Penske team geared up for another successful NASCAR run

As 50 years of his cars and drivers and Victory Lane celebrations flashed across screens on either side of him, “The Captain” neatly summed up the past and present of Team Penske.

“I think once you’re in this business it’s so hard to get out,” Roger Penske said half-jokingly Wednesday afternoon during Day 2 of the 34th annual Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour presented by Technocom. “To me, it’s my day job on the weekends. I’ll be at the races as long as I can stand up and that’s for one reason – to win.”

Consider yourselves warned, all NASCAR Nation and Verizon Indy Series rivals. At age 78, neither the white-haired Penske nor his drivers in their starched white shirts are resting on their … laurels.

“I guarantee you there is no complacency with this guy sitting on the end,” said Sprint Cup Series star Joey Logano, glancing at his boss. “I think all of us know that. We’ve lived through that. We want to win trophies for Roger and win a championship. Anything less than that we don’t consider it success.”

Launched as Roger Penske Racing in 1966, competing in sports car and endurance events, Team Penske has evolved into one of the most successful racing teams — and sports franchises — in the world. The team won its class in the 24 Hours of Daytona in its first start and since has accumulated a combined 424 wins, 487 pole positions and 28 national championships. Those totals include a record 16 Indianapolis 500 victories, two Daytona 500 wins and the distinction of being the last American constructor to win a Formula One race, in 1976 with driver John Watson.

Penske’s “homegrown” 2016 NASCAR lineup features Logano and 2012 Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski in Ford Fusions, as well as rising star Ryan Blaney in the Xfinity Series in a Ford Mustang. Penske’s brain trust remains intact with President Tim Cindric and Walt Czarnecki, executive vice president of Penske Corp.

Wood Brothers

Wood Brothers Racing, NASCAR’s oldest active team, will contest the full Sprint Cup schedule for the first time since 2008 this season with Ryan Blaney wheeling the iconic No. 21 Ford. The team founded in 1950 by brothers Glen and Leonard Wood in Stuart, Va., continues to be led by co-owners Eddie and Len Wood, sons of Glen.

“Our dad, he’s 90 now, so the only race he really goes to is usually the [Daytona] 500,” Eddie Wood said at the Ford Performance Center. “So being able to see his car race every week is a pretty big thing for him, as well as our mom. Leonard, he’s 81, but he still works every day and goes to the racetrack with us every week, so they’re really excited about it, too. Because when you stop racing full time it’s like, ‘Yeah, OK, you were at home or whatever,’ but it never felt right. It just felt like you were supposed to be doing something else. You’re just not supposed to be at home when everybody else is racing, so this is just a great opportunity for us.”

Scott sponsorship

Rookie of the Year contender Brian Scott, of Richard Petty Motorsports, will carry sponsorship from Albertsons Companies and Shore Lodge on the hood of the No. 44 (formerly No. 9) Ford for 16 races, along with associate placement for the remaining 20 races. Scott will team with Aric Almirola, back in the No. 43 Smithfield Foods Ford after missing the 2015 Chase by 11 points.

This story was originally published January 20, 2016 at 8:08 PM with the headline "Penske team geared up for another successful NASCAR run."