Race of my Life: Roger Penske on the 1994 Indy 500
The latest episode in Autosport’s Race of My Life podcast series is legendary team boss Roger Penske on the day his team and Mercedes-Benz shocked the world with its ‘secret’ pushrod engine.

Race: 1994 Indy 500, Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Driver: Al Unser Jr
Car: Penske-Mercedes PC23
I don’t really go back and think about my own personal races as a driver. Those were back in the early days. More recently, we’ve had a few memorable ones as a team. The win at Sebring with the LMP2 Porsche against the Audis (in 2008) was a good one. Then there was the NASCAR title with Brad Keselowski after however many years.

Al Unser Jr., Penske PC23-Mercedes-Benz
Photo by: Bill Murenbeeld / Motorsport Images
But I guess the one that was really key for us was the 1994 Indy 500, when we came in with the pushrod Mercedes engine. We kept it a secret until a week or two before the month of May opened, came in, sat on pole and led almost every lap. That was a tremendous experience.
We’d watched the Buicks come in for 1992, sit on pole and lead, but not have reliability. So to think Mario Illien was able to design, build and test that engine in less than a year…
We didn’t have transient dynos in those days. We had Paul Tracy in a toboggan suit driving round Nazareth doing a reliability run. During the May we ran it at Michigan, trying to get 500 miles on it a week before the race. It was down to the wire.
Keeping it secret actually wasn’t all that hard. We had a separate group of guys working on it. I talked to our people in Reading, Pennsylvania and I just said, ‘If you talk about this, I’m cutting off your paycheck’.
Read Also:
We had the development guys in a separate building; Ilmor was obviously developing the engine in the UK. It was one of those things that we just kept under our hat. It was pretty exciting when we announced it. I’d gone to Stuttgart and told Mercedes that we were ready to go, and we wanted to do it that year – for a long time, we weren’t sure we’d be ready. And the only commitment they asked for was that we’d run it in all three cars. So we did, and it obviously paid off.
One of the most exciting things was when the top Mercedes people came into the garage in their suits and I told them, ‘You’ve got to put a Penske-Mercedes shirt on’. So that was a big day in my life, having these guys strip down and put Penske-Mercedes shirts on. And then winning was probably one of the biggest days of our racing history.

Al Unser Jr., Penske PC23-Mercedes-Benz
Photo by: Sutton Images
Winning any race at Indianapolis is meaningful, but when you make a commitment to a company like Mercedes, it was a victory for our relationship, our brand. We lived up to a commitment we’d made and that’s been key to our relationship over a long-term basis. And we built the F1 relationship with them that they have now – it’s the same group doing the F1 engines. A lot of those Ilmor people are at Mercedes.
We certainly were planning to keep the engine beyond Indy, but they outlawed it a couple of weeks after the race. Typical.
Interview by Mark Glendenning, first published in Autosport, 10 July 2014

Unser to receive ‘Baby Borg’ celebrating 1970 Indy 500 win
Dixon unhappy with stipulated tire stint length in Texas

Latest news
Rolex 24: Ganassi Cadillacs top final GTP practice at Daytona
Renger van der Zande produced fastest lap for Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac in the new GTP class’s final systems check before tomorrow’s 61st Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona.
Harvick still 'the guy' at SHR, but Briscoe finding his voice
It wasn’t that long ago Chase Briscoe was just hoping to secure a fulltime ride in the NASCAR Cup Series and he could soon be the veteran driver at one of the sport’s top organizations.
WEC assessing Sebring alternative for US round from 2024
The FIA World Endurance Championship has admitted that it is examining alternatives to Sebring for the US round of the series from 2024.
Taylor: "Worn out" error reset button better than Rolex 24 limp mode
Ricky Taylor has zero worries over the pace of the new Acura ARX-06, but believes the new GTP cars will encounter several sensor issues over the course of the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona.
Nigel Mansell’s greatest F1 and Indycar drives
It’s 30 years since Mansell won the Formula 1 world title and then headed off to do battle in America. Here are his best races – and the Briton’s memories of them
Ranking the top 10 IndyCar drivers of 2021
In an enthralling 2021 IndyCar campaign, the series bounced back from its COVID-19 truncated year prior and series sophomore Alex Palou defeated both the established order and his fellow young guns to clinch a maiden title. It capped a remarkable season with plenty of standout performers
How Marcus Ericsson finally unlocked his potential in IndyCar
Marcus Ericsson enjoyed a breakout year in the IndyCar Series in 2021, winning twice and finishing sixth in points with Chip Ganassi Racing. How did he finally unlock the potential that was masked by five years of toil in Formula 1 with Caterham and Sauber/Alfa Romeo?
Remembering Dan Wheldon and his last and most amazing win
Saturday, Oct. 16th, marks the 10th anniversary Dan Wheldon’s death. David Malsher-Lopez pays tribute, then asks Wheldon’s race engineer from 2011, Todd Malloy, to recall that magical second victory at the Indianapolis 500.
Have Harvey and RLL formed IndyCar’s next winning match-up?
Jack Harvey’s move to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing sparked plenty of debate, but their combined strength could prove golden, says David Malsher-Lopez.
Why Kyle Kirkwood is America's new IndyCar ace-in-waiting
Kyle Kirkwood, the record-setting junior formula driver, sealed the Indy Lights championship last weekend. But despite an absurdly strong résumé and scholarship money, his next move is far from clear. By David Malsher-Lopez.
2021 IndyCar title is just the start for Ganassi's newest star
Alex Palou has captured Chip Ganassi Racing's 14th IndyCar drivers' championship, and in truly stellar manner. David Malsher-Lopez explains what made the Palou-Ganassi combo so potent so soon.
Why Grosjean's oval commitment shows he's serious about IndyCar
One of motorsport’s worst-kept secrets now out in the open, and Romain Grosjean has been confirmed as an Andretti Autosport IndyCar driver in 2022. It marks a remarkable turnaround after the abrupt end to his Formula 1 career, and is a firm indication of his commitment to challenge for the IndyCar Series title
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.