Roger Penske Reveals ‘Boss Move’ That Helped Build His $6 Billion Racing Empire

“If you lose this, I’ll go back to work.” This was Roger Penske’s father’s warning when he founded his first car business. That statement motivated Penske like never before. Failure was not an option. He had to make this work. Fast forward to 2025, Penske is one of the most successful men in motorsports history. As the owner of Team Penske, he has built a racing empire that stretches across NASCAR, IndyCar, and endurance racing. His teams have won five NASCAR Cup Series championships, 20 Indianapolis 500s, and countless other titles. But do you know how all this started?

While Penske is now one of the most powerful figures in racing, his journey to the top wasn’t easy. Many recognize him only as a team owner, but his racing days were equally motivating. In a recent interview, 88-year-old Penske revealed his initial struggles. He also recalled a key decision that eventually paved his path to success in the motorsport world.

A journey to remember for Roger Penske

Roger Penske’s rise to the top of the motorsport world started behind the wheel. In the early 1960s, Penske was among the top racers in the United States. He won major events and earned accolades, including the prestigious Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Driver of the Year and a USAC championship. His biggest NASCAR moment came in 1963 when he won the Riverside 250, driving a 1963 Pontiac. However, his dream was to become an entrepreneur.

In 1965, Penske faced a life-changing decision. To secure the insurance for his dream car business, he had to step away from racing. While this decision looked harsh at the moment, but later proved a game-changer for him. Speaking with Kevin Harvick on his Happy Hour podcast, Penske said, “I had a Chevrolet dealership, I needed to get insurance, I needed to borrow money from a bank. You couldn’t do that unless you were not going out as a race driver.”

Penske was in a pickle. He started his team, but at the SCCA, sponsors weren’t allowed on the cars. So what did he do? Outsmarted them in true Penske fashion. “Shortly after that we started our team and I came from an experience of racing… Early days we had sponsors. [At] SCCA you couldn’t put em on the car so I put tape on it and let it blow off by the second lap,” he said while laughing.

This proved to be one of the best moves of Penske’s career. His business grew rapidly as he expanded from one dealership to more than 3,500 locations. He incorporated Penske Corporation, which employs more than 56,000 people worldwide. While he focused on his car business, he couldn’t forget the roar of racing cars. In 1966, Penske returned to racetrack but in a different role.

Roger Penske launched Team Penske to participate in IndyCar and NASCAR races. Under his leadership, Team Penske became a powerhouse by winning more than 40 championships in different racing disciplines. Apart from NASCAR and IndyCar, Team Penske is also a dominant force in endurance racing. However, his racing team also faced several struggles.

In the starting days of his racing team, Penske used to design and build his cars from scratch. Speaking about the same, Penske said, “It was a car—it was a Formula One car that had been wrecked up at Watkins Glen. And then we had the engine out of Jack Brabham’s car that he ran at Indy. We put it together and put a body on it. We blew everybody off as usual. They made us change the car.” This car was so dominant that it was banned from participating in races.

While he continues to make waves as team owner, in 2019, he made one of the biggest decisions in motorsports history. He purchased the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the IndyCar Series. This move solidified his status as one of the most influential figures in racing. As Penske continues to dominate the motorsports world, many aspire to be like him.

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NASCAR’s young wave of team owners

Roger Penske, along with Rick Hendrick and Joe Gibbs, dominated the NASCAR world for decades. But now, a fresh group of owners is reshaping the sport’s future. In 2022, when NASCAR announced its Next Gen car, an influx of new team owners was recorded. From NASCAR drivers to NBA legend Michael Jordan, everyone started their ownership journey.

Six-time NBA champion entered NASCAR ownership in 2020 by forming 23XI Racing with Denny Hamlin. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver continues to drive for JGR but also owns a NASCAR team. But he is not alone as Brad Keselowski joined Roush Fenway Racing as driver owner to embark on a new journey.

Apart from them, businessman Matt Kaulig also launched his racing team intending to become like Penske and Hendrick. “These longtime owners, like Richard Childress, Jack Roush, they’ve been great, and I aspire to be like them,” Kaulig had said on NASCAR.com in 2021. Former NASCAR driver Justin Marks and rapper Pitbull also launched their racing team in 2021. Their Trackhouse Racing team is a multi-sport squad featuring in both NASCAR and MotoGP.

Speaking on the impact of the Next-Gen Car and its impact, Kaulig added, “I think NASCAR is embracing it. There’s a transition happening, and I’m excited to be part of it.” Marks agreed, “It’s proof of concept for the new car. This is exactly what they were trying to do with the new car. The business model of the sport made the barrier of entry for new ownership higher and higher and higher every single year and it was going to take something like this to ignite a movement like this.”

The emergence of these new owners signals a bright future for NASCAR. But while they bring fresh ideas and energy, they all look up to legends like Penske as the gold standard of success.