Pennzoil
Racing to Build Better Oils for Cleaner Engines
Why does Pennzoil® compete in motorsports? Because that’s where you’ll find the most advanced engines being subjected to the most extreme operating conditions. Developing the technology to provide better protection and performance for these cars means developing better protection and performance for yours. Click on each of the series below to learn more about the technology transfer from track to street.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series - Penske
Pennzoil would like to welcome AJ Allmendinger to the Penske racing family. Having competed in the Cup series since 2007, AJ is coming off a strong season that saw him finish 15th in the series standings. We look forward to watching the new driver of the #22 Shell-Pennzoil Dodge compete for a slot in the 2012 Chase.
American Le Mans Series - Risi Competizione
Even at the grueling 24 Hours of Le Mans, the same Pennzoil Ultra™ Euro you can buy is trusted in Ferrari’s engines to withstand the race’s demanding conditions. In fact, every Ferrari in North America leaves the factory with Pennzoil Ultra™ in its engine.
One more reason more people trust Pennzoil® than any other oil.
IZOD IndyCar Series - Penske
Pennzoil® changed the face of Indy racing in the ‘80s when it developed special racing oils for use by Team Penske. Together they won four Indianapolis 500s in five years.
Today Team Penske relies on oils like Pennzoil Ultra™, an oil that’s able to perform at the more than 10,000 RPM that current IndyCar® engines can turn out. One more reason more people trust Pennzoil® than any other oil.
Racing History
Since automobile racing’s earliest days, no oil has left its mark on virtually every form of the sport more so than Pennzoil®.
This relationship dates back all the way to the 1930s, when Pennzoil sponsored Indy driver Russell Snowberger. “Snowy” went on to score top-10 finishes in every 500 he entered. Encouraged by his success, more and more Indy drivers started using Pennzoil.
The Pennzoil oval was seen on many early drag cars as well. In 1958, Pennzoil sponsored the fastest-rising star on the NHRA circuit, Don “Big Daddy" Garlits. And throughout the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, Pennzoil-lubricated machines dominated the top fuel, funny car and pro-stock categories.
In the late ’70s, Pennzoil developed a special motor oil blend for two- and four-stroke engines. Consequently, Pennzoil-lubricated bikes won every Baja event in every racing class during the ’70s and ’80s.
Quarter-mile hero and former teenage drag racing prodigy Eddie Hill later took to drag boat racing, where he racked up an incredible string of records. He reached 229 mph in a propeller-driven boat in 1982 Ñ which remains a Guinness World Record.
Back at the Brickyard, USAC Triple Crown winners Jim Hall and Al Unser blew the crowd away with the revolutionary “ground effects" Chaparral boat. Next season, Johnny Rutherford won the national championship and was named “Driver of the Year” driving the Pennzoil Chaparral.
In 1983, Pennzoil joined forces with Roger Penske and superstar driver Rick Mears. The Pennzoil dynasty continued, capturing victory in the 500 just one year later. Over a five-year period, Pennzoil cars won the 500 four out of five times. Also in ’85, Mears, in the Pennzoil car, set Indy’s fastest lap at the time Ñ 204.937 mph.
Powered by Pennzoil’s specially blended Grade 70, Miss Budweiser and Atlas Van Lines Special became world champions in unlimited hydroplane racing in the late ’70s thru the ’80s. Meanwhile, Eddie Hill, in the Pennzoil Top Fuel Dragster, clocked 4.990 at the Texas Motorplex. Hill was the first driver to cover the quarter mile in less than 5 seconds from a standing start.
In 1996, Pennzoil and 1995 Busch Grand National Series Champion Johnny Benson joined forces. At year’s end, Benson was named 1996 Winston Cup Rookie of the Year Ñ and Pennzoil® motor oil became the “Official Motor Oil” for both the Brickyard 400® and the Indy 500®.
In 2000, NASCAR driver Steve Park steered the #1 Pennzoil Chevy into Victory Lane at Watkins Glen, and in 2001 he triumphed at Rockingham. On the open-wheel circuit, Pennzoil-backed Panther Racing and Sam Hornish Jr. won the IRL Indy Car Championships in both 2001 and 2002.
