Roger Penske Question

[TedN]

A friend of mine is working on an article about Penske and has wondered out loud why no book has ever been written about the man, especially given his success in business and racing.

Any idea why?

Ted

[climb]

Strange, considering that he's not very keen on understatement...

[climb]

... maybe because he should mainly be praised, and i think there aren't many people around who are eager to..

[gttouring]

Penske is stil very much alive to fight off any coming story on him, and even as a public figure- i bet he hold rights to himself- Much like Steven spielberg holds a copyright of his image and self, so no one tabloid or proper news can use him for anything without premission, so for a man worth 15 billion a year like Penske, i bet he won't let anyone get to close-
there have been plenty of article on him throughtout the years, i bet they can be collected together as a collective life story biography...

[marcus]

would be a great book to read though wouldnt it.

certainly one i'd purchase if it was ever written.

[Dov]

Originally posted by marcus
would be a great book to read though wouldnt it.

certainly one i'd purchase if it was ever written.

Spend another cent on that troll?

[marcus]

I'd rather read about him than you Dov

[Dov]

Originally posted by marcus
I'd rather read about him than you Dov

I would have read and enjoyed his book if Penske had stayed where he belonged! While we almost always disagree, I'm still having fun with our little discussions now and then. Stay cool Marcus, but don't drink to much of that Kool-Aid...

P.S. I admit that Indycool has been better lately (just a bit) and he's become tolerable, but could you still knock some sense into him for me from time to time?

[Morris 1100]

Originally posted by Dov
I would have read and enjoyed his book if Penske had stayed where he belonged!

In F1?
In Trans Am?
In Can Am?
In Sports Cars?
In Cart?
In the drivers seat?

[Dov]

Originally posted by Morris 1100
In F1?
In Trans Am?
In Can Am?
In Sports Cars?
In Cart?
In the drivers seat?

IN CART!!!

[dirtfan]

Penske is the proverbial 600 pound gorilla- he belongs where he damn well pleases!
My son-in-law just bought a car from a Penske agency, said it was the most professional, least hasseling agency he'd ever dealt with, the salesman told him Roger demanded professionalism.
The man knows how to make a buck (or megabuck). Sort of the cut through the ap-cray attitude like Iacocca. A book about his his business philosophy would make interesting reading- especially for the CART BOD.

[Dov]

Originally posted by dirtfan
Penske is the proverbial 600 pound gorilla- he belongs where he damn well pleases!
My son-in-law just bought a car from a Penske agency, said it was the most professional, least hasseling agency he'd ever dealt with, the salesman told him Roger demanded professionalism.
The man knows how to make a buck (or megabuck). Sort of the cut through the ap-cray attitude like Iacocca. A book about his his business philosophy would make interesting reading- especially for the CART BOD.

(1)Penske is now the 600 pound ****!

(2)I'm not defending the CART BOD! Hell no's they haven't been doing their jobs right over (most) the years, but they have been working hard over the past 2-3 years to try and turn things around.

(3)If Roger was and is such a great businessmen, then why didn't he stick around and help CART instead of chasing the $$$ to go IRLing?

P.S. Do you always believe what a salesman tells you?

[gttouring]

i have worked for penske in the past, and I can say that he demands professionalism- even the mechanics must wear long sleeves to hide tattoos, and the floors are cleaned 3 times a day in garages, and evrything matches the garage and sales are per corporate color- i.e. Black and brass/gold in a lexus place, black on silver at BMW (huh?) Blue and silver at MB, Red and white/silver at toyota places, he even visits the car sale places monthly! unbelievable organization and what a microscope he uses to watch places..
funny story- I had never met him (on our first occasion) and he walked up to me (i assume he saw my name behind me on a plaque or something) he said "Hi David, so nice to see you AGAIN. how are things? any recommendations or ideas?"
Now that is a sharp guy! never had he seen me and he picked up on the environment to read my name from somewhere....
he also has a travelling secretary who takes notes on everything he says, and what employees tell him - good bit for conversations next time perhaps?
so believing a penske salesman is quite easy to do, although they are often full of horse (edit) when they are selling stuff, but if they say Penske wants- its most likely true. ever heard of UAG- United auto Group- it is his (now public) chain of 'automalls' where it is the same procedure and presentation internationally, and you can work there and work at any UAG store by transferr if you move... it is at 2002 numbers a 10.6 billion dollar enterprise, not counting Penske truck leasing, his personal car stores in California, Michigan and Pennsylvania, and his Penske Shocks (dampers and i believe springs) development company, and Penske Materials(carbon and aluminum and his racing shops for R&D for engines and related parts- Penske Racing West(IRL,CHampcars, Trans-Am/Can-Am was in this bunch i believe) Penske racing South (NASCAR.) and who knows what else- incredible, why his story and business saavy has never been written on or outlined is a mystery- and his son Greg is said to be even more of a stickler to details


EDIT: No dodging the autocensor. You know better. You're not hanging around a factory here, you're on an open forum with people of all ages.
Please, and thanks.

[dirtfan]

"(3)If Roger was and is such a great businessmen, then why didn't he stick around and help CART instead of chasing the $$$ to go IRLing?"
Because he IS a great businessman- DUH!

DIRTFAN THE CORRECFT PRONNOUNCIATION IS IRLING NOT WHAT YOU TYPED, WE HAVE A NEW SYSTEM HERE WHERE WE DO NOT SLAM THE OTHER SERIES BY CALLING IT PETTY NAMES. THIS HAS BEEN AGREED ON BY BOTH THE MODERERATORS AND THE MANAGEMENT.
PLEASE REFRAIN FROM DOING THIS IN FUTURE.

[Dov]

Originally posted by dirtfan
Because he IS a great businessman- DUH!

WRONG, it's because he is a traitor! - DUH! Look up the word "loyalty" in the dictionary....that's if you've ever heard of the word.

[dirtfan]

Actually, I was a fan of TG when he had Joe Gosek, Billy Boat, Jack Hewett and all the other short track drivers who were thankful for the opportunity to go to Indy.

[macdaddy]

Dirtfan...

I wish you had enabled PM's, that I might explain to you the reason why your post was editted. I'm sure you've got questions, but I cannot provide you the answers here.

[Emfa]

Thought I might try to bring this back on topic...

Originally posted by TedN
...
Any idea why?

Seems to me that gttouring's hypothesis is probably the best. We may have to wait until he's gone to read the story (if son Greg allows?).

BTW - has anyone read Mark Donohue's The Unfair Advantage? That may be the closest thing there is to an inside look at Penske's racing interests.