Roger Penske 1-on-1: Alex Palou’s dominance, new car coming, Will Power’s future

Roger Penske announced he was buying the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES in November 2019. Since then, he has worked to improve the series, all while continuing to field teams in his diverse portfolio that includes INDYCAR, NASCAR and IMSA.

The 2025 INDYCAR season has provided something new (FOX Sports now telecasts the races) and something seen before (Alex Palou winning) but not the type of domination (Palou’s four wins in the first five races).

FOX Sports sat down with Penske on Thursday at IMS and talked about the state of the series, what he’d like to see on the race schedule and the new car coming in 2027. Penske also touched on contract renewals — both with the engine manufacturers in the series and in his own stable with Will Power.

FOX Sports: From the perspective of your INDYCAR ownership, how would you evaluate the first part of the season, the first five events?

RP: Well, I think when you look at it overall, some of our focus, obviously, was on our TV and the partnership that we were undertaking with FOX Sports. I have to say that’s been a home run. I’ve never seen a partner that has weighed in the way FOX has to support the partnership. We’re up approximately 25 percent [through four races] over where we were before with the past relationship. But what’s most important is that this 18-to-34 age group has been up almost 60 percent, which is key. I think the attendance at the key races has been outstanding. Obviously, Thermal was a little bit of a different focus, different type of race, but we had a commitment there and obviously we carried on. [Alex] Palou, I give him a triple-A for the job that he’s done. He’s blown us off. I told Ganassi that [he should] wait for us at Indy, because we’re going to focus on you guys there. It’s going to be a terrific race. And when you look at the series and the tracks that are getting more attendance, something’s going on positively. We also have 27 cars. I remember when we ran back many years ago, we had 17 or 18 cars. So the number of teams, the quality of the teams, the sponsorship, the FOX relationship, and, certainly, I’ll top it off with Indianapolis. We’re very, very close to a sellout. And to think about having over 330,000 people here — 231,000 seats that will be sold, and another Super Bowl worth in the infield, when you think of [general admission]. What am I saying about the first part of the season? I think it’s great. Obviously, we made a management change with [series president] Jay [Frye] moving on. He’s landed [at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing], where he likes to be a team principal. And I think that [new IMS president] Doug Boles and his crew, [INDYCAR VP] Mark Sibla and the whole team … that are operating the business are doing a great job. 

You talk about events and an increase in attendance. As far as the schedule for next year, are you looking at any different venues or a different mix of tracks when it comes to ovals, road courses and street courses?

Well, Bob, it’s key for us to have a mix, and I think that’s one differentiation that we have with other racing sports is that we have big tracks in Indianapolis, we have permanent road courses and we have street courses. And I think that’s the diversification, which I think is a plus. We certainly sell our sponsors on that. And with the commitment next year to go to Arlington [Texas] to race down by the Rangers and the Cowboys stadium, it’s going to be the first big step that we make. And hopefully, there are other markets that we’re talking to at the moment. Nothing that I can announce right now. But we will have that race added to our schedule, and we’re looking at where we can go, obviously, to be able to add another oval if we can. But I think Arlington would be the big check-the-box for next year at the moment. 

Obviously, Palou won four of the first five races. Is it good to have a driver dominate? Or would you like to see five different winners in five races?

It depends on who you are. Ganassi loves it. I’d love it, too, if we were in that position. Look, it’s racing. You’ve seen [F1’s Max] Verstappen, you’ve seen other people in NASCAR that have won races. Look, we’ve got to beat him. They’ve got their act together. And I give them 100 percent credit. This is not anything simple to do. And I don’t look at it personally that it’s good or bad. I think that at the time, as a team owner — you asked me about the series — maybe the series needs five different winners, which would be great. But on the other hand, that’s the business we’re in. There’s always a guy that’s leading. We’ve got to try to beat him. It’s all about execution. And I’d say Palou’s at the top of his game. 

As far as the series, what do you feel has been the biggest challenge so far this year?

What’s been the biggest challenge? I think the real issue here is to try to understand where we go in the future when looking at our new car, the engine manufacturers and just exactly what we want to produce for the next 10 years. We have a good car in design. We’re in the wind tunnel. We expect to have it on the track in October, November this year. So to me, that’s the big step that we’re making now in trying to determine [things]. We made the decision to go with low voltage, not high voltage, at this point, which I think is the right move. And we can enhance what we have today. It’s ironic, talking to the drivers, how many different things they’re trying to do and it really makes a difference even with what they have today. So we’re going to stay on that track.

You talked about the engine manufacturers. Do you have confidence that Chevrolet and Honda will continue with the series?

We’re doing everything we can to renew the contracts. We’re good through ’26, and we want to renew these contracts. We have one or two manufacturers that have also shown interest at this point.

What have you been most proud of so far this year in the series?

That’s an interesting statement. I guess I’m just proud of being part of the whole organization and to see what’s happened in Indianapolis, particularly under the leadership of [Penske Entertainment CEO] Mark Miles and Doug Boles. And now the series has done a terrific job. And I think the other thing, by us supporting the tracks that we have in this series [through recent acquisitions], I see that really taking hold. It’s very positive. And we certainly have seen sponsors now that are coming in we haven’t seen before. So it’s a full package for me. And, quite honestly, I get up every day and the glass is half full, not empty. So it’s hard for me to say one thing’s a lot better than another.

Your IMSA teams are winning a lot, but how would you evaluate your NASCAR (two wins) and INDYCAR programs? 

We’ve really had more speed in INDYCAR than we’ve shown. We’ve had some issues. So I really kind of check that off. And we had a good run here [at Indy last week] at the road race, and I think going into the 500 we’re poised to be a threat. As far as NASCAR, we’ve got two of our cars already in the playoffs, and the 21 [of the Wood Brothers] is really our car. We work with the Wood Brothers with Josh Berry. It’s been exciting to see him step up. He’s a player now, a contender. Then you look at the sportscar, the IMSA guys, we’ve won every race. And when you think it’s a 12-hour and a 24-hour [among them], this is not an easy thing to do. They’ve executed absolutely at the top of their game. 

And the question everybody seems to be asking us around here, is Will Power going to be back with you next year?

We’ve got a time, negotiating period with Will that we’ve told him about. He understands that completely. We’re not out knocking on doors, and we expect to sit down with him following Indy and as we get toward the end of the season. But there’s no secret, his contract is up. He’s done a great job for us. We’re just looking at our options, and I’m sure he will, too. But at the moment, we feel confident that he will be back.

Is that contingent on how he does here?

There are a lot of things that play in that. You’ve got your sponsors, you’ve got a lot of things. But as far as I’m concerned, he knows what he has to do, and we’re supporting him like we always have. We want him to come out of here with a win, if possible. And, obviously, his ability to qualify the way he’s done for us has been outstanding. So he’s at the top of the list as far as what we might do next year. 

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.

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