Roger Penske
NationalityAmerican
Birth nameRoger Searle Penske
Birth dateFebruary 20, 1937 (age 89)
Birth placeShaker Heights, Ohio, U.S.
Years–
TeamsNon-works Cooper and Lotus
Races2
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums0
Points0
Poles0
Fastest laps0
First race1961 United States Grand Prix
Last race1962 United States Grand Prix
RelativesGregory Penske (son)
Jay Penske (son)

Roger Searle Penske (born February 20, 1937), often referred to by his nickname "the Captain", is an American auto racing team owner, businessman, and former professional driver. He is the owner of Team Penske, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IndyCar, and other auto racing-related businesses. Penske is the founder, chairman, and namesake of the Penske Corporation, a holding company for his various businesses. Penske received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Donald Trump in 2019.

Early life and education

Penske was born in Shaker Heights, Ohio, in 1937[1] into a devout Episcopalian family. He was heavily involved with his church as a boy, singing in the church's choir and serving in the ministry as an acolyte.[2] His father Jay was a successful corporate executive for a metal fabrication company who 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 outside Cleveland, Ohio.[4]

After graduating from Shaker Heights High School in 1955, Penske matriculated at Lehigh University, where he was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, and he graduated in 1959.[5][failed verification]

Racing career

Penske's first racing venture was in hillclimbing, but then ran road course racing at the Vineland Raceway in Vineland, New Jersey, as a member of the Philadelphia Region of the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) in Porsches.[6] Penske made his first professional racing start at the now-abandoned Marlboro Motor Raceway in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

Sports Illustrated named him SCCA Driver of the Year in 1961.[7] He competed in two Formula One Grands Prix and won a NASCAR Pacific Coast Late Model race at Riverside in 1963. He never ran the Indianapolis 500: he was offered a rookie test at Indianapolis with the Dean Van Lines team.[8]

Penske continued racing until 1965, when he retired as a driver, to concentrate on his first Chevrolet dealership in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[9]

Business career

During college, Penske worked at Alcoa as an intern, and joined them as a sales engineer in 1959 after graduating, while also pursuing a career in race-car driving where he met people involved in Chevrolet. In 1963, he left Alcoa to become a manager of a Chevrolet dealership in Philadelphia, which he bought a year later with a loan from his father.[10] He shifted his focus away from race-car driving to the dealership after the purchase.[10]

In 1969, Penske founded Penske Truck Leasing in Reading, Pennsylvania by purchasing a truck rental and leasing business with three locations serving eastern Pennsylvania.[11]

Racing teams

Penske Racing debuted in 1966 at the 24 Hours of Daytona.[12] He developed one of the most successful teams in IndyCar Series and NASCAR racing. He is the most successful team owner at the Indianapolis 500 with 20 victories. He is known by his nickname of "The Captain".[13] Penske also served as a race strategist for his IndyCar team, most recently for driver Will Power.[14]

Penske won his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship with driver Brad Keselowski on November 18, 2012.[15]

In late 2014, it was announced Penske would take a 51% stake in Australian V8 Supercars team Dick Johnson Racing, forming DJR Team Penske.[16] The team entered one car in 2015, initially for Marcos Ambrose before he stepped aside to make way for Scott Pye.[17] The team expanded to a second car for New Zealander Fabian Coulthard in 2016, before Pye was replaced with another Kiwi of Scott McLaughlin in 2017.[18] Coulthard won the combined team's first championship race at the 2017 Tyrepower Tasmania SuperSprint. In 2019 the team won the biggest race of the year, the Bathurst 1000.

