\/p>\n Career: <\/strong>Alcoa Aluminum (sales engineer), 1959-63; George McKean Chevrolet (general manager, owner), 1963-65; owner of several car dealerships, a truck-leasing operation, and two racing-tire distributors, 1965-69; Penske Corp. (chairman and CEO), 1969-present; United Auto Group (chairman and CEO), 1999-present<\/p>\n Awards: <\/strong>SCCA driver of the year (Sports Illustrated, 1961), driver of the year (New York Times, 1962)<\/p>\n Teams: NASCAR \u2014 <\/strong>Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano. IndyCar \u2014 <\/strong>Helio Castroneves, Juan Pablo Montoya, Simon Pagenaud and Will Power<\/p>\n Series titles: NASCAR \u2014 <\/strong>One (Brad Keselowski, 2012). IndyCar \u2014 <\/strong>Two (Sam Hornish Jr., 2006; Will Power, 2014). CART \u2014 <\/strong>Nine (Rick Mears, 1979, 1981, 1982; Al Unser Jr., 1983, 1985, 1994; Danny Sullivan, 1988; Gil de Ferran, 2000, 2001)<\/p>\n Indianapolis 500<\/strong><\/p>\n Track: <\/strong>Indianapolis Motor Speedway (oval, 2.5 miles).<\/p>\n Schedule: <\/strong>Today, Carb Day (NBCSN, 11 a.m.); Sunday, race, noon, ABC<\/p>\n Distance: <\/strong>500 miles (200 laps)<\/p>\n Pole: <\/strong>James Hincliffe<\/p>\n Defending champion: <\/strong>Juan Pablo Montoya<\/p>\n When the green flag falls on the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, Roger Penske marks his team\u2019s 50th year in racing. \u201cThe Captain,\u201d as the 79-year-old Birmingham resident is affectionately known, will celebrate the milestones where he always does: on the pit wall. Headset on. Helping manage race strategy for his four […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18950"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18950"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18950\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18951,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18950\/revisions\/18951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}