Like many hero stories, the birth of Team Penske began with a pioneer – a young car driver with a dream. Roger Penske, aka “The Captain”, started his life with an entrepreneur spirit instilled by his father. As a teenager, he bought old cars, fixed them up and resold them for a profit. His next venture would be racing.
Roger Penske made his start as a driver at Marlboro Motor Raceway in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. By 1960 he was a well-known racer, and by the time he retired, he claimed 28 national championships, 13 in Indy car racing.
He retired from driving in 1965 to build a Chevrolet dealership in Philadelphia, but his retirement was never from racing – only driving. Using his dealership, he fielded cars for races and eventually teamed up with driver Mark Donohue. With Donohue as the team driver, Penske Racing won two consecutive USRRC championships and three SCCA Trans-AM titles.
Donohue finished second at Indianapolis in 1970 and on July 3, 1971 at Pocono 500, he won team Penske’s first championship car victory. A year later, Donohue won the Indianapolis 500 with a race record that held for many years.
The success of team Penske still continues on today with more than 170 race victories – 13 of them being national championships – and Roger Penske continues to be active in the car racing world.
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