The stage was set at Kansas Speedway. After Ryan Blaney’s surprise win at New Hampshire, Toyota was eager to reinstate its dominance in the Cup Series playoffs after sweeping the Round of 16. Denny Hamlin had led 159 laps, but found himself competing against his own employee, Bubba Wallace, towards the end of the race. Both drivers were engaged in a heated battle, neither willing to lift and give the other room, especially with a spot in the Round of 8 at stake. That’s when the inevitable happened.

Wallace ended up sliding into the wall at Turn 3, while Chase Elliott grabbed the opportunity to take the checkered flag, amidst the No. 11 Toyota’s steering problems. Visibly upset, the No. 23 driver flipped his ‘boss’ during the cooldown lap, and even said in the post-race interview, “He’s a dumba– for that move.” Meanwhile, Hamlin defended his actions by saying, “If (listeners are) wanting an apology, they can turn it off now because I’m racing for the win and I definitely won’t apologize for racing for the win.”

It highlighted a dysfunction in the Toyota teams, a scenario that can only exist when a team owner is also a driver for a rival. Interestingly, such frictions don’t exist at Team Penske, which sort of explains their dominance in the Next-Gen era. Ever since the new car was introduced in 2022, they have consistently remained in the mix, year after year, without the internal drama becoming a public spectacle. Joey Logano has won twice in three years, while Ryan Blaney lifted the Bill France Cup in 2023. It all comes down to the culture, which is paying dividends on the track.

Team Penske’s cultural blueprint

Ultimately, it all comes down to Roger Penske’s philosophy of respect, hierarchy, clarity of roles, and an insistence on maintaining order. Just like Rick Hendrick and Joe Gibbs, Roger Penske’s influence is always felt and rarely questioned on race days. He is a steady rather than an aggressive presence, trusting people to fulfill their responsibilities rather than micromanaging his teams. Over the years, he has made smart hiring decisions, relying on their execution skills and focusing on having stable systems in place rather than big personalities.

And the philosophy has worked. According to Autoweek, Roger Penske “finds the right people for the right positions” and then lets them work. No individual is bigger than the team, and the process must be followed irrespective of the circumstances. Even reigning champ Joey Logano said, “No team works better together than Team Penske.” There is no preference or bias within the team. Every individual pulls their own weight and works towards the collective, and contributions are judged on merit and consistency rather than status.

Perhaps that’s why Team Penske’s championship wins are a ‘team effort’ rather than just the driver’s excellence. There are no owner-driver dynamics at play, nor any overlapping roles. It’s a big contrast from 23XI Racing, where, in moments like at Kansas Speedway, Denny Hamlin’s dual role as driver and team owner can raise questions about ‘conflict of interest’ and lead to tension and confusion.

Driver chemistry and role clarity

It’s never easy to balance the dynamics between top drivers, especially when all of them are chasing the same championship. But at Team Penske, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney have managed that situation exceptionally well, pushing each other on the track while respecting each other’s boundaries. Perhaps that’s why they’ve gone on to lift the Bill France Cup for the last two years.

At Phoenix Raceway in 2024, both Blaney and Logano were competing for the championship, and even though the No. 22 Ford finished above the No. 12, there was little animosity between the two drivers. Sure, there is an internal rivalry between the two, but it doesn’t come between working for the collective and making sure that Team Penske triumphs when the checkered flag is waved. That’s why Logano said, “I look at our race team; we show up in the playoffs way more than we do all year long. Our regular season, even this year (2024), was nothing to be happy about, but our playoffs are fantastic.”

When Blaney won in 2023, Joey Logano showed maturity by taking the backseat on several occasions, recognizing that his role as a team player was more important than personal ambitions under the circumstances. Even Austin Cindric, who is rarely in the championship conversation, does all he can to ensure Penske drivers are in contention for wins.

On-track proof of culture

Ultimately, the results speak for themselves. At Phoenix Raceway last year, Joey Logano went on to lift the championship, while Ryan Blaney finished runner-up, a 1-2 sweep for Team Penske. Any other team owner under the circumstances would be worried that their drivers might clash on track, especially with the Bill France Cup on the line. But Roger Penske could rest easy, and his drivers repaid that faith by executing their strategies cleanly. Such finishes don’t happen without a culture that is rooted in mutual respect and discipline, even when there’s tremendous pressure to perform.

