| bob jennings' WORLD O' RACING |
Comments and Observations (originally presented 05/15/99)
October 19, 2005
Roger Penske leaves the garage area to prepare for the start of the 1985 "Indianapolis 500"
photo by Bob Jennings
When I took this photo, about an hour prior to the start of the 1985 "Indianapolis 500," Roger Penske was the "lord of the domain," so to speak, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The previous May, Penske had seen one of his cars, driven by Rick Mears, score an "Indianapolis 500" win, for the fourth time. Penske had three cars, in the 1985 field, driven by Mears, Danny Sullivan and Al Unser, each with a good chance of winning. At the finish of the 1985 race, the Miller American March - Cosworth, driven by Sullivan, brought a fifth Indianapolis victory to the Penske team.
At the end of Penske's 25 year Indianapolis career, his cars won ten times, including 1994, the final year a Penske car would start the "500." The following year, Penske walked away, from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in defeat. Neither of his two entries, driven by winners of four of the previous six Indianapolis events, Al Unser Jr. and Emerson Fittipaldi, were fast enough to make the field.
Failure to qualify, for Indianapolis, in 1995, seemed to be the start of the downward spiral, for the Penske Indy car team. In the period since, Penske cars have won a total of six CART events; three by Al Unser Jr., in 1995, and three by Paul Tracy, in 1997. The next time a Penske car wins a CART race, it will be the 100th Indy (championship) car win for the team, but that win seems unlikely right now.
Roger Penske appears to have shifted his focus from racing to building his wealth. At first, I thought that Penske missed being at Indianapolis, each May, with his high profile racing "armada," and that was the reason for the mediocrity of his once great racing team. However, with three recent business moves, I'm beginning to think that growing his fortune exceeds the need to win on the race track for the "Captain." Within the past couple months, Penske sold 700,000 of his 800,000 CART shares, at a huge gain. A few weeks later, he purchased controlling interest in an operating group, which makes his empire of auto dealerships among the largest in the world. This past week saw the announcement of a deal for International Speedway Corporation ("the Bill France family") to acquire majority ownership of the Penske speedways, Michigan, Nazareth, Rockingham and California and Penske's interest in the Miami Homestead facility. Penske will hold a 12 per cent interest in International Speedway Corporation and he and son, Greg Penske, will have seats on the ISC board.
Whether Roger Penske is getting out of the racing business remains to be seen, but the merger with ISC shocked the racing world, the week before activity for the 1999 "Indianapolis 500" begins.
There is a wild and chaotic period of change taking place within the motorsports world. I've been watching racing closely since 1955 and I haven't seen anything like it before. I used to think the 1960's represented the sport's most dynamic period, but that wasn't anything like the second half of the 1990's.
| 10/16/2005 | Danica and other things that matter too - a look at some topics on my radar screen |
| 07/30/2005 | What does Tomas Scheckter have to do to win a race? - it all came together at Texas |
| 07/17/2005 | Formula
|
| 05/29/2005 | "500" eve - up all night waiting for my fiftieth trip to the "Indianapolis 500" |
| 05/08/2005 | I still can't believe it. How can Lady Luck be so cruel? - What does Tomas Scheckter have to do to win a race? |
| 03/21/2005 | pretty neat stuff - Peter Bilynsky looks at motor sport from the Ukraine |
| 02/21/2005 | Nigel comes to the Speedway. Jim Clark and Al Unser come to mind. - Here comes another journey around the motor sports galaxy. Pack for a long trip. |
| 09/06/2004 | Adios Little Al, observations at 58, recalling Da(y)na, NASCAR versus Indy and the misfortunes of poor Tomas - racing is life, life is racing |
| 06/16/2004 | Hello
again. |
| 02/14/2004 | "cause there's no escape from the rajahs of erase" - Judge Otte granted a last reprieve but CART is still doomed. |
| 12/25/2003 | we feel the blues when we lose - Merry Christmas. |
| 10/05/2003 | a medley of heroes and favorites - From Indy in May to Watkins Glen in October and many points in between, hop on the 230 mph racing time machine for a trip to then and now and back. |
| 07/26/2003 | the big three go like stink! - with nine races down, de Ferran, Dixon and Hornish lead the IRL charge |
| 07/20/2003 | while I was away, I got much older - a little personal misery, a little Steely Dan, another Al Unser Jr. victory |
| 06/07/2003 | "500" diary; 48 down and still in love - the take on my 48th "Indy" |
| 05/04/2003 | taking shape and changing identities - bringing the "new IRL" to the 87th "Indianapolis 500" |
| 04/18/2003 | John Charles Dailey (July 28, 1946 - March 13, 2003) - remembering my life long friend and favorite racing buddy |
| 03/01/2003 | wheel to wheel; needle nose rockets - the IRL begins season number eight with new cars, teams, drivers and a lot of questions to be answered |
| 02/16/2003 | Junior's coronation? - here comes another "Daytona 500" |
| 01/26/2003 | The four chapters: Michael Schumacher's career - Formula One's all time number one |
| 12/25/2002 | Reawakening - a chronicle of the 2002 season for Al Unser Jr. |
| 09/15/2002 | the "Brickyard 400" experience - Old Town Carmel style - memories and the "Brickyard 400" |
| 08/19/2002 | Tom Terrific and the greatest show on earth - back to Michigan to see Scheckter finally get that win |
| 07/20/2002 | "500" diary; Faster amongst the chaos - hopefully better late than never; my detailed, personal look at the 86th "Indianapolis 500" |
