Roger Penske Biography

1937-

American race team owner

Following a short-lived but distinguished career as a race-car driver in the early 1960s, resulting in Sports Car Driver of the Year awards from, respectively, the periodicals Sports Illustrated, the New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times, Roger Penske established Penske Racing. In IndyCar competition, Penske Racing has won more Indianapolis 500 races than any other team. In addition, Penske Racing has posted championships in such automotive racing circuits as Canadian-American Challenge Cup, and Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Trans-Am, as well as posting wins on the National Association of Stock Car Racing (NASCAR) and Grand Prix Formula One tours. In addition, Penske organized the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) circuit in 1978, and owns the Michigan and Nazareth (Pennsylvania) International Speedways, North Carolina Speedway, and California Speedway, as well as coordinates the Cleveland Grand Prix IndyCar race. As a businessman, Penske is no less successful: Penske Corporation employs more than 30,000 people and generates estimated annual revenues of $11 billion through such businesses as Penske Truck Leasing, Penske Automotive, Penske Capital Partners, and the automotive retailer UnitedAuto Group. Penske is estimated to be one of the top-500 wealthiest individuals in the United States.

Roger Penske