Jump to content

Team Penske

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 193.178.209.213 (talk) at 10:54, 14 September 2006 (→Formula One). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

You must add a |reason= parameter to this Cleanup template – replace it with {{Cleanup|August 2006|reason=<Fill reason here>}}, or remove the Cleanup template.
 Template:NASCAR Owner Infobox Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the Indy Racing League, ALMS, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and NASCAR. They also previously competed in road racing, Formula One and CART. Penske Racing is a division of Penske Corporation, and is owned and chaired by Roger Penske (Lehigh University Class of 1959).

Indy Racing League/Indy Car

Penske has been involved with Indy Car racing since 1968, when they first fielded a stock-block powered Eagle with Mark Donohue. The team first competed at Indianapolis in 1969, and within three years had become the team to beat, winning the race with Donohue in 1972. In 1978, Roger Penske along with Pat Patrick, Dan Gurney, and several other team owners who had been participating in USAC events involving cars known as Champ Cars and IndyCars formed CART, Champion Auto Racing Teams. As of 2006, Penske Racing has won the Indianapolis 500 14 times, won the Indianapolis 500 pole position 13 times as well as 124 Open Wheel Wins in CART and IRL and 11 Open Wheel championships. In 2001, Team Penske marked it's return to Indy 500 after a five year absence due to Open Wheel split after the 1995 CART season. Later in 2001 Roger Penske announced he would leave the CART series for the Indy Racing League.

As of 2005, Team Penske fields two cars, driven by Hélio Castroneves and Sam Hornish, Jr.. Castroneves has won the Indianapolis 500 twice (2001 & 2002), as well as other CART and IRL races with Marlboro Team Penske. Sam Hornish, Jr. is the 2006 Indianapolis 500 winner and the (2001, 2002 and 2006) Indy Racing League Champion, with 15 IRL Wins. His 2001 and 2002 championships were with Panther Racing, prior to joining Penske.

The open-wheel racing portion of Penske Racing had been based in Reading, Pennsylvania since 1973. On October 31, 2005, Penske Racing announced that after the 2006 IRL season, they will consolidate the IRL and NASCAR operations at the team's Mooresville, North Carolina facility [2].

However, with the flooding in Pennsylvania in 2006, the team's operations have been moved to Mooresville earlier.

Indianapolis 500 Victories

1994 Indy Car World Series (CART)

1994 Penske PC-23 Oval Package.

Penske's 1994 Indy Car World Series Championship was one of, if not the most dominating performance from a race team in history of American open wheel racing. Roger Penske had found the key to win but also found a way to run from the competition. The new Penske PC-23 chassis with Ilmor-Mercedes-Benz engine would power the Marlboro Team Penske drivers of Al Unser, Jr., Paul Tracy, and Emerson Fittipaldi. The team racked up 12 wins out of 16 races, collecting 10 poles and 28 podium finishes on their way to the championship. The team also dominated a controversial May at Indianapolis. Marlboro Team Penske debuted a radical new Mercedes-Benz engine at Indy. This engine used a provision in the rules intended for stock block pushrod engines such as the V-6 Buick engines that allowed an extra 650 cm³ and 10 inches (4.9 psi/33.8 kPa) of boost. This extra power (at least 900 horsepower, and rumored to be in excess of 1000) allowed the Penskes to run significantly faster, giving them the pole and outside front row on the grid for the 78th Indianapolis 500. Al Unser, Jr. and Emerson Fittipaldi dominated the race, eventually lapping the field with 16 laps to go in the 200 lap race when Emerson made contact with wall coming out of Turn 4, giving Al Unser, Jr. the lead and win. The only driver who finished on the lead lap was rookie Jacques Villeneuve. This one season gave Marlboro Team Penske the Driver's Championship with Al Unser, Jr., Constructor's Cup with the Penske PC-23, and Manufacturer's Cup with the Ilmor-Mercedes-Benz engine.

