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 While
Ohio native Roger Penske would go on to become one of the best known
and most successful car and track owners in the history of motorsports,
his driving record is also worthy of Hall of Fame status. Using his
self-imposed rule of setting his goals far beyond what he needed to
achieve, and heeding his father's words that he could have anything he
earned enough money to buy. Penske bought, raced and sold-for-profit 32
cars in 10 years, among them an MG TD, MG TC, Chevrolet, Oldsmobile,
Corvette, Porsche, Jaguar Cooper, Maserati and the Zerex Special.
Racing became almost an obsession, starting at Akron Speedway, and
followed by instant success in SCCA racing. Penske bought an old RS
Porsche in 1958 and raced it twice, but at Sebring in 1959, he realized
it was outdated.
He
bought an RSK from Bob Holbert and used it to battle Holbent for
an SCCA class title. Penske won F Modified in 1960, and bought a Cooper
and a Maserati in 1961, got Zerex as a sponsor, and won three nationals
in a row. His first win was at Vineland, NJ, in a Maserati dubbed the
Telar Special. He also set an all-time race record speed in a win at
Road America.
After graduating from
Lehigh University and going to work for Alcoa, Penske built a
Cooper-Climax with an aluminum body, and went racing professionally. In
1962, he drove Monaco with this car, and Sebring with a Cunningham. In
1963, he became D Modified champion, winning more than $20,000 with the
Duralite Special. That set the stage for Bahamas Speed Week of 1964,
and what was to be Penske's finest hour as a driver. First, he won the
Nassau Tourist Trophy in a Corvette Grand Sport, then drove a Jim Hall
Chaparral in relief of Hap Sharp and won the Nassau Trophy over Bruce
McLaren, Dan Gurney and A. J. Foyt.
It was the Governor's Trophy race, however, that
established Penske as
one of the very best. He battled Foyt and Wait Hansgen all afternoon,
beating Foyt on the final lap. Just when it seemed he was destined for
greatness, he retired from driving in 1965 at the age of 28 to devote
all his time to the business end of racing.
From Penske Racing have
come monumental achievements, among them 10 wins in the Indianapolis
500, nine Indy car racing national championships, nearly 100 Indy car
wins and more than 30 victories on NASCAR's Winston Cup Series. Among
Penske's considerable holdings are Michigan Speedway, Nazareth (PA)
Speedway, North Carolina Motor Speedway and the state-of-the-art
California Speedway, which opened in 1997.
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