An interview with Roger Penske
Roger Penske’s expertise at both driving race cars and forming successful businesses have vaulted him to the top of the motorsports world. Born Feb. 20, 1937, in Shaker Heights, Ohio, Penske today runs a $14 billion transportation/business empire, including some 200 car dealerships, truck leasing, automotive and racing parts, and IRL and NASCAR racing teams.
ZYLA: Roger, let’s start with Roger Penske the driver. Back in 1961, I went to the Vineland Speedway (New Jersey) to see Bob Holbert and his Porsche RS61 run in an SCCA National Series race. Well, out of nowhere, you showed up for the same race with a new 1961 Birdcage Maserati with Telar lettered on the side. By the end of the first lap, you were ahead of Holbert by three tractor-trailer lengths. You dusted him pretty bad and won your first SCCA National Series race by a huge margin. I was only 12 at the time. Do you remember that race?
PENSKE: Oh, yes (smiling). I remember that day at Vineland well. I remember I really got a good start, and as you say, that was about it. We won that one pretty easily.
ZYLA: What ever happened to the Birdcage?
PENSKE: We ran the Birdcage for one year, then the rear-engine cars came out and I ended up racing a Cooper Monaco. We built that car with a Formula One engine in it, and we basically stretched a Formula One car to the dimensions that the rulebook called for and put a body on it. That car was so successful.
ZYLA: What did you finally do with that car?
PENSKE: I sold it to Bruce McLaren, and that was the start of McLaren (race cars). It was really interesting how that all took place. That was all back in the ‘60s too.
ZYLA: How about your Formula One races? I know you never finished worse than ninth.
PENSKE: I ran two races in Formula One, both at Watkins Glen. I finished eighth in a Cooper in 1961 and then ninth in a Lotus in 1962. That sure was a long time ago, though.
ZYLA: Has there ever been a desire to get back to road racing? (When this interview was conducted prior to the start of the Nazareth 225 IRL race, Penske was watching road racing on his satellite television in his motor home).
PENSKE: I agree my first love was road racing, but I always liked oval racing, too. Back in the ‘60s, we ran ovals with Mark Donohue, and in the ‘70s, our Indy Car program ran ovals at Trenton, Phoenix and places like that, and it was very competitive racing. As it turned out, Indy Car racing has given us the esteem and success in both oval and road racing. NASCAR, of course, has also been very strong.
ZYLA:You ran NASCAR and USAC-style stock cars as a driver, right?
PENSKE:Yes, one of my best races was at (Indianapolis) Raceway Park. I was driving a Ray Nichels-prepared ‘63 Pontiac. (A.J.) Foyt was running, I think, a Dodge or a Plymouth. Eddie Sachs was in that race too, and I remember I was running first with 10 laps to go and lost a gearbox. Then I went out to Riverside that May or June against the Mercury that Parnelli (Jones) was driving. Dan Gurney had a similar car. I drove the Pontiac that day, qualified the second day, started in the middle of the field and worked my way up, and then won that race. (Riverside 250 — May 16, 1963). I remember after I nearly won the IRP race and then won the Riverside race, they wouldn’t let me into the Speedway (Indianapolis) because they said I was now a NASCAR driver. (Laughter). Times sure have changed.
Next Week: More questions for Roger Penske as our interview continues.