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

It really shouldn’t come as a surprise that some of the leaders and longtime members of North America’s most successful race team are car guys. In order to build, race and win with world-class racing machines, it makes sense that Team Penske team members would have a true appreciation for the beauty and performance of the automobile.

But the diversity and personalities of the cars that have become special for many members of Team Penske makes their stories so unique. Whether it’s a first car that’s long gone but its image conjures fond high school memories, to a vehicle that carries on a family legacy or a dream machine that continues to be a source of great pride, these special rides will always have a place in the hearts of some Team Penske team members.

1971 Cadillac El Dorado – Team Penske President Tim Cindric was a sophomore at Pike High School in Indianapolis, Ind. when he came home to see the big boat of a car sitting in his driveway. The Cadillac had once belonged to legendary engine builder and former Indy 500 chief mechanic Herb Porter. Cindric’s father, who worked with Porter for many years, purchased the car for his son, who admits that the “El Do” wasn’t exactly the car he was dreaming of when he saw it in the driveway. “My dad said, ‘You can walk or you can drive that, but that’s what you got,’” recalls Cindric. With a 501 cubic inch V8 engine and front-wheel drive, Cindric remembers the car was well equipped to handle the winter weather in Indy. “That car could drive through any snow drift,” he said. It did have a few challenges though. The car had electric windows but they didn’t open because the motor didn’t work. “I was always the kid on a date that would want to go in and eat at the restaurant. We couldn’t stay in the car because the windows wouldn’t work,” said Cindric. He also recalls that stations would all of a sudden change on the car’s radio without notice due to an issue with the needle on the tuner. “Yeah, it had some ‘Christine’ moments,” Cindric recalls, referring to the movie where an old car comes to life and turns against its owner. After a couple of memorable years with the car, Cindric said he sold it and traded in his baseball card collection to get enough money for a down payment on a 1979 Trans-Am. But he will never forget his first car and the good times in the old El Dorado.

1978 Ford Fairmont and 1965 Mercury Comet Cyclone – Team Penske Fabrication Foreman Brian Yerger has been around cars for about as long as he can remember. His grandfather was a drag racer that began competing in the 1940s and Yerger got his love of cars from his grandad as well as his father, who taught him how to weld on a MIG welder in the 1980s. That skill helped Brian get a fabrication job at the Penske Racing shop in Reading, Penn., when he was just 21 years old. When Brian was in high school, he, his dad and his grandfather went to work on a 1978 Ford Fairmont and turned it from a street car into a drag racer. After his father passed away suddenly when Brian was a junior in high school, the bond became even stronger with his grandfather, who taught Brian how to race with the Fairmont. Brian continued to drive the car regularly and when he was married, that’s the car that took him to the church and what he and his new bride drove off in to start their life together. When he was in high school, Brian’s dad drove a 1965 Mercury Comet Cyclone and Brian’s grandfather began racing the car. Brian worked with his grandfather on the Comet for years and he was excited when his grandad gave him the car when he moved to North Carolina to work at Team Penske headquarters in Mooresville. Brian has been racing the Comet for years and now he and his son, Brian Jr., are working on the car as the youngest Yerger has started drag racing himself. Though Brian has plenty to do in his spare time working on the Comet as well as a junior dragster with his son, he still owns the Fairmont, which he said hasn’t been driven on the streets in probably 15 years. “I could never part with that car. It just has too much sentimental value,” said Yerger.

1965 Buick Special – Travis Law, Car Chief on the NTT IndyCar Series championship-winning Chevrolet driven by Josef Newgarden, laughs when he repeats the name of the Buick that was his first car and is almost like a member of his family to this day. “It’s called a Buick Special, but there really isn’t anything special about it,” said Law. “I guess it’s pretty special to me.” The car was purchased new by his grandmother’s aunt. Law’s grandparents operated a car lot and service shop in Iowa so his grandfather serviced the Special and his aunt eventually gave the car to him. Law and his grandfather began working on the Buick together in their spare time and it’s how the IndyCar chief developed his love of cars and all things mechanical. The Special, which he and his grandfather began calling “Goldie” after his great aunt and the original owner of the car, was the first car that Law ever drove. “I can’t remember what year that was but I’m sure I wasn’t old enough to legally drive it on the street,” said Law. His grandfather told Law he should take the car from Iowa to be with him in North Carolina so Travis and his wife Brittani flew back home in 2009 and drove Goldie down to NC. He remembers only stopping for fuel and keeping the car running because he wasn’t sure he would be able to get her started again. Law has continued to work on the Buick and, no surprise, it’s running pretty well now. He, Brittani and their dog Moyer like taking Goldie out on Sundays and for ice cream a few times a month. While Law says he still has a number of projects down the road for Goldie, the car represents a connection to his family and his heritage. “It is a reminder everyday of where I came from and what my goals are,” said Law.

1969 Camaro Z/28 Rally-Sport – He first heard the rumble of a factory Camaro Z/28 at a car show with his father. Gary Glase was just a kid but he remembers how that sound made him feel. “It was a sound all of its own and to me it just sounded…beautiful,” said Glase, now the Gear/Transmission Foreman for the Team Penske NASCAR program. In May of 1983 Glase told his dad, who was an engine builder, that if there was any way he could save up and get a Z/28 he would. Glase never forgot that pledge and one specific Z/28 has been his passion project ever since. He remembers how Mark Donohue dominated the Trans Am Series in the Penske Camaro in the late 1960s and that further fueled his fire. Glase, who grew up near the Penske Racing shop in Reading, Penn., and his father found a 1969 Camaro Z/28 Rally-Sport near Pittsburgh through a listing in Hemmings Motor News. For the next three and a half years, Glase and his dad worked to restore the car from top to bottom, searching car shows and parts distributors for all the right and original stock pieces to fit the Camaro. They made sure it had the DZ 302 small block engine that was the signature power plant of the first-generation Z/28 and they installed a four-speed transmission, Goodyear bias ply tires and all of the specific hose clamps and fixtures that the original version of the Camaro was known for. When Team Penske Hall of Famer Karl Kainhofer hired him as an engine builder for the IndyCar team at the Reading shop in 1990, Glase knew it was a perfect fit. He continued to work just as hard maintaining the Z/28 as he did to prepare the race- and championship-winning cars for Team Penske. Glase, who has won numerous awards and competitions with the car over the years, loves the uniqueness of his special ride. From the original Hugger Orange paint scheme with black stripes to the special Rally-Sport package that features hideaway headlights, trim around the wheel wells and distinct tail lights below the bumper, the car continues to be Glase’s pride and joy. While it’s rare that he drives the Camaro or take it to car shows these days, he knows he has plenty of more work to do with it in the years ahead. “If you want to keep this kind of car in top condition it needs to be maintained,” said the 30-year Team Penske veteran. “This will be my retirement project. I plan to take it all apart and build it back up all over again.”

As only a true car guy could.