| 05/25/2002 | "500" forecast; looking forward to number 47 - Gentleman start your engines |
| 05/05/2002 | "500" forecast; looking ahead on opening day - the chase to win the 86th "Indianapolis 500" begins |
| 05/04/2002 | "500" diary; "Practice Friday" - changing personalities for a dynamic day |
| 04/27/2002 | "500" diary; dang me - then and now - a never ending website dilemma |
| 04/07/2002 | I got the Tony Stewart ain't gonna do the "Indy 500" - small crowd at Fontana - rememberin' Jimmy Clark blues - things aren't going my way |
| 03/23/2002 | Is DC good enough? - can Coulthard be World Champion? |
| 03/02/2002 | A big favor and a second chance - this is Little Al's year to repay Tony George and his fans |
| 02/17/2002 | Ford versus Mopar; when the "Daytona 500" was so cool - a great era for the Great American Race |
| 02/03/2002 | "500" diary; settling into 2001 amidst some old memories - the "500" practice beat goes on and it reminds me of the old days |
| 01/26/2002 | Talking about forever - miscellaneous ramblings about the 2001 racing season |
| 12/31/2001 | Say it ain't so Little Al - is Al Unser Jr. going to NASCAR? |
| 12/22/2001 | Moving day - a new home and a bunch of other stuff |
| 12/22/2001 | "Racin' Around" with Chuck Walden - "Welcome back, Mr. Penske. Robin, get a clue." |
| 11/11/2001 | Pouring more salt in the wound - continuing to watch CART's show of self destruction |
| 10/30/2001 | Give it up. You blew it. - is CART dying? |
| 10/13/2001 | "500" diary; welcome back Tony - Tony Stewart comes back to the "500" |
| 09/08/2001 | Goin' USAC'n with my favorites - another look at USAC history and competition |
| 08/01/2001 | "500" diary; an afternoon with Little Al - practice begins for the 85th "Indianapolis 500" |
| 07/10/2001 | A fishy smell under the shadow - a look at Winston Cup racing in the 2001 season so far |
| 06/26/2001 | Indy car wars; back and forth - up and down - CART wins on the race track; the IRL wins everywhere else |
| 05/25/2001 | Little Al versus Mikey - together again in the "Indianapolis 500" |
| 04/19/2001 | Tony and that first trip - the "Tinley Park Express" and my first visit to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway |
| 03/21/2001 | Remembering the Intimidator - mourning the late, great Dale Earnhardt |
| 01/22/2001 | New year, new stories - Good bye to Robin Miller and On Track magazine. Hello to the new racing season. |
| 01/07/2001 | "Al, you're my hero" - Al Unser memories: some of his cars and the all time lap leading record in the "Indianapolis 500" |
| 11/23/2000 | Mario's big time breakout - a look at Andretti's entry into racing's upper echelon |
| 10/20/2000 | September Saturdays at the "Hoosier Hundred" - looking back at a classic |
| 09/20/2000 | In the zone - memories of great seasons and races during the 2000 season |
| 09/11/2000 | Talking about A.J. - a look at "Super Tex" and a few memories along the way |
| 09/04/2000 | The F1 plot twists and turns - there's been a lot of changes since Imola |
| 07/23/2000 | In memory of Kenny Irwin, in praise of Ryan Newman - profiling two of USAC's best |
| 07/03/2000 | Ganassi's "greatest moment" - my take on the 84th "Indianapolis 500" |
| 06/10/2000 | Little Al's return - Unser Jr. comes back to race in the "Indianapolis 500" after a five year absence |
| 05/30/2000 | "500" pre-race; ain't no sunshine but it's still a great show - congratulations to winner Juan Montoya and a look at "Indianapolis 500" pre-race action |
| 05/17/2000 | A May medley - it's "Indianapolis 500" time. I'm thinking about Buddy Lazier and a long lost pal. |
| 04/29/2000 | A mixed bag as things get going - some NASCAR, CART and Formula One |
| 04/02/2000 | Go Kenny go! - win some CART races for the IRL Kenny Brack |
| 03/21/2000 | Who is Jenson Button? Where is Alex Zanardi? - there were some new names but the GP of Australia was the same story |
| 03/19/2000 | NASCAR 2k post-Daytona - thoughts on the early Winston Cup races |
| 03/04/2000 | More USAC-mania - more travels around Indiana to catch the local racing scene |
| 02/26/2000 | Outstanding job car 88, but you were too good - there goes the "Daytona 500" |
| 02/20/2000 | Gotta talk about the Great American Race - here comes the "Daytona 500" |
| 02/18/2000 | Off and running in Florida - racing begins in the new millennium and the sport experiences more tragedy |
| 01/27/2000 | Lord, please let Little Al and the IRL succeed - it's time for Disney World again |
| 01/22/2000 | NASCAR building blocks - NASCAR's path to the major leagues |
| 12/13/99 | The ups and downs of being an Indy car fan - it's tough sometimes |
| 12/11/99 | Nigel Mansell - out to show the world - my look at the Mansell F1 World Championship |
| 10/30/99 | Eddie Irvine, Goodyear going away, Ganassi going to Toyota; it's a crazy world out there - looking to the F1 finale and a week of big news |
| 10/15/99 | A lot going on in a hurry - a little bit about a lot of stuff |
| 10/02/99 | "So now let's just get on with life" - no Indy car reunification for now |
| 09/06/99 | Old favorites, good memories - fondly recalling the 1993 "Marlboro 500" at Michigan |
| 08/22/99 | NASCAR - the National Association for SLOW car auto racing - a look at the 1999 "Brickyard 400." I still think the "Indianapolis 500" is better. |
| 08/04/99 | This and that during "Brickyard 400" week - Indianapolis heats up for NASCAR while problems plague Indy car and open wheel racing |
| 07/05/99 | USAC-mania - following USAC racing around Indiana |
| 06/12/99 | Once again the "greatest spectacle" - a look at May 1999 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway |
| 05/15/99 | Third time's a charm - the world of racing as practice for the 83rd "Indianapolis 500" begins |