Roger Penske: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
|||
Line 35: | Line 35: | ||
His team first competed in the [[Indianapolis 500]] in 1969, winning that event in 1972 with driver [[Mark Donohue]], and their first [[NASCAR]] win was in 1973. His teams have won many races in the subsequent years. He closed his [[Europe]]an-based [[Formula One]] business in 1977. In 1982, he became the Chairman of the [[Penske Truck Leasing]] business. |
His team first competed in the [[Indianapolis 500]] in 1969, winning that event in 1972 with driver [[Mark Donohue]], and their first [[NASCAR]] win was in 1973. His teams have won many races in the subsequent years. He closed his [[Europe]]an-based [[Formula One]] business in 1977. In 1982, he became the Chairman of the [[Penske Truck Leasing]] business. |
||
Penske Racing now operates a [[NASCAR]] team comprising |
Penske Racing now operates a [[NASCAR]] team comprising of driver[[Brad Keselowski]] They also operate an [[Indy Racing League]] team composed of [[Hélio Castroneves]], [[Ryan Briscoe]], and [[Will Power]]. Previously, they ran cars in the [[Champ Car|CART]] series that included some of the best drivers of the time, including [[Gary Bettenhausen]], [[Tom Sneva]], [[Mario Andretti]], [[Bobby Unser]], [[Al Unser]], [[Al Unser, Jr.]], [[Emerson Fittipaldi]], [[Rick Mears]], [[Danny Sullivan]], [[Paul Tracy]] and [[Gil de Ferran]]. After many years of trying his team won the [[Daytona 500]] in 2008 with [[Ryan Newman]] driving. |
||
In 2005, Porsche set the stage to make a comeback in sports car racing in the United States and chose Penske Racing to run in the LMP2 class of the [[American Le Mans Series]] (ALMS). The Penske Porsches took center stage in 2006 winning immediately, including victories at Mid-Ohio finishing 1-2 ahead of Audi (competing in a higher classification) and the annual [[Petit Le Mans]], a 10-hour showcase event held at [[Road Atlanta]]. His team scored an overall victory in the [[12 Hours of Sebring]] in 2008. |
In 2005, Porsche set the stage to make a comeback in sports car racing in the United States and chose Penske Racing to run in the LMP2 class of the [[American Le Mans Series]] (ALMS). The Penske Porsches took center stage in 2006 winning immediately, including victories at Mid-Ohio finishing 1-2 ahead of Audi (competing in a higher classification) and the annual [[Petit Le Mans]], a 10-hour showcase event held at [[Road Atlanta]]. His team scored an overall victory in the [[12 Hours of Sebring]] in 2008. |
Revision as of 22:01, 6 December 2011
This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2011) |
Roger Penske at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Carb Day for the 2009 Indianapolis 500 | |
Born | February 20, 1937 |
---|---|
Formula One World Championship career | |
Nationality | ![]() |
Active years | 1961 - 1962 |
Teams | Non-works Cooper and Lotus |
Entries | 2 |
Championships | 0 |
Wins | 0 |
Podiums | 0 |
Career points | 0 |
Pole positions | 0 |
Fastest laps | 0 |
First entry | 1961 United States Grand Prix |
Last entry | 1962 United States Grand Prix |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/97/PenskePC23.jpg/200px-PenskePC23.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b8/Roger_Penske_2005.jpg/220px-Roger_Penske_2005.jpg)
Roger S. Penske (born February 20, 1937, in Shaker Heights, Ohio[1]) is the owner of the automobile racing team Penske Racing, the Penske Corporation, and other automotive related businesses. A winning racer in the late 1950s, Penske was named 1961's Sports Car Club of America Driver of the Year by Sports Illustrated. Retiring from driving a few years later he created one of the most successful teams in IndyCar Series and NASCAR racing.
He also is one of the corporate directors at General Electric and was chairman of Super Bowl XL in Detroit, Michigan. He was previously on the board of Home Depot and Delphi Automotive before resigning to chair the Detroit Super Bowl Committee. He has an estimated net worth of $1.4 billion.[2] He is a 1959 graduate of Lehigh University in Pennsylvania where he was also a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity.
Early life
Penske's father was a corporate executive for a metal fabrication company and encouraged his son to become an entrepreneur.[3] As a teenager he bought older cars, repaired them and sold them at a profit from his family's home in Cleveland, Ohio. In 10 years, Penske raced and sold about 32 cars.[4]
Racing career
Starting in 1958, Penske purchased, raced and sold race cars, and was very successful both financially and on the track. Penske made his first professional racing start at the now-abandoned Marlboro Motor Raceway in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
By 1960, he was a well known race car driver (Sports Illustrated SCCA Driver of the Year), winning prestigious races until 1965, when he retired as a driver, to concentrate on his first Chevrolet dealership in Philadelphia, PA. He subsequently began his now famous Penske Racing in 1965 as well. Interestingly enough, although Penske competed in two Formula One Grands Prix, and won a NASCAR Pacific Coast Late Model race at Riverside in 1963, he never ran the Indy 500. In fact, he was offered a rookie test at Indianapolis but turned it down for business reasons. Rookie Mario Andretti stepped in for Penske to take that test at Indianapolis.
His team first competed in the Indianapolis 500 in 1969, winning that event in 1972 with driver Mark Donohue, and their first NASCAR win was in 1973. His teams have won many races in the subsequent years. He closed his European-based Formula One business in 1977. In 1982, he became the Chairman of the Penske Truck Leasing business.
