Indy Car titan Roger Penske takes the flag on race car ownership

Roger Penske’s utter dominance as a race-car owner and one-man titan makes it easy to forget that he was once a star driver with Indy 500 dreams.

Andrew Lawrence - FORTUNE - December 04, 2014



One wouldn’t expect a man who heads an automotive fiefdom with revenues north of $19 billion, whose very name is synonymous with speed, to consider the road not taken. But sometimes Roger Penske wonders what might have been if he had accepted an invitation to try out for the Indianapolis 500.



That was back in 1965, when the 77-year-old was just a 28-year-old Lehigh grad from Shaker Heights, Ohio, and a driver on the brink of superstardom. After making his professional debut—in which, as a rookie in 1961, he’d claim the checkered flag in three consecutive events on the way to earning a Sports Car Club of America championship—he won eight more races over the next three years.... [Read More]

Indy Car titan Roger Penske takes the flag on race car ownership