Penske's NASCAR Triumphs Fuel IndyCar Ambitions

Photo byimage courtesy Team Penske media portal

Team Penske‘s track record in motorsports is nothing short of extraordinary. With a collection of 44 titles spanning various racing disciplines, it’s a herculean task to find a rival with a comparable history of success. Despite not clinching their 18th NTT INDYCAR SERIES title in 2023, Team Penske celebrated a momentous achievement in NASCAR, with Ryan Blaney clinching the NASCAR Cup Series title, hot on the heels of Joey Logano’s victory in 2022. This marked the first time Team Penske had managed consecutive Cup Series triumphs.

There’s an infectious wave of triumph emanating from the NASCAR side, inspiring the entire organization. Josef Newgarden observed, “It was really great to see Ryan (Blaney) seal the championship. I think that is going to be a big catalyst for him as an individual, but it’s also a continuing catalyst for our team. That’s a big deal. They went back-to-back in the NASCAR championship, which is not easy to do.”

The synergy between Newgarden and Blaney was evident as they both etched a new chapter in Team Penske’s history books during the last Memorial Day weekend. Newgarden triumphed at the 107th Indianapolis 500, and Blaney followed up with a win at the Coca-Cola 600, marking the team’s first simultaneous Memorial Day weekend victories.

While Team Penske has celebrated 18 victories at the Indianapolis 500, the 2023 Memorial Day weekend “double” was unprecedented for them.

As Team Penske reflects on the past year’s achievements, they quickly turn their focus to the 2024 season, approaching it with a clean slate and high aspirations. The team has already set a strong pace, capturing the Rolex 24 At Daytona in late January for the first time in decades, followed by Logano securing the Daytona 500 pole position.

The accomplishments have had a profound impact on the team’s spirit. Newgarden shared his perspective on the team’s unity, “Oh, no doubt. I don’t know what it was like pre-my time, but I think the collaboration has never been greater in our team across the board. We’re really trying to leverage every person, every position that we have across motorsports to elevate the whole thing. On our side, we won the Indianapolis 500, which had been a thorn for the last three, four years. You think about that, too, we go — at Team Penske we go three or four years without finding Victory Lane, and that’s deemed unacceptable. There’s just a standard that we definitely live by, and you’ve got to love it. The morale and the excitement – I’ve never seen it better. I don’t think it was ever bad, but I’ve definitely never seen it better.”

Will Power, a long-standing Team Penske driver, echoed Newgarden’s sentiments, “Obviously, the process has changed, the competition changes, and you evolve with it, and Penske is very good at being ahead of the curve on that stuff. It’s a good, tight-knit team. And I wouldn’t say as far as the number of people that work within the team, it’s run lean but very efficiently, so everyone works very well together. Winning two Cup championships back-to-back is very big. The team certainly is firing on all cylinders. It’s pretty cool to be a part of it.”