Drivers Who Have Raced For Team Penske (CART/IRL)

NASCAR

With his long history in Indy Cars and owning a transportation service, it is no surprise that Roger Penske should have success in NASCAR. His Penske Racing team fields Dodges for Kurt Busch(#2 Miller Lite) and Ryan Newman(#12 Alltel/Mobil Oil). Penske Racing debuted in 1972 at Riverside International Raceway with Mark Donohue driving a factory-sponsored red-white-blue American Motors Matador. It was dubbed the "flying brick" by many noting its squarish aerodynamics. The car finished 39th after rear end problems. The team ran part-time for a few years, fielding cars for several drivers including Donohue, who would die in a practice accident, Dave Marcis, Donnie Allison, and Bobby Allison. The team went full time with Bobby Allison in 1976 with a new, more aerodynamic fastback coupe, finishing 4th in the points. In 1980, the team fielded two races for Rusty Wallace, finishing 2nd in his first race. The team didn't run for eleven years, returning in 1991 with Wallace at the wheel again. Starting in 2006, both Busch (#37 Penske Truck Rentals/Jasper Engines [3]) and Newman (#39 Alltel/Mobil Oil [4]) will race part time in the Busch Series.

File:1974 AMC Matador Coupe NASCAR Mark Donohue Racer.jpg
Donohue did not survive to race this 1974 NASCAR Penske Matador

Car #2 History

The #2 team hasn't seen many changes since its debut in the 1991 Daytona 500, where it finished 27th after a crash late in the race. 1989 Winston Cup Champion Rusty Wallace has always been the driver, and some form of Miller Beer has been the sponsor. Wallace took over the car in 1991 when his Blue Max Racing team suspended operations. The team performed impressively in its first go, winning twice and finishing 10th in points. 1992 was just a decent year for Wallace , winning once and finishing 13th in points. That's when things turned around for the Wallace and Penske, winning 25 races over the next 4 years, despite never winning the championship. 1997, saw a small change for the team, as the long-time Miller Genuine Draft paint scheme departed and Miller Lite came on as the new car. Since then, some of Wallace's dominance has faded, but he's proven he can still win. After winning one race a piece over the next 3 years, Wallace put together 4 wins in 2000, and won 9 Bud Pole Awards, the highest total of his career. 2002 was a disappointment however, as he failed to win a race, marking the first year since 1985 that he did not visit Victory Lane. After that year, the team switched to from Ford to the Dodge manufacturer. In 2004, Wallace announced the 2005 season would be his last in NASCAR Nextel Cup, citing his son's racing career and wanting to concentrate on his Busch Series team as reason for his departure. Rusty would finish the 2005 season in 8th place. In 2005 it was announced that 2004 Nextel Cup champion Kurt Busch would drive the car in 2006 after a long dispute after Busch tried to buy out his contract from Roush Racing.

Penske's NASCAR Garage in Mooresville, North Carolina.

Car #12 History

The first #12 team for Penske was not always owned by the team. Originally the car was owned by German businessman Michael Kranefuss. The team debuted in 1994 at Michigan as the #07 Ford driven by Robby Gordon. The car started and finished 38th after an Gordon crashed on lap 70. After another start with Geoff Brabham at the Brickyard 400, the team went full time in 1995 with John Andretti, a second-year driver. The car became #37 and was sponsored by Kmart and Little Caesars. Andretti won the pole at the Southern 500 and finishing 18th in the points. The team struggled in 1996, however, and towards the end of the year, Kranefuss decided change was needed, and replaced Andretti with the relatively unknown Jeremy Mayfield before the season was over.(Ironically Andretti took over Mayfield's old job at Cale Yarborough's team.)

The team improved to the 13th in the points in 1997, but it was obvious the team wouldn't succeed if it only field one team. In 1998, Kranefuss announced his team would merge with Penske Racing, and would also change to the #12 with Mobil Oil sponsoring the car. The move turned out to be a success, as Mayfield became the next big star. He won the pole at Texas, and at one point in the season, found himself in the points lead. And at the Pocono 500 in June, he won his first Winston Cup series race. Mayfield's breakout year in Winston Cup ended with a 7th place finish in the points. Mayfield struggled in 1999, however, as he did not win and dropped 4 spots in the points. In 2000, he won the Pocono 500 and California 500 Midway through the season, Kranefuss sold his share of the team to Penske. Mayfield then suffered a concussion while practicing for the Brickyard 400. He missed two races recooperating from his injury and finished 24th in points. In 2001, Mayfield posted seven top-10 finishes, but was fired following the race at Kansas. Rusty Wallace's little brother Mike took over for the team, and came close to winning at Phoenix before settling for second place. Surprisingly, Penske announced the #12 team would close after the season, and the owner's point would be transferred to his new team.

