With a report 18 wins within the Indianapolis 500 as a workforce proprietor, it’s been stated that Roger Penske owned the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

On November 4, 2019, he took the following step and bought the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Indianapolis 500, and the IndyCar Collection from the Hulman-George Household.

Penske went from being the proprietor on the observe to the proprietor of the observe.

IndyCar and its followers celebrated the longer term. With Penske, one of many world’s most profitable businessmen and rivals on the helm, the way forward for the world’s biggest race and the world’s largest sports activities stadium appeared brighter than ever.

After which got here COVID.

When a Nationwide Emergency was issued on March 13, 2020, the world started to close down. Main sporting occasions have been both cancelled, such because the NCAA March Insanity, or postponed and moved to a different date.

Previous to that, Penske had already invested a reported $300 million to buy the fabled Speedway together with IndyCar and IMS Productions. He additionally invested a further $20 million into facility enhancements and introduced one other $2 million can be added to the purse for the 104^th Indianapolis 500 in 2020.

As COVID lockdowns tightened its grip on america, Penske and IMS officers determined to maneuver the race from its conventional Memorial Day Weekend date to August 23, hoping the COVID 19 virus would have died out from the summer time warmth.

As a substitute, the pandemic roared on and regardless of numerous well being and security protocols, and had an ongoing dialogue with the Marion County, Indiana Division of Well being to permit spectators again to the sporting occasion, even in restricted capability.

When IU Well being, a significant companion of the Indianapolis 500 and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, went public and stated it was not within the public’s greatest curiosity to permit spectators to attend, Penske took all the pieces into account and made one of many hardest selections of his enterprise profession.

He determined to maneuver ahead with the August 23 Indianapolis 500 with out spectators.

With a view to make that work, prices needed to be reduce. The purse, which was $15 million in 2019, was reduce in half. He met with the workforce house owners to clarify why the Indy 500 Purse and the “Leaders Circle” program that provides funds to 22 full-time IndyCar members, was additionally lowered.

By holding the race in an empty Speedway, it could make sure the NBC tv contract was met and the much-needed tv cash can be issued.

Followers that had already bought tickets to the 2020 Indy 500 have been issued credit for 2021 or 2022.

Penske was in a position to efficiently information IndyCar and IMS by way of its darkest yr and seemed ahead to a full home in 2021.

However the Marion County Board of Well being noticed a resurgence of COVID and regardless of an enormous vaccination drive, the 105^th Indianapolis 500 must be held with “restricted capability.”

As a substitute of 300,000 spectators, 137,000 have been allowed to attend final yr’s Indy 500 and witness historical past as Helio Castroneves turned the fourth, four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500.

By means of weakening strains of COVID and extra vaccinations, many well being protocols have been lifted or eased. Sporting occasions have been allowed to return to full capability final summer time and that meant the workers of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway might lastly put together for a full home for the 106^th Indianapolis 500 on Could 29, 2022.

After three lengthy years, Roger Penske will lastly get to host the Indianapolis 500 in all of its red-white-and-blue, star-spangled banner, celebrity-watching, Navy-honoring Memorial Day Weekend, Again House Once more in Indiana, full-capacity glory.

There’s a time period that describes Roger Penske’s penchant for element – “Penske Excellent.”

He realized that as a cadet on the prestigious Culver Navy Academy in Marshall County, Indiana when he was a youth from Shaker Heights, Ohio.

“The one factor I realized was to shine my footwear,” Penske stated. “General, that have at Culver was terrific. I realized how one can be a frontrunner. You labored with folks from completely different components of the world at Culver. I might say it was an incredible basis for me to have self-discipline, to grasp you needed to work to get to the entrance and that vital to me in life.”

After the final three years, there may be one other time period that greatest exemplifies the 85-year-old businessman:

“Penske Perseverance.”

I had an unique interview with Penske inside his cellular workplace motorhome generally known as “RP-1.” He offers nice deal concerning the efforts that it took to maintain IndyCar, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and the Indianapolis 500 on observe.

“Clearly, once we signed the paper and gave them our verify again in January of 2020, we had a marketing strategy that had properly in extra of 250,000 folks and that didn’t occur,” Penske defined. “It meant we have been going to have to offer credit to sure clients that weren’t going to have the ability to make it after which hunker down and have a look at bills from the standpoint of the place they have been and the place we might optimize the folks, we had in our total holding firm to run the observe.

