Roger Penske, the man behind the Team Penske legacy, continues his relentless pursuit of motorsport dominance. Embarking on his journey as a racing driver, Penske soon discovered his true passion lay in team ownership. Retiring from racing in 1965, he opened a Corvette dealership in Philadelphia, which laid the groundwork for the creation of Penske Racing in 1966.
Fast forward to 2025, and Penske has shown no signs of slowing down. His knack for seizing championship opportunities is evident. With three straight NASCAR titles since 2022, two Indy 500 victories, two Rolex 24 wins, the 2024 IMSA GTP championship, and the 2024 WEC championship, Penske’s motorsport empire shows no signs of decline. Adding another victory to their roster in 2025 only underscores their ongoing success.
Team Penske’s first Indy 500 win came in 1972, thanks to Mark Donohue. Subsequently, the team has amassed 20 Indy 500 victories, with the most recent ones in 2023 and 2024, courtesy of Josef Newgarden. Their latest achievement was clinching the 12 Hours of Sebring, led by the Porsche-Penske #7 team.
Reflecting on the victory with NBC Sports, Roger Penske said, “The Porsche 963 was outstanding. You could see it just got better and better as the weather got cooler. Smart work in the pits, good job, no issues there. Coming in 1-2 here after it’s been a long time since we won this race. Just an amazing day.” This win marked the end of a 17-year wait since Penske Racing last won the 12 Hours of Sebring championship in 2008, led by Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, and Emmanuel Collard.
In NASCAR, Team Penske debuted in 1972 and has since won five titles. The most recent came in 2023 and 2024 by Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano, respectively. Logano has two more titles under his belt, and Brad Keselowski claimed the fifth championship for Team Penske in 2012.
In the 2024 and 2025 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, the Porsche Penske team held their ground. In 2024, Dane Cameron, Matt Campbell, Felipe Nasr, and Josef Newgarden took the title. A year later, Nasr, with Nick Tandy and Laurens Vanthoor, replicated the win, underscoring Penske’s knack for building winning teams across sports.
Beyond his team, Roger Penske is a significant figure in American motorsport. He owns the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home to the Indy 500 and Brickyard 400, and holds the rights to IndyCar. Both were acquired from Hulman and Company in 2019. To avoid conflict of interest, Penske stepped away from IndyCar operations.
As for the 2025 season, Penske has his eyes set on three different championships. However, the NASCAR season has not started as strongly as hoped, with their best finish being Ryan Blaney’s fourth place at Atlanta and Austin Cindric’s sixth place at Las Vegas. The pressure is on Penske as their technical alliance team, Wood Brothers Racing, secured a win before them.
As rivals abound in the NASCAR Cup Series, NTT IndyCar Series, the IMSA SportsCar Series, and the World Endurance Championship, Penske will aim to maintain dominance across all series. Yet, early season struggles in NASCAR loom large. Is this merely a ‘championship hangover’ or a sign of things to come? Only time will tell.