The #12 team originally began running in the ARCA Re/Max Series in 2000 as the #02 Ford sponsored by Alltel. Later in the year, the team made its Winston Cup debut at Phoenix, finishing 41st with engine failure. In 2001, Newman split time between ARCA, the NASCAR Busch Series, and the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. He drove in 15 Busch races and won at Michigan. In the Cup Series, he participated in 7 events, and almost won The Winston before his engine expired in the closing laps. He put together two top-five finishes and a pole in his abbreviated schedule. Newman made the jump to Cup full time in 2002 as the #12 Alltel Ford, competing in a strong battle against Jimmie Johnson for NASCAR Rookie of the Year honors. Newman won The Winston, and the fall event at New Hampshire, as well as six poles. Although he didn't win as many races as Johnson and finished behind him in the points, he was still able to win NASCAR Rookie of the Year. In addition to switching to Dodge in [[2003 in NASCAR|2003, he won 8 races, 11 poles, and wound up 6th in points.

In 2004, Newman won twice, earned 9 pole positions and finishing seventh in points. Newman finished 2005 with 8 pole positions, but with only one win. He qualified for the Chase for the Cup for a second year in a row and ended up sixth in the final standings.

Car #77 history

Further information: Jasper Motorsports

Busch Series

Penske Racing made their Busch Series debut in 2005, the #39 Alltel/ Penske Truck Rental Dodge driven by Ryan Newman. He ran only 9 of 25 races, but won 6 times. In 2006, Newman and Kurt Busch have shared the ride. Busch won twice and Newmans best finished is 2nd.

Trans-Am Series

Penske first fielded a Blue Sunoco 1967 Camaro driven by Mark Donohue in this series designed for Pony cars like the Ford Mustang. Later they [1]switched to a red/white/blue American Motors backed 1970 AMC Javelin, and later the restyled 1971 AMC Javelin AMX which had an aerodynamic tail spoiler and other features suggested by Donohue. The Javelin took the series championship.

Canam Racing

Porsche 917/30, in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen Museum

From 1972 to 1974, Penske was Porsche's official partner in the CanAm-Series. In late 1971, Penske and Mark Donohue helped to develop the tubocharged version of the Porsche 917. George Follmer won the series in 1972, and Donohue dominated CanAm in 1973 with the ultimate evolution of the 917, the 917/30. The rules were changed for 1974, and Penske raced only once this year.

Endurance Racing

A Lola T70 Mk IIIb entered by Penske was the surprise winner of the 1969 24 Hours of Daytona.

During the 1970 season the competition between the 5-liter sportscars of Porsche and Ferrari turned to the advantage of the Porsche 917. In 1971, Ferrari decided to give up any official effort with the 5-liter Ferrari 512. In order to prepare the 1972 season, the new works prototype Ferrari 312PB was presented and engaged by the factory in several races.

Roger Penske bought a used 512 M chassis that was totally dismantled and rebuilt. The car was specially tuned for long races receiving many unique features, among them were a large rear wing and an aviation inspired quick refueling system. The engine was tuned by CanAm V8 specialist Traco, and was probably able to deliver more than 600 hp (450 kW). As of today it's unknown to what extend Penske's initiative was backed by Ferrari works. This 512M was painted in a blue and yellow livery and was sponsored by Sunoco and the Californian Ferrari dealer Kirk F. White. The car made the pole position for the 1971 24 Hours of Daytona and finished second despite an accident. For the 12 Hours of Sebring the "Sunoco" made the pole again but finished the race at the sixth position after making contact with Pedro Rodrigez's 917. Despite this misfortune the car had proved to be a serious opponent for the 917. Not only this car was the fastest on track in Daytona and Sebring but it was also the car that had the shortest refueling time.

