Sports

Sports Illustrated Praises Roger Penske For Being Unlike Certain Team Owners

November 29, 2014, 10:28 AM by  Alan Stamm

Roger Penske is no Mike Ilitch, a Sports Illustrated writer suggests. It's a compliment.

Penske is "an exception to those [team owners] who receive government welfare -- most notably, in the form of tax dollars for stadium projects -- while claiming to be sovereign," Andrew Lawrence writes without naming Ilitch.

His article puts Penske in distinguished company among nearly two dozen nominees for Sportsman of the Year, a cover honor that began in 1954.


Roger Penske at Belle Isle: "There aren’t many areas of the country he cares more about than Detroit."
WXYZ photo)

The Metro Detroit business leader, who founded Penske Automotive Group in Bloomfield Hills and owns a racing team that competes in NASCAR and the IndyCar Series, is described in SI as "above reproach" and someone who "stands out for his virtue."

Penske’s teams have won 22 races -- a single-season record that pushed the franchise over the 400-victory mark altogether. The success is as much a testament to Penske’s decision to corral his many racing teams under one roof in Mooresville, N.C. (a move that has been a boon to Team Penske’s relatively small Sprint Cup division) as it is his practice of calling in-race strategy from the pit box.

In addition to praising his track achievements, Lawrence admires Penske's civic contributions to Detroit. 

There aren’t many areas of the country he cares more about than Detroit, a pet project since 2005, when he was appointed chairman of the host committee for Super Bowl XL -- maybe the smoothest-run NFL title game ever contested in a cold weather city.

After seeing it hit hard by the contraction of the auto industry and sink into bankruptcy during the global credit crunch, Penske has dedicated himself to bringing the city back to its Motown heyday. He contributes to an initiative called Clean Downtown, which tasks 50 people with straightening up 200 city blocks each day. He donated 100 police cars and 23 EMS units to the city. He helped transform Belle Isle -- a floating state park on the Detroit River between the city and mainland Canada -- from an eyesore to a leisure center. And he’s spearheading an effort for a light rail system that would connect the city to the suburbs.

They are acts of noblesse oblige that distinguish Penske. 

The sportswriter, who has been at SI since 2004, says the 77-year-old nominee "gives fellow sports owners a standard to which they could and should aspire." 

Others proposed for the weekly magazine's award honoring "the spirit of sportsmanship and achievement" include Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw golfer Rory McIlroy, Michael Sam, the Los Angeles Kings, Little League World Series pitcher Mo'ne Davis and Kansas City Royals fans. 

The winner will be on the Dec. 22 issue cover. Last year honoree was Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning.

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Read more:  Sports Illustrated


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