It wasn’t a one-off situation either. Penske drivers act like allies for each other, even when both are fighting for the race win. There’s an understanding within the team that they’ll avoid risky moves that could hamper each other’s races and help defend the other’s advantage when the circumstances call for it. During Blaney’s championship run in 2023, Joey Logano was never an interference, allowing the No. 12 driver and his crew chief, Jonathan Hassler, to devise a strategy that ultimately helped the team triumph.

While other top teams try to instill the same kind of discipline, they’re not entirely successful. At New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Denny Hamlin wrecked his own teammate, Ty Gibbs, on Lap 110, after the two drivers were battling it out wheel-to-wheel. Later, the veteran expressed regret for his actions, going on to say, “I definitely got hot under the collar, and it went too far on my end. There were things I wish I could have done a little bit differently.” Unfortunately, the damage was already done by then.

What makes it work: No owner-driver split, no “Chosen One” energy

One of the strongest aspects of Team Penske is the structure of the organization. There are clearly defined roles, which means the chain of command is understood from top to bottom. No driver is the ‘favorite’, both internally and externally, and the team policy isn’t being written by driver/owners. The focus on getting on-track results rather than appeasing sponsors may go on to explain their unparalleled dominance in recent years.

It also helps that Roger Penske isn’t prioritizing one particular driver, and seats are awarded on merit rather than ‘external’ factors like social media presence, big brands backing them, or endorsement deals. Joe Gibbs Racing has three drivers in the playoffs, while many believe that Ty Gibbs’ seat has only been given because his grandfather owns the team. 23XI has been dominating the headlines because of the antitrust lawsuit, taking away the focus from its racing operations.

While Joe Gibbs Racing has been dominating in Toyota cars, both Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick find themselves below the cutline using the same equipment. Meanwhile, Team Penske is relying on data, and their strategy is driven by metrics and merit. This helps drivers feel at ease that they’re not an afterthought, and reduces petty rivalries and ensures that team harmony is maintained. It also maintains a culture where loyalty is towards the team itself, and not personalities.

And when the time comes to choose between one driver and the other, Team Penske relies on what’s best for the team rather than an emotional bias. They’re calculated in their approach, and key stakeholders don’t have any form of conflict of interest. Meanwhile, the situation at Kansas Speedway showed how tense things can get when the driver and ownership roles overlap. Hamlin made it clear, saying, “My responsibilities as team owner come Monday through Saturday,” and “It is not up to me to get 23XI into the Round of 8.” Such situations create confusion.

Team Penske might not dominate headlines often, but when it does, it’s because of race wins. When push comes to shove, a culture that is built on stability, discipline, and clarity over roles will always have the upper hand. Their racing operations don’t have any room for internal friction, despite the occasional radio outburst, such as Joey Logano’s comments at Talladega Superspeedway, where he called teammate Austin Cindric a “dumb f—“ for allowing Bubba Wallace to take Stage 2.

Why fans and sponsors love it, even if it’s less dramatic

To the casual fans, Team Penske might seem ‘boring’. The team doesn’t chase controversies, and Roger Penske remains relatively low-key compared to other team owners. But that kind of stability is also its biggest asset. For sponsors, a team that makes the headlines for the wrong reasons is a risk. No brand wants to be in the middle of driver feuds, ownership issues, or disciplinary problems, as that can affect the company’s reputation.

Instead, Team Penske lets their results speak for themselves, and both fans and sponsors love that approach. That sort of reliability and pursuit of excellence builds loyalty, makes a team a credible asset to invest in, and their dominance year after year speaks louder than any controversy they could be a part of. But most importantly, when the playoffs are underway in the final 10 races of the season, the team has built such a culture that they can absorb the pressure and rise to the occasion instead of folding. That’s what makes Roger Penske’s team unique.

Conclusion

If the Kansas race is anything to go by, the drama between Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace highlighted exactly what happens when roles overlap and are undefined. The playoff pressure can get the best of even veteran racers, but Team Penske is designed in such a way that they thrive in such scenarios. It’s a culture that has been meticulously built on a ‘team first-individuals later’ approach, and those values keep big personalities in line.

Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney have shared the spotlight for years, and both drivers have won the championship in the Next-Gen era. Meanwhile, Austin Cindric might not be competing at the same level, but Team Penske has managed to deflect his ‘underperformance’ under the rug. That’s what a successful team does: drowns out the noise and performs when it matters most. And while other teams are struggling to perform or struggling with conflicting loyalties, Team Penske’s ‘culture’ is quietly getting the results and continuing its domination.