Penske Earns Much-Deserved Hall Call

For 50 years, Roger Penske has kept America moving.

Penske, chairman and CEO of the Penske Corporation and Penske Automotive Group, is the patriarch of 327 dealerships worldwide, including 23 Toyota and 13 Lexus stores.  

That doesn’t even include Longo Toyota, the largest Toyota dealership in the world, which is run by Penske Motor Group. Roger Penske is the chairman of that, too, of course.

And if that weren’t enough, his racing teams have earned 15 Indianapolis 500 titles and numerous NASCAR wins.

With that kind of resume, it’s no surprise that Penske was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn, Mich., in July.

Penske started in 1958 by buying, racing and selling race cars. In 1961, he launched a short-lived Formula 1 racing career. In 1965, he bought his first racing team and his first dealership—a Chevy shop in Philadelphia. In the half-century since, he has built up a legendary automotive empire.