After 50 years, no end in sight for Roger Penske – Nascar

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Team Penske kicked off its 50th season Wednesday night with a private function in the Crown Ballroom of the Charlotte Convention Center.

Forty-two drivers, all Penske people at one time or another, from the open-wheel, stock car and road racing ranks were among the 1,000 or so expected to be on hand to help team owner Roger Penske celebrate the milestone.

The white-haired, soon-to-be 79-year-old Penske has no plans to go gently into the night, however.

“I don’t know when I’m going to leave the sport. It will probably be pretty abrupt when I do,” Penske said during the second day of the annual Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour. “I’m counting on this legacy will continue on.

“My sons and our family love the sport, it’s a … common thread through the company so there’s no reason not to be involved. If we can sustain the sponsorship and the key people stay with us and will continue to help us we can go on forever and I don’t see any reason we can’t do that.”

In NASCAR, Penske teams have won 147 times, including 93 in the premier series. Brad Keselowski, who along with Joey Logano makes up the organization’s Sprint Cup lineup, scored Penske’s first NASCAR premier series title in 2012.

His organization has won 181 times in IndyCar, a total that includes 16 victories in the Indianapolis 500.

“His work ethic is what you would expect from a 25-year-old man and then some,” Keselowski said. “There have been countless times where I wake up in the morning, slept longer than (normal) and the first thing that enters my mind is ‘Gosh, Roger beat me to work by a long way.’

“He motivates me to work harder. He pushes me in direction that I didn’t think of before. He has such a deep understanding on so many levels of what it takes to be successful that I find myself constantly trying to emulate him. …

“He really just amazes me more than anything else with some of the things he does.”

In addition to Keselowski and Logano, among those finding NASCAR success with Penske have been Mark Donohue (the organization’s first stock-car winner), NASCAR Hall of Fame members Bobby Allison and Rusty Wallace, as well as Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch.

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His lieutenants ensure that his racing entities run like clockwork and although racing is just one of his many successful business endeavors it has proven to be a crucial part.

“Racing has given me the opportunity to compete on a world-wide stage,” he said. “It shows execution, it shows we can handle adversity … there’s no question that the partnerships that I’ve been able to generate with the OEMS from my business have been amazing. Without racing I would have never had the connection in the automobile business and that’s really the heart of my company.”

The focus on the 50th year celebration has generated much interest among those inside the organization and helped fill in a picture for those who have been part of the amazing run.

“It seems like I learn a little more every day as we’ve gone through talking about the … anniversary,” Paul Wolfe, crew chief for Keselowski, said. “And being able to be a part of things with Rusty and Rick (Mears) and just all the amazing people that have been able to work and be a part of the history with Penske, I’m just a small part of that. I’m fortunate that I’ve been able to.”

Success in the stock car ranks came slowly and Penske left the series briefly, from 1978-79, before returning for two races with Wallace in 1980. The return was short-lived; he left again and didn’t return for a decade.

With IROC, Can-Am, IndyCar, “and some sports car stuff,” Penske said, “our plate was full. And costs were escalating.”

“Everybody in the world wanted to drive for Roger,” Wallace said. “For me to be able to drive the car in 1980, I thought that was my big break and that I had made it.”

Wallace returned nearly 10 years later, in ’91, with much more experience and a championship under his belt. And Penske was ready. The organization hasn’t missed a step since.

A celebration of five decades covers a lot of ground. But Penske insists the end isn’t in sight.

“I will be at the races as long as I can stand up,” he said. “We’re there for one reason and that’s to win.”