Penske Racing now operates a NASCAR team comprising of driverBrad Keselowski They also operate an Indy Racing League team composed of Hélio Castroneves, Ryan Briscoe, and Will Power. Previously, they ran cars in the CART series that included some of the best drivers of the time, including Gary Bettenhausen, Tom Sneva, Mario Andretti, Bobby Unser, Al Unser, Al Unser, Jr., Emerson Fittipaldi, Rick Mears, Danny Sullivan, Paul Tracy and Gil de Ferran. After many years of trying his team won the Daytona 500 in 2008 with Ryan Newman driving.
In 2005, Porsche set the stage to make a comeback in sports car racing in the United States and chose Penske Racing to run in the LMP2 class of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS). The Penske Porsches took center stage in 2006 winning immediately, including victories at Mid-Ohio finishing 1-2 ahead of Audi (competing in a higher classification) and the annual Petit Le Mans, a 10-hour showcase event held at Road Atlanta. His team scored an overall victory in the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2008.
Penske also ran a Pontiac Riley Daytona Prototype in the 2008 Rolex 24 at Daytona, with Kurt Busch, Ryan Briscoe, and Hélio Castroneves driving. The car was run in conjunction with Wayne Taylor's SunTrust Racing. They finished 3rd overall.
For 2009, Penske has suspended his participation in the American Le Mans Series, switching to Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series for the full season. They are using a Porsche-powered Riley with Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas driving.
Penske recently purchased the old Matsushita air conditioning plant in Mooresville, NC and reconditioned it to consolidate his racing empire. Now, all of Penske's racing operations are under one massive roof with his IndyCar, NASCAR, and American Le Mans Series (through 2009) teams sharing over 424,000 square feet (39,400 m2) of space encompassing 105 acres (42 ha). The shop includes all the necessary pieces to compete on the highest level in all of his racing endeavors, including a state of the art, in-house, wind tunnel. To complete the facilities, Penske imported over one million tons (250,000 pieces) of Italian marble.
Roger Penske is also an avid car collector, and owns many rare American and European automobiles, including a Ferrari FXX, of which only 30 were made.
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(key)
Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | WDC | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1961 | John M Wyatt III | Cooper T53 | Climax Straight-4 | MON |
NED |
BEL |
FRA |
GBR |
GER |
ITA |
USA 8 |
NC | 0 | |
1962 | Dupont Team Zerex | Lotus 24 | Climax V8 | NED |
MON |
BEL |
FRA |
GBR |
GER |
ITA |
USA 9 |
RSA |
NC | 0 |
Racing awards
- In 1998, Penske was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.
- He was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1995.
Penske Automotive Group
While CEO of Penske Automotive Group in 2008, Roger Penske earned a total compensation of $2,706,388, which included a base salary of $1,000,000, no cash bonus, stocks granted of $1,680,005, and no options granted.[5] He was involved in an attempt to purchase the Saturn Corporation, makers of Saturn cars. On September 30, 2009, his Penske Automotive Group announced that the deal to purchase Saturn had fallen through.
Personal life
Roger Penske has five children, two with first wife Lisa and three with second wife Kathy: Roger Penske Jr, Gregory Penske, Blair Penske, Mark Penske, and Jay Penske.
Business interests
- Penske Racing - Marlboro Team Penske (IRL), Penske South (NASCAR), Penske Motorsports (ALMS)
- Penske Automotive Group - (PAG:NYSE - a 40+% stake) 151 United States Car Dealerships and 101 International Car Dealerships. It is the second largest dealership group in the world.
- Penske Motor Group - Owns and operates automobile dealerships in California.
- Penske Truck Leasing - Joint venture with GE Equipment Management
- Penske Logistics - Transportation Logistics
- VM Motori S.p.A. - Owns 51% stake and 49% DaimlerChrysler Group, Truck-Lite, and Davco (transportation component manufacturing).
- Truck-Lite - Lighting Manufacturer for Heavy trucks (18 Wheelers)
- QEK Global Solutions - provider of integrated support services to vehicle manufacturers, tier-one suppliers, as well as to other businesses.
- Davco - Manufacturer of Class 8 Heavy Duty Diesel powered truck fuel/heater water separators and filter systems.
- Ilmor - Engine builder
- Deer Valley Ski Resort - Part owner
- Internet Brands - Early investor in CarsDirect. Director since May 2000.
- Universal Technical Institute - Board of Directors. Nationwide provider of technical education training for students seeking careers as professional automotive, diesel, collision repair, motorcycle and marine technicians. NASCAR Technical Institute is located in Mooresville, North Carolina.
- FER Fahrzeugelektrik - Lighting Manufacturer
See also
- Penske Truck Leasing (Penske Truck Leasing is a joint venture with General Electric, a company on whose board Roger Penske sits).
References
- ^ "2009 Kronk Gym Foundation Honorees: Roger Penske" (PDF). Kronk Gym Foundation. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
- ^ Roger Penske - Forbes, Forbes.com. Accessed May 16, 2011.
- ^ "Roger Penske Sports Biography, Photos & Rise To Success". Ca.askmen.com. 1937-02-20. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
- ^ "Gale Encyclopedia of Biography: Roger Penske". Answers.com. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
- ^ 2008 CEO Compensation for Roger S. Penske, Equilar.com
External links
- 1937 births
- 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
- American Formula One drivers
- American racecar drivers
- General Electric people
- Indy Racing League owners
- International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees
- Lehigh University alumni
- Living people
- NASCAR team owners
- Penske
- People from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
- People from Cleveland, Ohio
- People from Shaker Heights, Ohio
- Racecar drivers from Michigan
- Racecar drivers from Ohio