“He’s got a reputation of being a very straight-cut, white-shirt guy.” Ryan Blaney’s words about Roger Penske could not be more accurate. One of the most successful motorsports owners across IndyCar and NASCAR, Penske has established a 56-year legacy that continues to dazzle people. 630 wins across all series and over 47 championships are no mean feat. What is more important is how he keeps this legacy alive with his no-nonsense attitude.

So if it boils down to trimming his workforce for the sake of quality, Roger Penske will be firm. We saw evidence of that in his NASCAR Cup Series team this year. However, Penske also knows true talent in his organization and how to retain it.

Ryan Blaney sheds light on a nerve-racking time

In April 2025, ‘The Captain’ made a difficult decision. Considering Ryan Blaney’s poor streak of finishing outside the top-25 for three races (although Blaney had four top-tens), Roger Penske ejected somebody. He fired Skip Flores, front-tire changer for Blaney’s No. 12 Ford and also co-host of ‘Stacking Pennies.’ This stone-cold decision reinforced Penske’s image as a meticulous businessman. After all, handling a NASCAR team and an IndyCar team can demand diligence in these matters. However, Blaney had encountered a completely different image of his team owner once.

Back in 2015, Ryan Blaney was leading an Xfinity Series race in Indianapolis. But a lapped car slowed his progress, and Blaney lost his mark in Turn 2, which allowed Kyle Busch to charge ahead with half a lap left. That defeat left Ryan Blaney jittery, as he thought it was the end of the road for him at Team Penske. But on the contrary, Penske’s reaction left Blaney surprised.

He recollected the incident in a recent interview with Toby Christie at an event where Team Penske was being honored for their three consecutive championships. Blaney said, “A few years I wasn’t running where I should be… You never know how things are going to go, right? You have one rough year, your team doesn’t believe in you, and they ship you off… I blew a race in Indy, Nationwide race in 2015…Lost the race, blew Turn 2, last lap, Kyle Busch was on me. I was like, ‘Oh my god, I just lost at Indy for Roger. I’m canned, I’m done.’ He called me that night, and it was a pretty cool moment of reassurance…’We believe in you. We make mistakes, we learn,’ things like that.”

And as much as Roger Penske motivates his drivers when they are down, he celebrates equally ecstatically when they win. And this isn’t limited to NASCAR either. We all know Penske owns the IndyCar Series, where his Team Penske has dominated for decades, amassing over 20 Indy 500 wins and 17 Championships. In 2024, the 2018 Indy 500 champ and Team Penske driver Will Power opened up on how much Penske cares for the team. Power said, “Roger really wanted me to win that race [2018 Indy 500]. He actually really cares for the driver to win it. It’s not just for him. He’s very excited for someone that hadn’t won it.”

Evidently, Roger Penske trusts the talent in his drivers. When he hired Joey Logano, the young speedster owned only two wins with Joe Gibbs Racing, but Penske still believed in him. The same goes for Ryan Blaney when he first joined the Penske fold, as the 2023 Cup champion reflected: “The team has given me a lot over the years, essentially my chance in the sport. It let me kind of grow throughout in good times and bad times, when I easily could have gotten canned…Championship’s a win, that’s all he (Roger) cares about. That’s all I want to do for him, that’s the best thing that I can do for him… Ever since I walked into the bus in 2012, I just wanted to do that for him. It’s cool when you can make your boss proud.”

Indeed, Ryan Blaney did make him proud. What is more, Roger Penske played a crucial role in tempering his emotions during a glorious moment.

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When your boss’s words inspire you

That truly must feel like you’re on cloud nine, right? Ryan Blaney got a chance to feel that multiple times during his Cup Series tenure. But it stood out most during a fateful moment in November 2023. After qualifying poorly for the Championship 4 race at Phoenix Raceway, Blaney was nervous. He knew he would have to work his way from the middle of the pack to the front if he wanted to win the championship.

Then he had four solid contenders, among whom Christopher Bell retired early because of a brake failure. However, Kyle Larson and William Byron hounded his rear bumper during the closing laps. To make things worse, Ross Chastain, a non-championship contender, was leading. He delivered aggressive blocks to Blaney with a fierce determination to win the race.

This situation left Ryan Blaney at a boiling point, and he raced Chastain hard. He let out his frustration: “F—– right, I hit him on purpose.” At this crucial time, Roger Penske came in to soothe his driver’s tensions. The team owner reflected on this after the race, further reinforcing Blaney’s reverence for him. Penske said, “He was running fine. He was concerned that he was being backed up by the 1 (Chastain), obviously to the 5 (Larson), which he really wasn’t. Calming him down. He was doing a great job. The guys, Jonathan (Hassler, crew chief), the team, good pit stops, good strategy on getting their car right. It’s more to say, Hey, you’re doing a good job. I told him before the race, Win, lose, or draw, you’re a champion.”

Evidently, Ryan Blaney has a ton of reasons to be grateful to Roger Penske. As the 2025 season rolls ahead, let us see if a fourth consecutive Penske championship is incoming or not.