“We by no means stopped. We invested one other $20 million in visitor expertise within the observe and that confirmed our private and firm dedication transferring ahead. It was a matter of continuous to take a position. I feel it has paid off.

“With COVID transferring on, we’re actually anxiously awaiting to see what the result is in 2022.”

Penske used the delay of the Indianapolis 500 in 2020 from Could to August as an opportunity to truly get extra work accomplished on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He continued the capital enchancment undertaking, which might have been paused in Could of that yr if the Indy 500 had been run on schedule.

“We knew there have been issues we needed to do,” Penske stated. “We actually took benefit of the shutdown with a view to full issues we would not have had on our listing. The first motive we moved on – with out the collection, we don’t have the Speedway, with out the Speedway, we don’t have a collection. The funding we made to the Speedway was clearly crucial for the collection.

“To me, to have the race even with out followers and be capable of help the opposite promoters for 2 years was vital. We needed to give some a reimbursement from the standpoint of sanction charges, a few of the payout for the groups was much less, however everyone labored as a workforce for the result.”

All through the early days of the pandemic, Penske went to work. He trusted Penske Leisure CEO Mark Miles, Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Doug Boles, and IndyCar President Jay Frye to assist create alternative and implement key selections.

That’s a key part of Penske’s enterprise profession. The Penske Company has been in a position to take over foundering companies and switch them round. He bought the truck leasing arm of Hertz and rebranded it as Hertz-Penske earlier than it turned the extremely profitable Penske Truck Rental.

He created the United Auto Group and Penske Automotive, that are among the many largest automotive dealerships on this planet.

He was profitable in taking Detroit Diesel from an organization that was struggling again to prominence as one of many largest Diesel producers on Earth.

Auto racing, nevertheless, has all the time been Penske’s “golf sport” as he describes it. He was an excellent race driver himself within the 1950 and Nineteen Sixties and was provided a journey from the famed Dean Van Traces workforce for the 1965 Indianapolis 500. Penske, who had only recently been awarded a Chevrolet dealership in Philadelphia, turned it down as a result of Common Motors stated he couldn’t be an energetic race driver and a Chevrolet vendor on the similar time.

That journey went to a younger Italian immigrant from Nazareth, Pennsylvania named Mario Andretti.

As a substitute of driving race vehicles, Penske owned a race workforce. With Mark Donohue as an engineer/driver, the workforce achieved unimaginable success. They arrived on the Indianapolis 500 for the primary time in 1969 and Donohue gave Penske his first Indy 500 win as a workforce proprietor 50 years in the past in 1972.

Fifty years and 18 Indianapolis 500 wins later, Penske is able to welcome the world again to the “World’s Biggest Race Course.”

By means of his steerage and enterprise acumen, Penske has led the Indianapolis 500 by way of some darkish occasions and right into a brighter future.

“We all the time search for under-valued and under-performing,” Penske stated. “I don’t suppose the acquisition worth was undervalued. It was the place it wanted to be. Actually, the efficiency on the Speedway the final many a long time has been superb, or we wouldn’t have the long-lasting Speedway, the largest sporting occasion on this planet. The explanation we continued to guide in was the historical past. We wanted to finish our dedication, and that was by way of good or unhealthy.

“We’ve had more durable conditions. Detroit Diesel was one. We like that. It’s like scratching as a workforce in racing. If you’re a second or two behind in racing, what do you do? You’re employed laborious and have to alter issues.

“That’s what we did. We had a course correction in some instances and continued to take a position, continued to put money into human capital with folks. We now have much more sponsorships now. We’ve been utilizing it for the OEMs for a lot of completely different capabilities within the business.

“I might say it’s a house run proper now.”

From a enterprise standpoint, Penske and IMS had a big stock of credit issued from followers who had already purchased tickets. Final yr, 137,000 of these credit have been utilized by followers to attend the race.

Which means a part of this yr’s crowds might be utilizing credit that have been paid for 3 years in the past.

“Completely, however we’re right down to about $1.2 million credit accessible,” Penske stated. “I might say that inning has closed. Divide $1.2 million by $125 and also you do the maths.

