Roger Penske Discusses Economy, Danica and a NASCAR Title

Roger Penske is the most successful team owner in Indy car history with driver Ryan Briscoe earning Penske's 139th victory two weeks ago in the IndyCar Series opener at St. Petersburg. Penske has won the Indy 500 a staggering 14 times. His NASCAR team has 63 victories, including the 2008 Daytona 500. His sports car team won the historic 12 Hours of Sebring last year.

Penske sat down in his motor coach for a wide-ranging interview on topics as diverse as what keeps him motivated to Danica Patrick's flirt with NASCAR to the future of his NASCAR driver Sam Hornish Jr.

Excerpts from my interview with Penske after the jump.

On what continues to motivate him after 50 years in the sport:

Roger Penske: "I love to go racing. The juices that flow on a weekend when you're racing and the competitive spirit. ... And what I like is the strategy. You're getting your quarterly earnings every weekend. You either make the right calls or you don't. This isn't a case where you can wait until next month to solve the problem. I'd say competitive juices are paramount but it ties right into the business benefits."

On the situation with the "Big Three" auto manufacturers:

Penske: "Number one, it would be really tough on teams if we lost the 'Big Three' support in NASCAR. (It would be) tough from a team perspective, a track perspective. I don't know what's going to happen.

"I do think once the government and companies come to an agreement on to how they'll go forward and what mode, I think they'll look at exactly what does racing mean to their customer base. And I'd have to say, in most cases, racing will get a vote of confidence because of the notoriety racing has with the drivers, the teams, the markets. You might see some things cut out of the promotional and marketing budget.

"But I will say this, we're with Dodge and they have supported us right to the letter of the contract. I've spoken with Rick Hendrick and other people and we've seen no indication of backing down on support so that's positive.''

On Danica Patrick's impending "free agency" potential and whether he thinks NASCAR is a good fit for her:

Penske: "I don't know what the economics are (for her). She's done a terrific job and I think people underestimate her driving capability. I mean, it's so close here. She gets frustrated because she's not up there where she wants to be. But I think Andretti Green have a real asset with her.

"I read about her going Formula One, but I think she's in the right place. She's an American. She's a woman. There's sponsor interest and the fans love her. A lot of folks want to see her succeed. As long as she runs competitively I think she'll be fine. I have no idea what she can attract from sponsorship, but I can tell you if I was Andretti Green I wouldn't let her go."

On open-wheel drivers' recent struggles in NASCAR:

Penske: "I think anyone -- and we're going through same situation with Sam (Hornish) and (Dario) Franchitti did -- these guys are good race car drivers, but when (Jeff) Gordon and (Tony) Stewart and (Ryan) Newman came up they all could go and practice. Now, there's no testing. You walk in there cold. You're in a car twice the weight of the car you've been running, there's so many nuances to drafting. ... It's experience. The question is jumping right from here to there. I think you have to go through the Nationwide (Series).

"Even (Joey) Logano, he jumped right in (to Sprint Cup Series) and saw what it's like. Experience is just so important there and the new cars are tougher. I think it would be a big step. For me, if I had to do it again, I'd say do a full year in Nationwide and then move up."

On not winning a NASCAR championship:

Penske: "When you talk about winning a NASCAR championship, we've been close two or three times, a number of years ago with Rusty (Wallace). One year we won 10 races and didn't win the championship. It's something that's out there we really wanted to do. We wanted to win the Daytona 500 and we did that. We wanted to win Sebring and we did that. Those are all goals that are out there. The key thing is, the consistency of winning in these markets is important to us. At the end of the year, if you add it all up, the championship is just the crown on top. We're involved in multiple sports activities. Some people have said if you were in NASCAR by itself, would you have more wins. I say no, but some might say yes."

On former Indy 500 winner Sam Hornish Jr., who has struggled in NASCAR:

Penske: "Look, this is his final year that he's got to make it. We're in the top-35 in points, he's raced well. He's got to make it. He's got a lot of pressure on him. When you're one in 42 people it's a lot different than when you're one in 20. We want to see him be successful where he is. He's a charged-up guy, but he doesn't show the emotions like Kurt does.''

"This is a year -- and Sam knows it too -- we've got to see some good progress here and he's got to see it. He's run better than where he's finished."

On economy and its effect on racing season:

Penske: "The tracks feel more of the pain because of the general economy and people not being able to travel. One thing I see of being a real negative in this meltdown is the perception that if anyone sponsors something, 'that's bad.' ... They're getting pressure to take their names off things. That's going to have a tough effect.

"Hopefully there will be some rational thinking going on here ... What we have to do now is get the auto industry squared away. We've got to get banks lending money to companies and we've got to get the consumer fired up.

"Hopefully there will be some better times."