CHARLOTTE, N.C. Somewhat overshadowed by using the stifling scrutiny of NASCAR’s new policies package was every other Team Penske victory. Joey Logano held off teammate Brad Keselowski’s final-lap push to win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway — the fourth victory for a Roger Penske automobile in seven days. Keselowski and Logano drove Ford’s new Mustang to consecutive Cup victories the final weeks, while in Australia reigning Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin swept the weekend inside the debut of that new edition of the Mustang. It’s quite a begin for Penske, who remaining month changed into inducted into NASCAR’s Hall of Fame, feted at the Royal Automobile Club in London and celebrated his 82nd birthday. Penske in January hunkered down for the entire Rolex 24 at Daytona, wherein certainly one of his Acura entries pulled out a third-vicinity finish. Penske will spend this week chairing the Penske Corp., his privately held transportation services organization beforehand of the IndyCar season opener at the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. He may have 3 Chevrolets inside the race, all piloted using championship-contending drivers.
The Penske wave of fulfillment is a continuation from remaining year while the business enterprise celebrated its five hundredth regular win, Logano received the Cup championship, McLaughlin received the Supercars identify, and Will Power become Penske’s seventeenth Indianapolis 500 winner. At a time while the price of motorsports is continuously questioned — the overall spend by way of groups, sources for technology and development, sponsorship budgets and advertising and marketing plans — Penske continually gets the most bang for the buck. “The Captain” is one of the most vital figures in North American racing and his unwavering aid and dedication is a steadying force for the duration of tumultuous times. Penske has been a constant public supporter of NASCAR’s new rules package, which made its full debut Sunday at Las Vegas. NASCAR believes the brand new rules will make for higher racing, although teams still do not know how it’ll play out over a whole season. Fans have been promised it will, at minimal, make for a more celebrated exciting show.
The new regulations have been received as both polarizing and promising, but Penske has been one of the maximum essential backers of NASCAR’s course. “We all have a tendency to do what is pleasant for us, and on the end of the day we’ve got to consider what’s exceptional for the corporation,” Penske stated in a recent interview with The Associated Press. “And my dad informed me a long term in the past if you’re constantly thinking about what’s fine for you, your organization is never going to get there. Your choices are based totally on what is excellent for the corporation, first-rate for the enterprise, great for NASCAR.” His opinion has been confirmed with wins within the two races with the new opposition bundle. The victories for Logano and Keselowski gave Penske the early edge in the Ford camp and the first celebrations with the Mustang. It additionally gave Penske any other opportunity to show he believes in letting his drivers race each different at the very part while the checkered flag is on the line. Logano and Keselowski ran more like rivals than teammates over the very last lap at Las Vegas, and that end helped NASCAR tout Sunday as a fulfillment. But they would now not have raced each different so hard if the boss doesn’t approve, and Penske’s philosophy was for the betterment of the general product.
“I honestly don’t have any favorites,” he said. “Only one goes to win popping out of the stable. We’ve truly told them to attend to each different, at the stop of 10 laps the exceptional guy wins.” Penske plans to be in St. Pete this weekend, thoroughly invested in Power, Simon Pagenaud, Josef Newgarden, and the IndyCar attempt. Televisions positioned in the course of his at-song office could be tuned to the NASCAR activities in Phoenix, and his govt team could have him briefed on every critical development. Racing at almost each level is weathering a reset and trying to find stable footing in a crowded sports activities and amusement area. The rebuilding duration has been trying for the entire motorsports enterprise, however as long as Penske remains firmly on board, the combat nevertheless has la large cost.
