When it comes to longevity and success in racing in the United States, there’s no team that stacks up like Team Penske.
In a year that will see the 100th running of the storied Indianapolis 500 Mile Race, Penske Racing is celebrating its milestone 50th anniversary.
Roger Penske, the team’s founder, started in sports car racing and parlayed his driving skills and business acumen to a multi-billion-dollar corporation and motorsports competition in top series around the world.
Besides a record 16 Indianapolis 500 wins and 13 Indy car titles, Penske drivers have won two Daytona 500s and a NASCAR Cup championship and sports car championships as well. The team has recorded 28 national titles.
To kick off this very special year, the team held an exclusive gala Jan. 20 for approximately 1,000 guests at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte. Attendees included industry leaders and employees, including approximately 40 current and past Penske drivers from all disciplines. Among them were current Verizon IndyCar Series Team Penske driver Helio Castroneves (three Indy 500 wins); Rick Mears, still with the team as a driver coach and a four-time Indy 500 winner for Penske, and Emerson Fittipaldi, who won the last of his two Indy 500s with Penske in 1993. To top it off, former “Tonight Show” host and car fanatic Jay Leno was invited.
Part of the #Penske50 celebration also includes rare artifact exhibits planned at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum and the Penske Racing Museum in Phoenix.
Team Penske started with a bang, winning the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona in the GT category in a Corvette. Since then, the hits have kept coming and the 78-year old magnate in charge shows no signs of slowing down.
“I’ll keep racing as long as I can stand up,” Penske said at the team’s media tour in Charlotte.
There are so many highlights in the team’s 50-year history, it’s hard to pin Penske down which is the most significant. But his virtually unassailable Indianapolis 500 win record is still a starting point.
“We’re not stopping at 16, 17, 18, 19 or 20,” he said. “Winning the 100th (Running of the Indianapolis 500) is very important to us. We’re going to take it one year at a time.”
To no one’s surprise, Mears – one of only three four-time Indy 500 winners – has a favorite career memory related to the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”
“Obviously it would be the fourth win,” Mears said. “The first win was great, it had its place. My first came in only my second race (at Indianapolis). I thought, ‘Great, we won another race. We’ll do it again next year.’
“There’s a lot of guys who’ve never won this race,” Mears added, so “each win becomes more important.”
Walt Czarnecki, the executive vice president of Penske Corporation and vice chairman of Team Penske, is one of the organization’s longest-tenured employees. He has seen more than most anyone but Penske himself and has his own list of highlights.
“When I think back over 50 years, knowing and working with Mark Donahue, who was the best and set the standard,” Czarnecki said. “Winning our first Indy 500 in 1972 (with Donohue driving). Ryan Newman winning the first Daytona 500 in 2008. Brad (Keselowski’s) 2012 Sprint Cup championship. I also think about Rick Mears and the pass he made on Michael Andretti (in 1991) for his fourth and final Indy 500 win late in the race.”
By comparison, NASCAR driver Joey Logano has a short history with Team Penske, but he knew well the significance of the gala to come later in the evening. He couldn’t contain his excitement, and certainly wasn’t alone.
“It is incredible,” Logano said. “I look forward to the stories tonight. There are so many that I haven’t heard yet.”