A Brief Overview
About Team Penske
Team Penske is one of the most successful teams in the history of professional sports and is celebrating its 50th Anniversary during the 2016 season. Dating back to its first race in the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona, cars owned and prepared by Team Penske have produced more than 420 major race wins, over 480 pole positions and 28 National Championships across open-wheel, stock car and sports car racing competition. In its storied history, the team has also earned 16 Indianapolis 500 victories, two Daytona 500 Championships, overall victories in the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring and a Formula One win. Over 80 drivers have raced for Team Penske over the years.
Celebrating The 50th Anniversary of Team Penske Overview
"Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Team Penske" will be a multi-faceted program that will reach into retail and merchandise, media and fan engagement, sponsor partnerships and special events. Team Penske's Media Tour at the NASCAR Hall of Fame on January 20 and an employee and partner celebration featuring current and past Team Penske drivers that same evening will serve as the official start of the historic year.
Team Penske's Timeline Moments
Team Penske wasn't built overnight. The team was formed over the past 50 years with the help of many individuals and was shaped by events throughout the course of its history. These are a brief look at some of the biggest moments of Team Penske's past.
1951 – Roger Penske attends his first Indy 500 with his father
1965 – Penske retires from competitive racing to focus on business commitments - declines offer from Clint Brawner to take Indy 500 rookie test - Mario Andretti takes the test and launches his legendary career
1966 – Penske Racing enters its first race, wins its class in 24 Hours of Daytona
1967 – Penske wins first Championship, USRRC title with Mark Donohue
1972 – First Indianapolis 500 victory, with Mark Donohue
1973 – First NASCAR win, with Mark Donohue at Riverside
1975 – Mark Donohue passes away following crash in practice for Formula One Austrian Grand Prix
1976 – Team Penske wins first and only Formula 1 race with John Watson
1978 – Penske hires Rick Mears to substitute for Mario Andretti, Mears wins his first race
1985 – Danny Sullivan earns famous "spin and win" Indy 500
1991 – Penske Racing South (NASCAR) is formed
1993 – Rusty Wallace wins 10 races in NASCAR season
1994 – Team wins 12 races and finishes 1-2-3 in CART championship standings
1999 – Greg Moore, set to join team, is killed in crash at Fontana. Helio Castroneves is hired by Team Penske
2000 – Team earns 100th INDYCAR win (Gil de Ferran at Nazareth)
2001 – Castroneves earns first of two-straight Indy 500 wins, coming in his first two starts
2006 – Penske combines NASCAR and INDYCAR programs at race shop in NC
2008 – Team earns first Daytona 500 victory with Ryan Newman in 50th running of race
2008 – Sports Car program earns 12 Hours of Sebring overall victory
2010 – Brad Keselowski earns Team's first NASCAR Championship (XFINITY Series title)
2012 – Keselowski secures Team Penske's first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship
2014 – Team earns 400th overall victory as an organization
2014 – Will Power produces Team's 13th INDYCAR Championship
2015 – Juan Pablo Montoya earns Penske's 16th Indy 500 victory and Joey Logano wins team's second Daytona 500
Team Penske's Stats (through the 2015 season)
Penske Racing Wins – 424*
Penske Racing Poles – 487
Penske Racing Starts – 4103
*Penske Racing Wins includes ARCA, USAC Stocks, F1 & F5000
NSCS Wins – 96
NSCS Poles – 115
NSCS Starts – 1795
Sports Car Wins – 86
Sports Car Poles – 79
Sports Car Starts – 287
INDYCAR Championships – 13
NASCAR Championships – 5
National Championships – 28
INDYCAR Wins – 177
INDYCAR Poles – 235
INDYCAR Starts – 1521
NXS Wins – 54
NXS Poles – 52
NXS Starts – 438
Team Penske's Winners
A total of 85 drivers have turned laps for Team Penske over the years. Of those, 44 have won races for "The Captain." Here are Team Penske's winning drivers:
Mark Donohue – 59 Wins
Brad Keselowski – 44
Rusty Wallace – 37
Helio Castroneves – 30
Rick Mears – 29
Ryan Newman – 24
Will Power – 22
Joey Logano - 19
Timo Bernard – 16
Romain Dumas – 16
Kurt Busch – 13
Danny Sullivan – 12
Al Unser Jr. – 12
Ryan Briscoe – 11
Emerson Fittipaldi – 11
Paul Tracy – 11
Bobby Unser – 11
Sam Hornish Jr. – 10
Gil de Ferran – 9
Sascha Maassen – 7
Bobby Allison – 5
George Follmer – 5
Ryan Blaney - 4
Lucas Luhr – 4
Jeremy Mayfield – 3
Juan Pablo Montoya - 3
Tom Sneva – 3
Al Unser Sr. – 3
Mario Andretti – 2
AJ Allmendinger - 2
Gary Bettenhausen – 2
Ronnie Bucknum – 2
Craig Fisher – 2
Ben Moore – 2
George Wintersteen – 2
Justin Allgaier – 1
Emmanuel Collard – 1
Dick Guldstrand – 1
Travis Kvapil – 1
Patrick Long – 1
Dave Marcis - 1
Charlie "Chuck" Parsons – 1
Steven Wallace – 1
John Watson – 1
Team Penske's Notable Names
With 44 drivers collecting wins over the years, there are a number of drivers who have driven for Team Penske and never won a race. Here are some of the notable names that raced for Roger Penske but never visited Victory Lane.