2004 added even more chapters and trophies to the Pennzoil motorsports legacy. Kurt Busch captured the Sprint Cup Championship. In 2005, Roush drivers Busch, Mark Martin, Jeff Burton, Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle completed the Chase for the Championship with Pennzoil powering their engines.
The 2007 season saw Pennzoil become a primary sponsor in NASCAR with Richard Childress Racing. In addition to capturing the 2007 Daytona 500, RCR was the only Sprint Cup team to get all of its drivers into the Chase in both the 2007 and 2008 seasons. RCR put all three of its cars in the 2010 “Chase” as well.
In the American Le Mans Series, Risi Competizione continued its standout performance with its Ferrari F430 GTC race cars. What made the team’s performance even more amazing was that The Risi Competizione Ferrari F430 GTCs ran the same Pennzoil Ultra Euro Formula any driver can buy in retail outlets.
The outlook for 2011 is just as exciting. Reuniting with Team Penske, Pennzoil driver will take on the 100th Anniversary Indy 500 race. Kurt Busch’s #22 Dodge will wear Shell Pennzoil colors in Sprint Cup competition. Additionally, Pennzoil will continue to power the highly successful Richard Childress Racing team.
Motorsports Race Schedule Popup
ALLMENDINGER TO DRIVE THE PENSKE RACING NO. 22 SHELL-PENNZOIL DODGE IN 2012
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (December 21, 2011) — Penske Racing has named AJ Allmendinger as the driver of the team’s No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Dodge Charger for the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Allmendinger, who has competed in the Cup Series since 2007, is coming off a strong season that saw him finish 15th in the series standings while battling for a position in the Chase for the Championship. The 30-year-old native of Los Gatos, Calif., earned one top-five, 10 top-10 and 22 top-15 results in 2011 while driving the No. 43 car for Richard Petty Motorsports.
"I am really excited about the opportunity to join Penske Racing and drive the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Dodge in 2012," said Allmendinger. "I have always admired Roger Penske and the way his teams compete and win in every series where they race. It is a privilege for me to represent such iconic and respected brands as Shell and Pennzoil, AAA and Dodge. I am honored to join Penske Racing and I will do my very best to continue to build on the standard of excellence established across the organization."
Allmendinger will join a winning team that's poised to compete for a position in the 2012 Cup Series Chase. The No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Dodge team produced two wins, three poles and 16 top-10 finishes in 2011 as it earned a spot in the Chase and finished 11th in the series standings. Allmendinger will be paired with crew chief Todd Gordon, who led the Penske Racing No. 22 Nationwide Series team to six victories last season and was named last week as the new chief of the Shell-Pennzoil Dodge.
"AJ is a very talented and motivated driver and we believe he will be a terrific fit with our team," said Roger Penske. "He has shown great promise and consistent results on the track over the last few seasons and working with Todd and the Shell-Pennzoil Dodge team will allow him to take the next step and compete for race wins and a spot in the Chase in 2012."
"Shell and Pennzoil are extremely pleased by Penske Racing's selection of AJ Allmendinger to drive the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Dodge," said Lisa Davis, President of Shell Oil Products U.S. "AJ has consistently demonstrated great potential and continuous improvement as a driver, and with Penske's track record, our employees and customers can look forward to seeing him contending for wins and ultimately a championship in the NASCAR Cup Series. We know he will represent our brands well on and off the track and we look forward to a successful 2012 with AJ behind the wheel."
Allmendinger honed his skills in the open-wheel racing ranks. After winning the Barber Dodge Pro Series title in 2002 and the Toyota Atlantic Championship in 2003, he earned Rookie of the Year honors in the Champ Car World Series in 2004. He posted five wins and finished third in the 2005 Champ Car World Series before making the switch to NASCAR. He first competed in the Cup Series in 2007 and he's earned 26 top-10 finishes in less than five Cup Series seasons. Allmendinger has finished inside the top 20 in points in each of the last two seasons.
Penske Racing is one of the most successful teams in the history of professional sports. Competing in a variety of disciplines, cars owned and prepared by Penske Racing have produced 350 major race wins, 412 pole positions and 23 National Championships. For more information about Penske Racing, please visit www.penskeracing.com.