The presence of the 512 M "Sunoco" forced Porsche to pursue his effort of research and development on the 917: The 917K short tail was modified, and the 917 LH aerodynamics received further improvements. New Magnesium chassis were developed. An entirely new car, the 917/20 was built as test-bed for future CanAm parts and aerodynamic "low-drag" concepts.

In Le Mans the "Sunoco" Ferrari was unable to break the 200 mph (320 km/h) barrier on the straight while the Porsche 917 LH were lightning quick at speeds of over 240 mph (380 km/h). Mark Donohue qualified fourth anyway, which was obviously the result of an aerodynamic configuration that favored downforce over drag, which helped in the twistier sections. The car had not much luck in the race, though.

American Le Mans Series

In April of 2005, it was announced that Porsche would build a Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) sanctioned LMP2 Class Prototype that would be entered by Penske Racing in the American Le Mans Series. The Porsche RS Spyder made it's successful debut at the ALMS season final race at Laguna Seca. the "Porsche Junioren" factory drivers Sascha Maassen and Lucas Luhr finished 1st in LMP2 Class and 5th Overall in the 4 Hour Endurance Race.

In 2006, Penske Motorsports fields two LMP2 Porsche RS Spyder in the American Le Mans Series, but did not run the 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.

2006 Team Lineup:

Formula One

Penske entered the Formula One World Championship from 1974 to 1976. Back in 1971, Penske had sponsored the second McLaren entry in the 1971 Canadian and US GP, entering Mark Donohue, who took the car to a third place. The team returned three years later, in the 1975 Canadian GP, with their own chassis, the PC1, a standard tub built around a Cosworth DFV engine and a Hewland gearbox. Donohue took the car to 12th place on its debut. In 1975, Roger Penske mounted a full season attack with the PC1, Donohue managing to score a fifth place in the Swedish GP. However, the car was retired after the French GP and Penske entered a March 751 for the next three races, scoring another fifth in the British GP. However, Donohue crashed the car in the Austrian GP at Zeltweg and died later. Penske missed the Italian race, returning only for the US GP, this time back with the PC1 and Northern Irish driver John Watson as a driver.

For 1976, Penske signed a sponsorship deal with Citibank and entered a brand new PC3 for Watson. In spite of a fifth place scored at the South African GP at Kyalami, the PC3 was evolved into the PC4, which was much more competitive, allowing Watson to score two podiums in France and Britain. Then, in the Austrian Grand Prix, the team scored their only F1 win, "forcing" John Watson to shave his trademark beard. Still, Roger Penske was tired of Europe and at the end of the year decided to concentrate solely on Indycar racing, selling the remains of his European operations to Günther Schmidt of Germany.

For 1977, the car was entered by Schmidt's ATS (wheels) business, painted in yellow. The ATS-Penske PC4 debuted in the 1977 United States Grand Prix West with Jean-Pierre Jarier at the wheel, where the Frenchman scored the team's single point of the season. A second PC4 was eventually entered for Hans Heyer and Hans Binder but the team's fortunes sunk and Schmidt quit after the Italian GP, before returning in 1978 with his own chassis. The PC4 ended up in the hands of Interscope Racing, who entered the car in the United States Grand Prix East and the Canadian Grand Prix, driven by American Danny Ongais with no results.

In 1979 Penske designed and built the HR100 for wealthy Mexican 'gentleman driver' Hector Rebaque. The car was entered for the final three races of the season, but either failed either to qualify or to finish in each case.

Year Team Driver # of GPs
1974 Penske-Ford Mark Donohue 2
1975 Penske-Ford Mark Donohue 9
1975 Penske-Ford John Watson 1
1976 Penske-Ford John Watson 16
1976 Penske-Ford Boy Hayje 1
Year Team Driver # of GPs
1977 ATS (wheels)-Penske-Ford Jean-Pierre Jarier 11
1977 ATS (wheels)-Penske-Ford Hans Binder 3
1977 ATS (wheels)-Penske-Ford Danny Ongais 2
1977 ATS (wheels)-Penske-Ford Hans Heyer 1

Notes

  1. ^ [1] javelinamx.com
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Team_Penske&oldid=75681137"