Donnie Allison
Marcos Ambrose
Geoff Brabham
Kevin Cogan
Brendan Gaughn
David Hobbs
Gordon Johncock
Jan Magnussen
Max Papis
Sam Posey
Peter Revson
Johnny Rutherford
Alex Tagliani
Jacques Villeneuve
Team Penske's Championships
Over the years, Team Penske has earned a remarkable 28 National Championships, with the most recent coming in 2015 in the NASCAR XFINITY Series.
1967 - USRRC (United States Road Racing Championship) - Mark Donohue
1968 - USRRC (United States Road Racing Championship) - Mark Donohue
1968 - Trans-Am - Mark Donohue
1969 - Trans-Am - Mark Donohue
1971 - Trans-Am - Mark Donohue
1972 – Can-Am - George Follmer
1973 – Can-Am - Mark Donohue
1977 - USAC IndyCar - Tom Sneva
1978 - USAC IndyCar - Tom Sneva
1979 - CART - Rick Mears
1981 - CART - Rick Mears
1982 - CART - Rick Mears
1983 - CART - Al Unser Sr.
1985 - CART - Al Unser Sr.
1988 - CART - Danny Sullivan
1994 - CART - Al Unser Jr.
2000 - CART - Gil de Ferran
2001 - CART - Gil de Ferran
2006 - IRL - Sam Hornish Jr.
2006 - ALMS LMP2 - Sascha Maassen/Lucas Luhr
2007 - ALMS LMP2 - Romain Dumas/Timo Bernhard
2008 - ALMS LMP2 - Romain Dumas/Timo Bernhard
2010 - NASCAR Nationwide Series - Brad Keselowski
2012 - NASCAR Sprint Cup Series - Brad Keselowski
2013 - NASCAR Nationwide Series Owners – No. 22 Car
2014 - Verizon INDYCAR Series - Will Power
2014 - NASCAR Nationwide Series Owners – No. 22 Car
2015 - NASCAR XFINITY Series Owners – No. 22 Car
Team Penske's Record By Series
Team Penske's success isn't limited to just NASCAR and INDYCAR. Over the years, the team has competed in numerous series all over the world. In only two series where it's competed (V8 Supercars & NASCAR Trucks) has the team yet to record at least one win or one pole.
| Series | Starts | Wins | Poles |
| Sprint Cup |
1,795 |
96 |
115 |
| CART |
755 |
88 |
111 |
| IRL |
576 |
68 |
101 |
| XFINITY |
438 | 54 |
52 |
| USAC Champ |
190 |
21 |
23 |
| Trans-Am |
82 |
30 |
23 |
| ALMS |
69 |
24 |
27 |
| Can-Am |
47 |
15 |
16 |
| V8 Supercar |
36 |
0 |
0 |
| USRRC |
18 |
12 |
6 |
| FIA / Endurance |
17 |
4 |
5 |
| ARCA |
13 |
6 |
5 |
| Grand-Am |
13 |
0 |
1 |
| F5000 |
10 |
2 |
1 |
| USAC Stock |
6 |
2 |
1 |
| FIA / Pro |
4 |
1 |
0 |
| Group 7 / Japan |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| Truck Series |
1 |
0 |
0 |
Team Penske's Track Success
Where has Team Penske won the most? These tracks have seen at least one Team Penske victory over the last 50 years.
Michigan International Speedway - 21
Indianapolis Motor Speedway - 18
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course- 18
Pocono Raceway - 18
Bristol Motor Speedway - 16
Watkins Glen International - 16
Texas Motor Speedway - 14
Laguna Seca Raceway - 13
Richmond International Raceway - 12
Dover International Speedway - 11
New Hampshire Motor Speedway - 11
Phoenix International Raceway - 11
Kentucky Speedway - 10
Road America - 9
Atlanta Motor Speedway - 8
Charlotte Motor Speedway - 8
Sonoma Raceway - 8
The Milwaukee Mile - 8
St. Petersburg Street Circuit - 8
Chicagoland Speedway - 7
The Raceway at Belle Isle Park - 7
Auto Club Speedway - 6
Kansas Speedway - 6
Martinsville Speedway - 6
Daytona International Speedway - 5
Rexall Speedway (Edmonton) - 5
Streets of Long Beach - 5
Talladega Superspeedway - 5
Gateway International Raceway - 4
Homestead-Miami Speedway - 4
Barber Motorsports Park - 3
Iowa Speedway - 3
Las Vegas Motor Speedway - 3
Miller Motorsports Park - 3
Streets of São Paulo - 3
Darlington Raceway - 2
Streets of Houston - 2
Twin Ring Motegi - 2
Nashville Superspeedway - 2
Texas World Speedway - 2
Exhibition Place (Toronto) - 2
Streets of Baltimore - 1
Indianapolis Raceway Park – 1
Österreichring (Austria) – 1
Surfers Paradise – 1