Roger Penske Enjoyed Sports Car Stardom Before Team Ownership

Subtitle:Racing Legend to be Honored During Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen Weekend

Before becoming a successful car owner, Roger Penske was recognized as one of America’s top sports car drivers.

The Pennsylvanian was named SCCA Driver of the Year in 1960 by Sports Illustrated and won several major races across the United States during his brief career behind the wheel.

Therefore it’s fitting that Penske will be presented with the Cameron R. Argetsinger Award for Outstanding Contributions to Motorsports during the upcoming Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen weekend. The award will be presented during the International Motor Racing Research Center (IMRRC) Award Dinner presented by IMSA, NASCAR, International Speedway Corporation and Watkins Glen International, at the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, N.Y. on Thursday, June 30.

“I am honored to be selected this year to receive the Cameron R. Argetsinger Award from the International Motor Racing Research Center,” Penske said. “The IMRRC does a terrific job of maintaining and documenting the heritage of motorsports, and we appreciate all they do to chronicle and preserve racing history.

“To receive the Cameron R. Argetsinger Award in Team Penske’s 50th year in motorsports is truly a special honor and I am looking forward to a great evening with friends and colleagues on June 30.”

Penske enjoyed success driving at both Watkins Glen and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, two upcoming tracks on the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship schedule.

He won the pole position for the 1959 Formula Libre race in his first visit to Watkins Glen in a Porsche RSK. However, he withdrew from the race due to an illness in his family. The following year, he finished second overall in the Sports Car Grand Prix, winning the E Modified class in a Porsche RS 60, placing behind Scarab driver Augie Pabst. In 1961, Penske led 30 laps in the Grand Prix before dropping out with gearbox problems.

Penske competed in the first two Formula One races at The Glen. He placed eighth in the 1961 race in a Telar Cooper sponsored by DuPont, which was one of the first examples of commercial sponsorship in Formula One. He finished ninth the following year in his final Grand Prix.

Following the 1961 Formula One race, Penske purchased a Cooper F1 car for $500 that crashed and was badly damaged with Walt Hansgen at the wheel. Penske had the bent car straightened, and then installed sports car bodywork and a Climax engine. He then took the Zerex Special to California for the 1962 U.S. Road Racing Championship (USRRC) events.

To give an example of the depth of the sport car fields at the time, Penske placed fifth in the 1961 USRRC race at Laguna Seca, trailing Stirling Moss, Dan Gurney, Jack Brabham and Bruce McLaren – all Formula One legends. Racing against the world’s best, the 25-year-old Penske won back-to-back races in at Riverside and Laguna Seca in his Zerex Special the following year to shock the veterans and capture the USRRC title.

Penske was at his driving best in the 1964 Bahamas Speed Week. He won the featured race over McLaren in a Chaparral, and then edged out then two-time Indy 500 winner A.J. Foyt to capture the Governor’s Trophy.

Set to drive for Jim Hall’s Chaparral team in 1965, the rising star had different ideas. Penske, only 28, hung up his helmet to manage a Chevrolet dealership he had recently purchased in Philadelphia. While his driving career was over, he would soon launch a second racing career as a team owner. The rest, as they say, is history: 28 national championships – including 16 Indy 500 victories and 13 championships in Indy cars; 146 victories and 52 poles in NASCAR competition, including championships in both the Sprint Cup Series and Xfinity Series; and major sports titles in Can-Am, Trans-Am and the ALMS.

Penske has been inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. He joins Richard Petty and Chip Ganassi as winners of the Argetsinger Award, which memorializes the founder of racing in Watkins Glen.

Photos courtesy C.R. Racing Memories Collection at the IMRRC.