In RACER's Great Teams III Issue: Roger's House

Indianapolis Motor Speedway is to Penske what Monza is to Ferrari, defining and challenging the team and its legacy.

He started out with one car, one sponsor, one special driver and one specific goal. “I told the Sun Oil Company it would take us three years to win the Indianapolis 500,” recalls Roger Penske, breaking into a smile. “But we didn’t win it until the fourth try.”

Since that victory for Mark Donohue in the Sunoco McLaren-Offy in 1972, “The Captain” has re shaped how people go Indy car racing, become the yardstick for greatness, and made the Indianapolis Motor Speedway his personal proving ground.

In the 42 times Penske has competed in the Indy 500, his cars have racked up 16 wins – an astounding 38 percent hit rate.

He’s given unknowns like Rick Mears (left) and Helio Castroneves a chance to shine, provided stars like Juan Pablo Montoya with a second chance, and employed the entire Unser family at various times.

From polishing the wheels on that first Lola, to dressing his mechanics in identical collared shirts, to cultivating longtime sponsorships, to mixing business with the pleasure of auto racing, Penske put in place a formula for success at Indianapolis that has flourished for five decades.

And today, aged 79, Roger S. Penske continues to monitor his billion-dollar business empire with one eye on the racetrack and his heart still in the driver’s seat.

“He told me once he’ll have a car at Indianapolis until they drag him out of the place, and I’ve not seen his desire waiver one bit,” says Mears, who earned four of Penske’s baby Borg-Warner Trophies during 15 years driving for his team. “He loves competing and he loves winning, but Indy means everything to him.”

To think that a college kid who took out a GMAC loan in order to race a Corvette with SCCA would become the gold standard at the rough, tough Brickyard might seem like a bit of miscasting.

“First time I saw Indianapolis with my dad, in ’51, it got in my blood and I set my sights on it,” says Penske. “It was the Holy Grail.”

It didn’t take Roger’s road-racing renegades long to figure out ovals, as Donohue started fifth and finished second to Al Unser in his sophomore IMS run in 1970. Then, in only his 16th Indy car start (and seventh on an oval), he won the ’71 Pocono 500. His learning curve was made easier that year because Penske commissioned an innovative McLaren that borrowed heavily from Formula 1 thinking – his first example of being out ahead of the pack.

“With Roger, it’s always about the team; it’s never about you,” offers Penske’s three-time Indy 500 king Castroneves (right). “There’s a lot of selfishness in racing, but there’s none at Team Penske.

“When I joined, Gil hadn’t won a title and I hadn’t led a lap, so I knew I had to get along with him and learn as much as I could, and it was fantastic. It’s the spirit of the team and you want to make Roger happy – and it’s contagious.”

Get the complete version of this story in the Great Teams III Issue of RACER, on sale now. Take a video tour of the issue...