“However there may be a number of contemporary income coming as a result of we have now the suites, we have now the infield, and clearly we can have a minimum of 100,000 extra folks than we had in 2021. We be ok with it. Ticket gross sales are actually sturdy at this level going into the race. I really feel good.

“We now have tried to cope with credit, which is what we have now to do for our followers. We personal the enterprise. We now have a buyer base which is historically the followers that come to the Indianapolis 500. There was no query about it and hopefully, it has created a number of good will.”

The NTT IndyCar Collection seems to be on an upswing in 2021. Crowds have been bigger at each occasion besides the March 20 XPEL 376 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Attendance seemed to be up for final week’s {qualifications} on Saturday and Sunday. IMS officers imagine the primary wide-open Indy 500 since 2019 has created a starvation for the occasion.

They anticipate the most important crowd because the 100^th Indianapolis 500 in 2016 was introduced as a sellout.

“We do anticipate the most important crowd since 2016 and when you have a look at our ticket gross sales, we’re about 10 p.c forward of 2019, which is superb,” Penske stated. “I feel folks wish to get out. We now have a number of race followers that needed to watch it on tv and didn’t have the prospect to return the place they wished to go.

“I feel there may be momentum on the market for lots of sports activities, not simply the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. There isn’t any query that our fan base and this legacy fan that we have now are all coming, they’re bringing their household and their youngsters, and the sponsorship help is healthier than it has ever been.”

Expenditures have been adjusted and after reducing the purse in half in 2020 and 2021, it should return to the 2019 stage, however the further $2 million that Penske was going so as to add in 2020 should wait one other yr.

“We’re not going to announce the purse proper now, however it will likely be considerably bigger than it was final yr,” Penske stated. “It’s too new to make that remark. We wish to see a stage taking part in discipline right here. Have a look at the income, have a look at the seats, what are the prices? One in every of our most vital property are the groups and we wish to make sure that we offer them with all of the funding that we are able to.”

After buying the Speedway in November 2019, and taking official management on January 6, 2020, Penske stepped as much as the plate and anticipated a fastball.

As a substitute, COVID by way of him a curveball.

Like an incredible hitter, Penske was in a position to adapt.

“That’s my day daily,” Penske stated. “I get curveballs in my enterprise. It wasn’t something new; it’s simply managing. With the workforce that Mark Miles and Doug Boles and the workforce we have now in place, they’ve carried out a terrific job. We now have made some modifications. We now have a distinct qualifying for the race weekend, which might be actual thrilling. While you consider six drivers to go for the pole simply earlier than 6 p.m. on nationwide community tv will actually be one thing.

“One of many issues we’ve carried out, we stretch our folks, however we take the individuals who have the experience and add them into the nucleus of our firm. I don’t suppose there may be anyone that’s concerned in our race workforce or concerned in Indianapolis doesn’t love this sport. It’s not only a job for them, it’s particular after they can say they work at Indianapolis or are on a race workforce that’s profitable and offering nationwide, worldwide protection.

“That’s what we would like. It helps construct our model and it helps construct the person’s model. Lots of people have labored for us, moved on and carried out fairly properly on this planet of enterprise.”

In line with his spouse, Kathy, Penske places as a lot time in every enterprise as he does his different companies. The issue is the extra companies Penske owns, the much less time there may be in a day.

He’s infamous for sleeping simply three or 4 hours a day. A lot of his sleep occurs as soon as his personal aircraft takes off on one other enterprise journey.

By some means, he finds the time and devotes his full consideration.

“I’m the chairman of the corporate and I’ve presidents which have the working duty throughout all of our companies,” Penske defined. “We now have Doug Boles and Mark Miles at Penske Leisure. We now have Tim Cindric at Workforce Penske. Brian Laborious at Penske Truck Leasing. We now have these succesful folks throughout the group.

“What I do is have weekly evaluations and month-to-month evaluations with all of our key companies. I wish to journey to a location, so I spend a number of my time on the highway visiting our amenities and getting an opportunity to speak on to all of my workers.”

Penske is “old fashioned” with regards to enterprise. He expects his workers to decorate professionally. He prefers shaking fingers and searching folks within the eye. He hates litter on worker’s desks, and he needs folks to be within the workplace, as an alternative of on ZOOM.

