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Victory Was Golden Moment For 'The Captain'

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By MARTIN FENNELLY | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 18, 2008

DAYTONA BEACH - Here's to The Captain.

He wouldn't have traded Sunday for all the money in the world, which, by the way, he puts on the top of his bedroom dresser when he takes off his pants at night.

Roger Penske, that tower of power, listed by Forbes as one of the world's richest people, won his first Daytona 500 and NASCAR restrictor-plate race Sunday. To celebrate, he'd like to buy everyone in Florida dinner.

Go ahead. Try the lobster.

Sorry, Roger, we got excited.

Maybe, deep in Penske's 70-year-old heart, that other 500 - the Indianapolis one - will always matter more.

You wouldn't have known after Ryan Newman charged past Tony Stewart on the 200th and final lap of the 50th Daytona 500 to win for the team owner who has nearly everything, and who is generally regarded as one of the good and gentle knights in sport.

"This has to go to the top of the charts," Penske said.

And nobody has charts like this guy.

Unconquered Territory

He began driving cars 50 years ago.

His workers call him "The Captain," and he is known as much for his grace as his winning and multi-billions.

Leave it to Roger Penske, one of the great figures in racing, to finally summit at Daytona on the 500's 50th anniversary, a golden moment.

Penske drivers have won the Indianapolis 500 14 times.

Penske Corporation has 40,000 employees around the globe.

But Daytona was unconquered. At Daytona, Penske was just another name, or at least as much of another name as he can be.

The Empire had a hole in it. The Great American Success Story had never won The Great American Race.

"Coming down here has been tough," Penske said.

For 30 years, Penske drivers tried and tried.

Hey, we're sure Bill Gates had a clunky computer or two.

Penske had NASCAR successes, but no driver championships or Daytona wins. Rusty Wallace nearly won the points title for Penske in 1993. Bobby Allison nearly won the Daytona 500 in a Penske car in 1975.

It took Ryan Newman, the thinking man's driver (ah, a NASCAR driver with a college degree in engineering), to win the 500. His wife and father cried and cried. Newman, an Indiana boy, grew up dreaming of winning some of those Indy 500s Penske racers won.

Here's what mattered most of all to Penske:

"I think it was a pure team effort."

Penske racer Kurt Busch - yes, one of the battling Busch brothers - helped Newman break Stewart's heart. Stewart, running first, went down low heading toward Turn 3 on the final lap. Busch stayed back of Newman and eventually pushed them to a 1-2 Penske finish.

"I was very emotional crossing the line finishing second," Kurt Busch said, "because I knew we did something very special for The Captain."

Free Penske truck leases for everyone!

Sorry, Roger, we got excited.

Teamwork Carried The Day

Maybe none of this made sense to the old-timers who were everywhere you looked Sunday, all those past Daytona 500 champions on hand for the 50th. What was this teamwork thing, pushing somebody else?

Well, that was how the race was won Sunday. Kurt Busch did the helping. Ryan Newman, who hadn't won since 2005, did the winning. And Roger Penske did the beaming.

Once upon a time, old-timers at the Indy 500 wondered if Penske, the former driver, was ever going to win the big one as an owner. That is, until Penske racer Mark Donohue (another engineering graduate, imagine that) won Indy in 1972.

Daytona took a little longer.

So, try the lobster tonight.

It's on The Captain.

Sorry, Roger.

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