On September 16, 2018, driver Brad Keselowski won the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, giving Penske his 500th race victory as an owner across all racing series. Later the same season, Joey Logano would clinch the championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway, winning Penske his second championship in the Cup series.[19]

Penske Corporation

Penske is chairman of Penske Corporation, based in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Some of the company's holdings include a significant stake in publicly traded Penske Automotive Group, an international company that operates automobile dealerships in the United States, Canada, and parts of Europe; Penske Truck Leasing, a truck sales, leasing, and fleet maintenance company; Penske Motor Group which operates auto dealerships in California and Texas. On November 4, 2019, Penske acquired the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a 2.5-mile course in Speedway, Indiana, the Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar from the Hulman Family for an undisclosed amount.[20]

Personal life

Penske was married to Lisa Stouffer, daughter of Gordon Stouffer (of the Stouffer Corporation),[21] with whom he had two sons, Roger Jr. and Gregory.[22] Gregory is vice chair of the board of Penske Automotive Group and CEO of Penske Motor Group,[23] and Roger Jr. owns several automotive dealerships.[24] Penske was later married to Kathryn Penske (née Hulbert),[21][25] and the couple have children: Greg, Jay, Roger Jr., Mark, and Kathryn.[26][27] Jay is the owner of Penske Media Corporation.[28] Roger Penske received a kidney transplant from his son Greg in 2017.[29]

As of May 2026, Penske's estimated net worth is $7.7 billion.[30]

Penske Racing donated $500,000 to Restore Our Future, Mitt Romney's Super PAC.[31] He was discussed as a potential candidate for Mayor of Detroit but declined to run.[32] Penske endorsed Donald Trump in the 2020 United States presidential election after receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2019.[33] He contributed $45,000 to Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign.[34] On April 9, 2025, Penske and his NASCAR, IndyCar and IMSA SportsCar Championship drivers and cars visited the White House.[35] Trump was invited to the 2025 Indianapolis 500 by Penske, but did not attend.[36]

Awards and honors

Auto racing

Halls of Fame

National

Motorsports career results

Complete Formula One World Championship results

YearEntrantChassisEngine123456789WDCPoints
1961John M Wyatt IIICooper T53Climax Straight-4MONNEDBELFRAGBRGERITAUSA
8		NC0
1962Dupont Team ZerexLotus 24Climax V8NEDMONBELFRAGBRGERITAUSA
9		RSANC0
Source:[44]

24 Hours of Le Mans results

YearTeamCo-DriversCarClassLapsPos.Class
Pos.
North American Racing TeamPedro RodríguezFerrari 330 TRI/LMP +3.0113DNFDNF
Sources:[45][46]

12 Hours of Sebring results

YearTeamCo-DriversCarClassLapsPos.Class
Pos.
1961Brumos Porsche CompanyBob HolbertPorsche 718 RS 61S1.61995th1st
1962Briggs CunninghamBruce McLarenCooper Monaco T57 MaseratiS3.01905th2nd
1963Mecom Racing TeamAugie PabstFerrari 250 GTOGT3.02034th1st
1964McKean Chevrolet, Inc.Jim HallChevrolet Corvette Grand SportP+3.017718th4th
Sources:[47]

