Roger Penske - Biography

Last Editor: igende				Roger Penske Biography -   Name : Roger Penske Profession : owner of a very successful automobile racing team Penske Racing Birth Details : born February 20, 1937 in Shaker Heights, Ohio

Roger Penske Trivia -

N/A

Roger Penske Detailed Biography -

Roger Penske (born February 20, 1937 in Shaker Heights, Ohio) is the owner of a very successful automobile racing team Penske Racing, the Penske Corporation, and other automotive related businesses. Roger Penske has five children with wife Kathy: Roger Penske Jr, Greg Penske, Jay Penske, Mark Penske, and daughter Blair Penske. He is a graduate of Lehigh University, PA. He also is one of the corporate directors at General Electric and was chairman of Super Bowl XL in Detroit, Michigan. Starting in 1958, Penske purchased, raced and sold race cars, and was very successful both financially and on the track. By 1960, he was a well known race car driver (Sports Illustrated Driver of the Year), winning prestigious races until 1965, when he retired as a driver, to concentrate on the business of owning and running a successful race car team. His team first competed in the Indianapolis 500 in 1969, winning that event 13 times between 1972 and 2003, and their first NASCAR win was in 1973. His teams have won many races in the subsequent years. He closed his European-based Formula One business in 1977. In 1982, he became the Chairman of the Penske Truck Leasing business. Penske Racing now operates a NASCAR team comprising Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman and Travis Kvapil. They also operate an Indy Racing League team composed of Helio Castroneves and Sam Hornish, Jr. Previously, they ran cars in the CART series that included some of the best drivers of the time, including Gary Bettenhausen, Tom Sneva, Mario Andretti, Bobby Unser, Al Unser, Al Unser, Jr., Emerson Fittipaldi, Rick Mears, Danny Sullivan, Paul Tracy and Gil de Ferran. In 1998, Penske was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. Jay Penske, Son of Roger Penske. Is a Wharton School of Business Graduate and currently sits on the Entrepreneurial Board of the Wharton School, he is Chairman and CEO of his own technology company, Velocity Services, Inc. A company in which he founded in 2003. Velocity Services is an interactive media and technology company that provides affinity-based, Private Label Communication ("PLC") products and services to large corporations, sports franchises, universities, entertainment entities, non-profit foundations and other large affinity organizations. Under his leadership the company has become one of the foremost interactive media and technology companies, now supporting over 200 affinity clients. Additionally, he was a Founder and Chairman of Firefly Mobile, Inc. Jay co-authored the initial Firefly business plan and led the company as its Chairman, while recruiting and hiring its distinguished executive management team. Firefly is a Chicago-based innovative wireless company that engages in the development and patenting of revolutionary youth targeted products and services. www.FireflyMobile.com Jay is also the Founder and President of Dragon Books, Ltd., an antiquarian bookseller, which trades and sells rare and first-edition books www.DragonBooks.com. Jay, is also former boyfriend of Actresses Gina Gershon, Lara Flynn Boyle, and Jordana Brewster. Gregory Penske, Son of Roger Penske. President and Director of Penske Automotive Group Inc., El Monte, California (car dealership operator). PAG is the largest retailor of Toyota Cars in the world, selling over 1.5 billion dollars worth of Toyota products every year. Longo Toyota and Lexus make up the largest car dealership in the world, selling a car every 8 minutes. Catering to multiple ethnicities has proved to be a winning formula. Longo came in first on industry tracker Ward's 2004 list of top-selling dealerships. It sold 20,320 new vehicles last year - an average of 56 cars and trucks every day - on a lot so big that it has its own Starbucks and Subway shops. He is also a Director of Penske Corporation and International Speedway Corp. Director of ALLTEL since 2000. Greg, is also on Board of Directors of International Speedway Corporation and former President of California Speedway. Roger S. Penske, Jr, Son of Roger Penske. Is majority owner and director of Orange 21, INC a sunglasses and goggles manufacturer. As of 2001 is President of Mid-Atlantic Region for United Auto Group. Penske Racing - Marlboro Team Penske (IRL), Penske South (Nascar) , Penske Motorsports (ALMS) United Auto Group - (UAG:NYSE - a 40+% stake) 151 United States Car Dealerships and 101 International Car Dealerships Penske Automotive Group - Owns and operates automobile dealerships in California. Penske Truck Leasing - Joint venture with GE Equipment Management Penske Logistics - Transportation Logistics VM Motori S.p.A. - Owns 51% stake and 49% DaimlerChrysler Group. , Truck-Lite, and Davco (transportation component manufacturing). Truck-Lite - Lighting Manufacturer for Heavy trucks (18 Wheelers) QEK Global Solutions - QEK Global Solutions is a provider of a wide range of integrated support services to vehicle manufacturers, their tier-one suppliers, and other businesses outside the automotive sector. Davco - Manufacturer of Class 8 Heavy Duty Diesel powered truck fuel/heater water separators and filter systems. Ilmor - Engine builder Deer Valley Ski Resort - Deer Valley Ski Resort