Penske continues to set standard for IndyCar teams
Roger Penske still loves the thrill of a chase - especially when nobody else can keep up.
The 73-year-old racing legend has such a big lead over the rest of the pack that younger drivers and owners are still trying to figure out how to match the competitive spirit and the passion he's brought to Indianapolis since 1969.
``He takes no prisoners and he's so keen to win,'' said Barry Green, a former CART rival of Penske. ``Gosh, I'd love to have that record, but I don't think I could ever be at that many races. He pushes all of the rest of us to be better.''
Over the past four decades, nobody has been more successful in IndyCars than Penske.
He has a record 15 Indianapolis 500 victories, a record 15 Indy poles and has averaged one Indy win for every 2.3 years he put a car on the starting grid. Penske won nearly 100 races and nine points titles while competing in CART, has claimed NASCAR's biggest prize, the Daytona 500, and changed the way race teams do business when he made team uniforms and cleanliness fashionable in Gasoline Alley.
And he did all that while expanding his lucrative business, Penske Corp.
Those who have followed Penske over the years have tried to emulate his model. But somehow, they've never quite been able to match the original, which is why Penske remains far ahead of his closest competition.
``When he sets the bar so high, you don't want to be the gnat, if you know what I mean,'' said Mike Hull, managing director for Target Chip Ganassi Racing. ``You want to be competitive. Personally, I enjoy going head-to-head with him because you know if you race with Roger, he's not going to give in.''
The perception is Penske made it to the head of the class because of his money, and nobody doubts that it has helped him hire the best talent and put together an impeccable research-and-development team.
But those who know The Captain best insist there's more to it than cold, hard cash.
Penske's relentless pursuit of perfection and unbridled passion to win at Indianapolis have set a standard other teams struggle to match.
``Roger has been a very successful man. He plays golf and he's relaxed, but at Indianapolis, it's like his little girl,'' three-time Indy winner Helio Castroneves said. ``He's a man on a mission. He says 'All aboard' and we all come aboard.''
But the secret to Penske's success are the intangibles.
He runs his racing teams the same way he runs his businesses - treasuring experience and loyalty and using those tight bonds to keep the best minds from leaving.
Rick Mears, now the team's driving coach, won all four of his Indy titles driving for Penske. Castroneves has been with the team since 2000, and longtime Penske driver Gil de Ferran is now the co-owner of De Ferran Luczo Dragon Racing with Penske's son, Jay.
Roger Penske is also adept enough to shift gears when necessary.
From 2000 through 2008, he ran primarily three-car teams.
Last year, he hired Will Power as a replacement for Castroneves when the Brazilian was facing tax-evasion charges. After Castroneves was acquitted, Power stayed on as a part-timer and returned to the team this year as the third full-time car on Penske's team.
Good move. Power won the first two races and still leads the IndyCar points standings.
Penske's biggest advantage, though, is in the garage. Among this year's crew members and support staff, he counts more than 600 combined years of experience just at Indy.
``There's complete transparency between the drivers, the crew chiefs and the engineers,'' Penske said after one of this week's practice sessions. ``There's not one thing that goes on that isn't open for the other drivers to have the opportunity to see the information, and that's awful key.''
Rivals, however, are split on what has made Penske so tough to beat.
``When I think of how long he has raced here and what he's accomplished and his choice of regular guys to drive his cars, that's as impressive as anything,'' said Hull, who was watching Penske work his magic long before he was involved professionally with IndyCars.
Green thinks the difference is Penske's creativity.
From the suggestions he offered as a CART board member to the ones he still gives to IndyCar officials, Penske has brought a very different mindset to racing.
Instead of losing money, like others in the sport, Penske uses racing as a billboard.
``He told me a long time ago that one of the reasons he's so into motorsports is because he uses that as a tool for his other businesses,'' Green said. ``He's just a tremendous thinker. He's not afraid to talk about anything, and he'll take some place that wasn't so beautiful and turn it into a beautiful race track.''
But Penske also wins, which means everyone else is chasing him - just like The Captain wants it.
``It's fantastic the day you do beat him because you know your guys and you have done extremely well,'' Green said. ``I will say that almost every race weekend, he's one of the guys you're racing against. He's that good.''