Other events

Bibliography

References

  1. ^ "2009 Kronk Gym Foundation Honorees: Roger Penske". kronkgymfoundation.org. Kronk Gym Foundation. Archived from the original on 2011-07-27. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  2. ^ "News & Announcements". HoratioAlger.org. Archived August 2, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  3. ^ "Roger Penske Sports Biography, Photos & Rise To Success". ca.askmen.com. 1937-02-20. Archived from the original on 2014-10-24. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  4. ^ "Gale Encyclopedia of Biography: Roger Penske". Answers.com. Archived April 9, 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  5. ^ "Roger Penske". Forbes. August 10, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  6. ^ "293 - Roger Penske: The Captain". iHeartRadio. Dirty Mo Media. April 13, 2020. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  7. ^ "Penshe Drives at Bridgehampton". The Journal News. May 21, 1962. Retrieved July 23, 2020. – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Insight: The Penske/Porsche link spans more than 60 years". racer.com. 2022-10-21. Retrieved 2022-10-27.
  9. ^ "#382 Roger Penske". Forbes. 2017. Archived from the original on May 19, 2006. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  10. ^ "Roger S. Penske Horatio Alger Award Recipient Class of 2017". Horatio Alger. August 13, 2025. Retrieved 2025-08-17.
  11. ^ "Penske Truck Leasing Celebrates 50th Anniversary - Penske Truck Leasing". www.pensketruckleasing.com. Retrieved 2025-08-17.
  12. ^ "Year-by-Year Highlights: 1965 - 2018". teampenske.com. Archived June 19, 2025 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  13. ^ James, Brant (March 4, 2013). "Long-Range Vision". Autoweek. Vol. 63, no. 5. pp. 54–60.
  14. ^ "IndyCar: Without Hélio, Team Penske moves on". autoweek.com. February 11, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  15. ^ "Brad Keselowski clinches first Cup title after Johnson exits". USA Today. Archived April 8, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-06-24.
  16. ^ "DJR Penske clarifies ownership, key staff". Speedcafe. September 15, 2014. Archived October 21, 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  17. ^ "Ambrose to take a back seat in Tasmania". V8 Supercars. March 17, 2015. Archived March 19, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  18. ^ Fogarty, Mark (2016-06-25). "V8 Supercars: Scott McLaughlin to join DJR Team Penske". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  19. ^ "Joey Logano wins 2018 Monster Energy Series title". Official Site Of NASCAR. 2018-11-18. Retrieved 2019-06-24.
  20. ^ "Roger Penske buys Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IndyCar Series from Hulman family". CBS Sports. November 4, 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  21. ^ Woodruff, David (1994-10-17). "Talk About Life In The Fast Lane". Bloomberg
  22. ^ Smith, Steven Cole (2019-11-05). "Here's how the Penske deal to purchase IndyCar, Indianapolis Motor Speedway came together". Autoweek. Archived March 23, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  23. ^ Howe, Gail Kachadourian (2023-02-10). "Penske Automotive Group names Greg Penske vice chairman". Automotive News. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  24. ^ "Roger Penske would like to rule forever, but who will eventually be the next Captain?". Autoweek. Archived July 14, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  25. ^ "'Friend of Golf,' Carl Hulbert Passes Away". Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  26. ^ Martin, Bruce (2022-05-27). "A new car, the field of 33, succession plan: Roger Penske addresses IndyCar's big issues". NBC Sports. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  27. ^ "WEDDINGS/CELEBRATIONS; Blair Penske, Brandon Hall (Published 2003)". 2003-07-13. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  28. ^ Rosman, Katherine (2022-03-26). "You Don't Know Much About Jay Penske. And He's Fine With That.". The New York Times. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  29. ^ Fryer, Jenna (2019-03-08). "Roger Penske received kidney from son in 2017 at Mayo Clinic". Associated Press. Archived April 20, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  30. ^ "Roger Penske". Forbes. 2025. Archived May 14, 2026 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 14, 2026.
  31. ^ Lane, Amy (October 28, 2012). "Penske drives to the lead of super PAC list". Crain's Detroit Business. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  32. ^ Welch, William M. (August 20, 2011). "Time to draft Roger Penske for president?". USA Today. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  33. ^ Ziegler, Sara (2020-10-28). "Inside The Political Donation History Of Wealthy Sports Owners". FiveThirtyEight. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  34. ^ "Here Are The Billionaires Who Donated To Donald Trump's 2020 Presidential Campaign". Forbes. Archived May 17, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  35. ^ Payne, Henry. "Team Penske revs the White House, Team Trump roils the Dow". The Detroit News. Retrieved 2025-06-06.
  36. ^ "President Donald Trump won't attend Indy 500, despite Roger Penske's invitation". IndyStar. Retrieved 2025-06-06.
  37. ^ Roger Penske Drive
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  39. ^ "2018 Spirit of Competition Award". simeonemuseum.org. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
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  43. ^ "Inaugural Class of Trans Am Hall of Fame Revealed". Speed Sport. February 5, 2025. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
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