32 Facts About Roger Penske

Roger Searle Penske was born on February 20,1937 and is an American businessman and entrepreneur involved in professional auto racing and a retired professional auto racing driver, and a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient.

Roger Penske is well-known through his ownership of Team Penske, DJR Team Penske, the Penske Corporation, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IndyCar, and other automotive-related businesses.

Roger Penske's father, Jay, was a successful corporate executive for a metal fabrication company and encouraged his son to become an entrepreneur.

Roger Penske graduated from Shaker Heights High School in 1955 and is a 1959 graduate of Lehigh University, where he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta.

Roger Penske made his first professional racing start at the now-abandoned Marlboro Motor Raceway in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

Roger Penske competed in two Formula One Grands Prix and won a NASCAR Pacific Coast Late Model race at Riverside in 1963.

Roger Penske never ran the Indianapolis 500: he was offered a rookie test at Indianapolis with the Dean Van Lines team, but turned it down.

Rookie Mario Andretti stepped in for Roger Penske to take that test.

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

Roger Penske developed one of the most successful teams in IndyCar Series and NASCAR racing.

Roger Penske is the most successful owner of the Indianapolis 500 with 18 victories.

Roger Penske is known by his nickname of "The Captain".

Roger Penske served as a race strategist for his IndyCar team, most recently for driver Will Power.

Roger Penske Racing debuted in 1966 at the 24 Hours of Daytona, after Roger Penske had retired from race driving.

Roger Penske's teams have won many races in the subsequent years.

Roger Penske closed his European-based Formula One business in 1977.

Roger Penske Racing now operates an IndyCar Series team composed of Josef Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin, and Will Power, and a NASCAR team with drivers Austin Cindric, Joey Logano, and Ryan Blaney.

Previously, Roger Penske Racing 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.

In 2005, Porsche set the stage to make a comeback in sports car racing in the United States and chose Roger Penske Racing to run in the LMP2 class of the American Le Mans Series.

Roger Penske's team scored an overall victory in the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2008.

Roger Penske ran a Pontiac Riley Daytona Prototype in the 2008 Rolex 24 at Daytona, with Kurt Busch, Ryan Briscoe, and Helio Castroneves driving.

In 2009, Roger Penske suspended his participation in the ALMS, switching to ALMS's rival Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series for the full season.

Roger Penske purchased the old Matsushita air conditioning plant in Mooresville, NC, and reconditioned it to consolidate his racing business.

All of Roger Penske's racing operations are under one roof, with his IndyCar, NASCAR, and American Le Mans Series teams sharing over 424,000 square feet of space encompassing 105 acres.

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

Roger Penske is a corporate director at General Electric and was chairman of Super Bowl XL in Detroit, Michigan.

Roger Penske was previously on the board of The Home Depot and Delphi Automotive before resigning to chair the Detroit Super Bowl Committee.

Roger Penske's estimated net worth is $3.2 billion as of 2023.

Roger Penske Racing donated $500,000 to Restore Our Future, Mitt Romney's Super PAC.

Roger Penske endorsed Donald Trump in the 2020 United States presidential election after receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2019.

Roger Penske is chairman of Roger Penske Corporation, based in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

On November 4,2019, Roger Penske acquired the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a 2.5-mile course in Speedway, Indiana, the Indianapolis 500-mile race and IndyCar from the Hulman Family for an undisclosed amount.