“I feel you must have a look at the circumstances we had over the past 24 months with COVID,” Penske stated. “Individuals weren’t allowed to exit from a authorized perspective. We wish to work with our folks. Eighty to ninety p.c of our folks labored throughout COVID as a result of we’re a necessary enterprise. We had folks engaged on vehicles and dealing on vehicles and folks working on the Speedway. It’s a part of our MO.

“We now have flexibility for sure issues significant to an worker, however I feel you’re seeing folks desirous to get again to going to work now fairly than keep house. Some folks acquired into the groove of desirous to work from home, however when you rent those who solely wish to work on a display and don’t have an opportunity to have that high-tech, excessive contact with them might be a mistake.

“That might be a steadiness we are going to have a look at over the following 5 to 10 years. The place will we find yourself? Will we have now 4, 10-hour days? We can have a rotation so far as days you’re employed. We now have girls which have youngsters. We have to deal with single moms. General, it’s too new to price on what’s the greatest method for it. We would like our folks, particularly the important thing folks, to have the ability to see them.

“Throughout COVID, we had ZOOM conferences each single day. I went into the official daily and linked by ZOOM. As quickly because it was protected to journey, we traveled and met with folks in a protected setting based mostly on what have been the legal guidelines in that exact state or setting.”

One different factor about Penske and his enterprise philosophy:

Don’t ever inform him “No.”

“I feel the phrase ‘no’ shouldn’t be in our vocabulary,” Penske stated. “We must always all the time say, ‘Let’s check out it. Is there a piece round right here? Is there one other strategy to handle it? Is there one other means to do that?’

“From a piece ethic, we have now nice folks. From my perspective, they work laborious. I feel they’re proud to work right here. We now have little or no turnover of our senior administration workforce. For those who look the metrics of different firms, we’re means forward of the typical.”

There may be one other key part to Penske’s potential as a enterprise man.

It’s the power to pivot. That’s what he needed to do on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and at his different companies on the Penske Company.

“As I have a look at our enterprise over the past 24 months, we needed to pivot in some ways, folks working from house, coping with household and pals in dire want well being sensible,” Penske defined. “Our provide chain has been interrupted right here over the past a number of months. We now have the conflict within the Ukraine that has compounded that.

“However total, we’re a necessary enterprise. We’re offering vehicles and automobiles throughout 4 continents and 9 international locations. We now have 63,000 folks and our revenues in 2021 have been over $35 billion. Happily, we had the most effective return we had for our shareholders in historical past. The primary quarter numbers can be found for everyone to take a look at.

“We noticed that very same outcome going ahead. We now have to watch out. Rates of interest are going up. On-line, from what I perceive, has slowed down. We’re seeing a few of that in our on-line auto enterprise, it’s softening, however from the enterprise we’re getting in retailer is rising. From a retail auto facet, there isn’t a query that persons are driving miles as a result of our components and repair enterprise has gone up. A byproduct of individuals getting out is now extra components and repair. That’s the fastened protection we get from that margin in our enterprise.”

With a lot duty and so many various companies within the transportation, automotive and motorsports industries, Penske continues to search for new ventures and alternatives.

At 85, the phrase “retirement” shouldn’t be in his vocabulary.

“We’re all the time methods so as to add further upkeep places for our truck leasing,” he stated. “We now have made 4 or 5 acquisitions this yr on our automotive facet, each domestically and internationally, and we are going to proceed that journey over the following yr for certain.

“There’s a pipeline of alternatives we’re all the time coping with. I wouldn’t say that it’s any better at this time than it was previously. There are some those who after COVID as a result of multiples are excessive on companies and rates of interest have been low, it was a great time to promote and a great time to purchase.

“We now have a really measured strategy as we go ahead. Our greatest focus is on the standard of our steadiness sheet and our leverage is .7 debt to cap and our automotive is 26 p.c. These are world class numbers in our enterprise. We even have much less debt on the finish of the quarter in our truck leasing enterprise the place we have now $16 billion of property than we did a yr in the past, but we grew the enterprise 20 p.c.

“I feel we’re heading in the right direction.

On Sunday, when Penske steps as much as the microphone to offer the command, “Gents, Begin Your Engines” to begin the 106^th Indianapolis 500, he will definitely be at “the proper observe” as he welcomes 300,000 followers “Again House Once more in Indiana.”