"It just trickled down in everybody's business" - When Roger Penske made his feelings known on tariffs impacting car imports
With 42 championships stretching across 11 different series of motorsports, Team Penske owner Roger Penske is undoubtedly one of the greatest racing owners of all time. Away from the racetrack, the 87-year-old is a highly successful businessman as well.
Penske is the chairman of Penske Corporation, a transportation services company based in Michigan. A significant portion of the company's stake is in Penske Automotive Group, which expands outside of the United States to countries such as Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and Italy.
Back in February 2019, Penske was a guest on the "Royal Automobile Club Talk Show" with Motor Sport magazine writers Joe Dunn and Samarth Kanal to discuss a litany of topics. Dunn brought up the news that Donald Trump, the 45th and soon-to-be 47th President of the United States, was considering posing tariffs on car imports.
Penske, who Dunn noted is heavily "integrated" with European car manufacturers and dealers, was asked his opinion on the situation if it were to come about. Penske said:
"From a U.S. perspective, the German brands and the premium brands, we're about 66 percent in the U.S. is premium foreign. The Germans, quite honestly. We see this Volkswagen situation has had a huge impact. It's just trickled down in everybody's business. If you put a $2,500 tariff, which is what people are talking about, whether it's true or false, it'll have an impact. We're not sure what it is, but we're embracing ourselves today. We have to expect it could happen. It's going to mean cutting costs, it could mean reducing a number of jobs within the company, dividend paying, all these things could be part of our menu of things to do. It's troubling." (29:54 onwards)
Penske is on the heels of winning his third straight NASCAR Cup Series championship and fifth total as Joey Logano wheeled the #22 Team Penske Ford to victory in the championship race at Phoenix. Ryan Blaney, meanwhile, finished second in his #12 Ford to make it a Team Penske 1-2 finish in the championship.
Joey Logano recently talked about "Penske Perfect" mentality after third career championship
Following his third career NASCAR Cup Series championship win under Roger Penske, Joey Logano discussed how the champion car owner keeps the organization rolling in the right direction. The driver of the #22 said they keep a "Penske Perfect" mindset within the walls of the team's shop.
In an interview with retired NASCAR driver and TV personality Kenny Wallace, the Connecticut native said that "perfect" mindset comes from Penske himself.
"That comes from Roger," Logano said. "He's never said that to me, but you know that when you walk in the door is that these guys are trying to be better than everybody. Alright, cool, I want to be on that team. I want to be on the winning team. It's just what it is there. It works." (34:01 onwards)."
Team Penske has won every Cup Series championship since the NextGen car emerged in 2022. Logano won championships in both 2022 and 2024 while teammate Ryan Blaney won the title in 2023.