Team Penske

Lore & Background

Team Penske's involvement in IndyCar racing dates back to 1968, when Roger Penske first entered the series with a stock block-powered Eagle chassis driven by Mark Donohue. The team made its debut at the Indianapolis 500 in 1969, where Donohue earned the title of Rookie of the Year. In 1971, Donohue delivered Team Penske's first IndyCar victory at the Pocono 500, and the following year, he secured the team's first Indianapolis 500 victory in May 1972. In 1978, Penske - alongside Pat Patrick, Dan Gurney, and several other prominent team owners - co-founded Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART). The open-wheel division of Penske Racing was based in Reading, Pennsylvania from 1973 onward. During the Formula One and CART eras, the team's cars were constructed in Poole, Dorset, England, which also served as the base of the Formula One operation. On October 31, 2005, Penske Racing announced that, following the conclusion of the 2006 IRL season, it would consolidate its IndyCar and NASCAR operations at its facility in Mooresville, North Carolina. However, due to severe flooding in Pennsylvania in 2006, the relocation to Mooresville occurred earlier than originally planned.

In Their Own Story

The morning air off the lake is still cold when the first Penske car rolls out of the garage at Indianapolis. You can hear it before you see it — that low, four-cylinder growl building in the revs as the driver settles in. The crew chief walks the line with a clipboard, calling out torque specs in a flat, unhurried voice. A young mechanic, still in his second season, double-checks a suspension arm and gives a thumbs-up. No one is in a hurry. They don't need to be. Behind them, the grandstands are still empty, the concrete apron glistening with dew, and the famous Turn 1 banking looms like a wall of pale concrete against a grey sky. Somewhere in the paddock, a radio crackles with weather updates. But here, in this blue-and-white bubble, the only thing that matters is whether the car is right. And it is. It's always right. That's the thing about Penske. You don't need to check twice.

Reader's Guide

Team Penske currently fields three entries in the IndyCar Series: the No. 2 Hitachi Dallara/Chevrolet driven by Josef Newgarden, the No. 3 Dallara/Chevrolet driven by Scott McLaughlin, and the No. 12 Verizon Dallara/Chevrolet driven by David Malukas. Among the team's most notable former drivers are four-time Indianapolis 500 winners Al Unser, Rick Mears, and Hélio Castroneves. At the 2024 Indianapolis 500, Team Penske claimed its record 20th victory in the prestigious event. The team has also secured the IndyCar Series championship 16 times. As of August 11, 2025, Team Penske has achieved: 20 victories in the Indianapolis 500, 18 pole positions at the Indianapolis 500, 200* open-wheel race wins across USAC, CART, and IRL, 29 victories in 500-mile races, 13 open-wheel championships. In total, the team has made 2,064 starts in IndyCar competition, earned 231 pole positions, 244 wins, and 308 poles.

Did You Know?

• Team Penske made its competitive debut at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona, not in the early 1970s.
• Mark Donohue was the team's first IndyCar driver, not Mario Andretti, who drove for the team from 1976–1980.
• The team's first Indianapolis 500 victory came in 1972 with Mark Donohue.
• Team Penske co-founded CART in 1978 alongside Pat Patrick and Dan Gurney.