{"id":25861,"date":"2020-08-22T11:39:57","date_gmt":"2020-08-22T15:39:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=25861"},"modified":"2020-08-22T11:39:57","modified_gmt":"2020-08-22T15:39:57","slug":"penske-ahead-of-indy-500-we-have-found-a-way-to-keep-moving-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2020\/08\/penske-ahead-of-indy-500-we-have-found-a-way-to-keep-moving-forward","title":{"rendered":"Penske ahead of Indy 500: ‘We have found a way to keep moving forward’"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the green flag falls on the Indianapolis 500 this Sunday, it will mark the zenith of Roger Penske\u2019s extraordinary racing career.<\/p>\n

The Bloomfield Hills-based businessman and motorsports icon fell in love with America\u2019s greatest race when his father took him to the track as a 14-year-old. Now 83, Penske\u00a0will not only be looking to add to his record\u00a018 Indy 500 wins as a team boss \u2014\u00a0he will be doing it as owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar series.<\/p>\n

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Penske has hardly had time to celebrate his trifecta.<\/p>\n

The historic coronavirus epidemic threw\u00a0a monkey wrench into the IndyCar series schedule. It has shut down racing for weeks and forced\u00a0a rework of the schedule\u00a0\u2014\u00a0including the Indy 500 that was moved to this weekend’s Aug.\u00a023\u00a0date from its traditional Memorial Day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think 2020 has been an incredibly difficult year for everyone,\u201d said “The Captain,” as he is affectionately called, in an interview this week ahead of the big race. \u201cCertainly, no one could have envisioned the challenges we have all faced this year. But the most important thing is we have found a way to keep moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

That relentlessly positive attitude has propelled Penske to a successful business career that includes not just the Indy jewels, but a sprawling empire that spans car dealerships, truck rentals, race engine manufacturing\u00a0and supply chain management services.<\/p>\n

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At Penske Corp.’s heart, however, is a passion for racing. A passion seeded\u00a0as a young teen growing up in Shaker Heights on the east side of Cleveland.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy love for racing really began at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway when my father took me to see my first Indianapolis 500 in 1951,\u201d Penske said. \u201cSince then, it was always a goal of mine to return to race at Indianapolis and, of course, competing at the Indianapolis 500 was the pinnacle of racing \u2014\u00a0and it still is.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was an amateur\u00a0Sports Car Club of America racer in the early 1960s. Quick in sports cars, he earned Driver of the Year honors in 1961 and caught the eye of pro series like Formula One and NASCAR. He was even offered a rookie test at Indianapolis, but turned it down because he couldn’t get time off from his Alcoa day job\u00a0\u2014\u00a0another rookie named Mario Andretti took his place instead.<\/p>\n

Penske\u2019s sights were set on business ownership.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhen I first began racing I really just enjoyed the competition and the challenge. … But once I got an opportunity in the automotive business through a Chevrolet dealership in Philadelphia, I knew that was going to require so much of my focus,\u201d he said. \u201cI made the decision to retire as a race car driver in 1965 to build the business.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also built a racing team, starting in 1966. The two enterprises became inseparable as the years went by, the racing providing his businesses a halo marketing profile while also reinforcing good business practices.<\/p>\n

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\u201cRacing continues to be the common thread that runs throughout our business. Our success on the track \u2014\u00a0especially at the Indianapolis 500 \u2014\u00a0has really helped build awareness of our brand,”\u00a0he said. \u201cBut beyond that, the lessons we have learned and the philosophies that have brought us success in racing have been directly applied to all areas of our business: teamwork, technology, perseverance\u00a0and focus.\u201d<\/p>\n

A key partner is his early team endeavors was Mark Donohue \u2014\u00a0nickname, Captain Nice\u00a0\u2014\u00a0a rare racing talent\u00a0who also was a skilled engineer.\u00a0Their success began in sports cars, then Trans Am Camaros \u2014\u00a0an SCCA class that Team Penske would\u00a0dominate in the late 1960s. But their eyes were set on bigger fish.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Indianapolis 500 was the pinnacle of racing. We worked with our sponsors to put together a program for the 1969 Indianapolis 500 with Mark,\u201d remembers Penske. Success was immediate.<\/p>\n