The Penske Way: Precision, Promises, and the Price of Excellence

Roger Penske loves to race. His incredible success at the Indianapolis 500 other series proves it. How is he so successful? He is a business first man first. When he makes a deal with you it gets honored. As the story goes he once made a landscaper move palm trees because they weren’t spaced to the exact distance in the agreement. Only off by a small bit but they had to be right. He does the same with all business deals. You make a deal with RP you will honor it.

That explains the situation Will Power found himself in. He was done driving in IndyCars in August but his contract extended through the last day of the year. That’s the deal RP made and he insisted Will honor it. Not even a seat fitting with his new team until the contract runs.

Will was in Indianapolis New Years Eve ready for his new deal with Andretti Global to begin on January 1. There was no time to lose because his car is scheduled for the upcoming Firestone tire test. Many fans believe he only needed to mold his new seat. That is a big part of it but there is much more. To get the best fit a driver needs to sit in it for a while for it to take the driver’s shape and harden. Drivers have different approaches to seat fitting. Some just sit there for the time it takes. Others are more creative. One had the team rig what amounted to a table across the car and he and his crew had a nice lunch while waiting for the molding process to be complete. After lunch and some fellowship the seat was ready.

But it’s not just the seat. The cockpit must be custom fit in other ways. The pedals must be perfect. Positioned adjusted to the driver’s requirements. Not just back and forth but the relationship to the other pedal. The angle must fit the driver. Overlap is a concern. Everything must be perfect. The clutch is adjusted by the engineers. Then there is the steering wheel. Will can’t bring his Penske wheel over to Andretti. That wheel is considerably different in terms of layout. Will must learn where the switches and controls are located. Many teams like the steering wheel layout the same on all their cars for compatibility. Easy to back up another wheel and to have workable spares. The grips on the steering wheel are different. Each driver gets his own molded grips and that takes time.

The good news is it is the first real and visible step toward the beginning of the season.