When Roger Penske made NASCAR & IndyCar history in the same season

Roger Penske made history in 2022 after Team Penske clinched championship victories in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NTT IndyCar Series. This was also the first time that Penske witnessed a driver win two Cup Series championships.

Joey Logano won his first Cup Series championship in 2018 with the team and repeated the feat in the 2022 season, becoming the first driver for Penske to win two championships in the series. This, however, was a historical moment for the team for another reason. Earlier in September that year, Will Power, driver of the #12 Chevrolet in the IndyCar Series, had also clinched the championship with a third-place finish in the Firestone Grand Prix. Coincidentally, this was his second championship victory, too.

"I think we've tried it for 31 years, so it's about time," Penske said (via Forbes). "What a special weekend for us."

"Joey did a great job. You've seen what he's been able to do as he's come on the team, and for us to have two championships in the same year, that's what we're here for. That's the goal we have every year. I think we've been close, but we got it this year."

Roger Penske is a powerful magnate in the motorsports industry. Apart from his racing team, he also owns the IndyCar Series, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and has other widespread ventures.

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Roger Penske fires IndyCar team's top order amid Indy 500 scandal

Team Penske fired personnel in their senior leadership, including team president Tim Cindric, managing director Ron Ruzewski, and general manager Kyle Moyer. This came amid the team being caught in a cheating scandal days before the 2025 Indy 500.

The attenuators on Josef Newgarden's and Will Power's cars were found to be modified with a material that had smoothed an uneven surface. Considering that teams are only allowed to run similar-spec cars in the grand event, they were penalized before the qualifying for the event.

After the team was penalized for this, it was revealed that the Penske cars were using similar modifications last year. Following this, both cars were fined $100,000 each, and their strategists were suspended.

Following the scandal, Roger Penske's team fired its senior leadership.

"Nothing is more important than the integrity of our sport and our race teams," Roger Penske said in a statement. "We have had organizational failures during the last two years, and we had to make necessary changes. I apologize to our fans, our partners and our organization for letting them down."

Both Newgarden's and Power's cars were also sent to the back of the grid despite better qualifying positions earlier.