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"Penske Material" provides an inside look at some of the personalities, stories and moments that make Team Penske so unique. 

Let’s face it, life has changed quite a bit over the last two months. As people have been staying home and trying to stay healthy during the Coronavirus pandemic, everyone has had to adapt.

During these challenging times, our homes are not only our shelters and where we stay safe, but also our office and where we need to get work done. This has certainly been the case for the men and women of Team Penske. The hundreds of people that keep the wheels turning for the team either at the race shop in North Carolina or at the racetrack, have continued working for the return to racing – they’ve just been doing it from their own homes. As Team Penske gets back on track with NASCAR racing action next weekend, take a look at how some members of the team have transformed their living areas into work spaces while staying mentally and physically prepared for the next green flag of the 2020 season.

Pat Gray is the jackman on the No. 2 Ford Mustang, driven by Brad Keselowski. It is essential for NASCAR pit crew members to stay healthy and in top physical condition in order to be at the top of their game. Gray began working as a jackman four years ago when he first joined Team Penske. Through hard work and determination, Gray has worked his way up to the top level of stock car racing and he is a key member of the No. 2 crew, one of the most efficient and effective teams on pit lane.

When the Cup Series season was paused and Gray learned that he would be working from home for the foreseeable future, he knew he had to find a way to continue his training in order to keep his competitive edge. In his garage, Gray utilized a jack handle and some water jugs to produce a makeshift bench press that has allowed him to maintain his strength training. With the No. 2 Ford team anxious to swing back into action with a strong result at Darlington on May 17, Gray has been ramping up his water jug workouts and other creative ways to stay in top physical form at home until he can return to the Team Penske training facility with the rest of the organization’s pit crew members.

Long time crew chief for Team Penske, Paul Wolfe, has been keeping himself as mentally sharp as he possibly can be during the stay-at-home mandate. Knowing it was only a matter of time before the NASCAR season resumed, Wolfe has remained focused and dialed in as he expected things would move fast once teams were cleared to return to racing. The Milford, NY native is a two-time championship winning crew chief for Roger Penske and has the honor of being the first chief to win NASCAR championships for Team Penske as he helped guide Brad Keselowski and the No. 22 team to the Xfinity Series title in 2010, before he, Keselowski and the No. 2 team won the Cup Series crown in 2012. Before COVID-19 brought a red flag to all racing, the 2020 season brought a new challenge to Wolfe as he transitioned to crew chief of the No. 22 Ford team with driver Joey Logano.

The new combination paid dividends immediately early in the season as Logano and Wolfe produced two victories (at Las Vegas and Phoenix) before the season was put on hold by NASCAR. Reflecting on his time at home over the last few weeks, Wolfe said, “Through the stay at home order I am fortunate to have a home office where I can get away from the craziness of my two small children. I never really planned to get this much use out of the office when we put it together, but it has worked. With a few of my favorite trophies I enjoy in the space as well.”

David Faustino not only stepped away from his workspace at Team Penske headquarters, he also surrendered his home workspace so that his children could use the area for their at-home school studies. Serving as the race engineer for Will Power and the No. 12 Verizon team competing in the IndyCar Series, Faustino shifted to using a small desk in the corner of his bedroom to get his work done.

While Faustino also knew that the return to the actual track would be coming eventually in 2020, he has been using his time away to help Power in his performance in the six-race INDYCAR iRacing Challenge, and make sure the No. 12 Chevy team is on its game once real-life racing resumes for the IndyCar Series at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday, June 6. Faustino and Power have become one of the top combinations in INDYCAR with the duo generating 34 victories, 51 poles, a win in the 2018 Indianapolis 500 and the 2014 Series Championship. With all the success he's had with Team Penske, Faustino continues to be passionate about his profession and getting the absolute most out of the No. 12 car with Power behind the wheel - he's just had to use that energy and drive in a slightly smaller space during his time at home.

While many Team Penske team members have developed their own unique at-home working stations over the last two months, the most important thing they've been doing is making sure they and their families are healthy and safe. With the return to racing now on the horizon, the team will continue to use the lessons they've learned over the last few weeks about being efficient and productive in a safe environment as a few team members will transition back to working at the race shop and at the race track. Members of the team have continued to show they are "Penske Material," no matter where they are working for the common goal of winning for Team Penske.