RISI SECURE FIRST GT VICTORY FOR THE FERRARI 458 ITALIA IN THE ALMS
Risi Competizione, the privately-owned Ferrari team from Houston, Texas, today secured the first GT victory in the American Le Mans Series for the Ferrari 458 Italia, the new-for-2011 GT challenger from Maranello. There were four hours and 101 laps of scintillating racing at the scenic 4-mile Road America track in Wisconsin, the sixth round of the American Le Mans Series, and it was the Rosso Red Ferrari which took the checkered flag ahead of the two BMWs of Bill Auberlen/Dirk Werner and Dirk Muller/Joey Hand.
The victory was witnessed by a delighted Ing. Amedeo Felisa, the CEO of Ferrari SpA and Mr Marco Mattiacci, President and CEO of Ferrari North America as well as two of their fellow directors who had all travelled to Road America for the day to view the race.
The all-new-for-2011 challenger from Maranello has been up against some fierce competition in the intensely close ALMS production-led class, and the win — the team’s 21st in the series — is a great affirmation of the hard work put in by the entire Risi team. Team Principal Giuseppe Risi was thrilled with the team’s first win since Mid Ohio last year for a number of reasons:
“Today is probably one of the crowning moments of Risi Competizione. For us to be able to give the F458 its first victory in the US is wonderful. We’ve been close but this was really exceptional. The team did a fantastic job; the drivers were both outstanding and Jaime Melo demonstrated clearly just what an incredible driver he is, while Toni was superb during his stint. At the last pit stop, the crew were unbelievable. All our calculations turned out perfectly and the tire change was amazing. It was a great day for us."
Commenting on the fact that the victory took place in front of some honored guests, a very happy Mr Risi continued: “The other crowning moment is that the Ferrari 458 is Ing. Felisa’s ‘baby’, so to speak, as he has taken a special interest in its development. For he and Marco to witness this car win for the first time in the US, which also happens to be the biggest market for Ferrari, is very special. Ing. Felisa came here specially from California, disturbing his holiday to do so, so this is all one very happy Ferrari family."
As mentioned, Risi’s drivers Jaime Melo and Toni Vilander performed flawlessly throughout the four hour race under high pressure conditions, surviving some heart-stopping moments in the heat of track battle. The race win was, however, effectively secured in the pits at the last round of stops and under the fourth of the caution periods when the Risi crew carried out such a slick turn-around that Melo not only exited the pits ahead of his closest BMW rival, but was also able to pull out a small margin of comfort to see him through to the close of the event.
Recording his 18th career ALMS victory, as well as fastest GT race lap, Jaime Melo said afterwards: “It’s been a tough year for us as we have had many problems with the car at the beginning of the season, but we finally got the win which is really important for us and for Ferrari. It’s also important for this new model and it won’t be the last one. It just proves we must focus and never give up.
“We were using Michelin’s new mid-season development tires throughout the race and they were very consistent. It was quite hard to keep the pace, with the different temperatures during the race, and at the beginning it was pretty hard; we had a big battle between us and Corvette and BMW. I knew I had to put in everything I had because they always have something more. Luckily we were able to keep a good pace, Toni did a good job and the strategy was just great. Once again Risi showed we are here to win and we never give up. Now we’re looking forward to the next one."
For Finland’s Toni Vilander, it was his first ALMS victory — and he was duly drenched in podium champagne for that honor. “First of all I want to thank Jaime for really great work — the speed he had at the end was incredible- and the Risi team’s pit strategy was awesome. The speed the guys refuelled and changed tires was something special and it meant we could overtake many cars, especially with the last yellow.”
One of Vilander’s heart-stopping moments involved having to re-shut his car’s door after exiting the pits. “I had the engineer yelling ‘shut the door’ but I needed to release the pit speed limiter and change gear so I was running out of hands! I was alongside the Corvette by then and we barely touched but it was enough to upset both cars into a slide. It was good to show our potential and it will give us a boost for the remaining races."
POWER WINS INAUGURAL BALTIMORE GRAND PRIX
BALTIMORE, Md. (September 4, 2011) — Team Penske’s Will Power dominated the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix on Sunday for Verizon Team Penske and took another major step in his IZOD IndyCar Series championship quest.
Power led three times on the challenging Baltimore street circuit on Sunday for a race-high 70 laps as scored his sixth win of the season. After leading a Team Penske 1-2-3 finish one week earlier in Sonoma, Calif., Power made it two consecutive victories in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Honda as he cruised to a 10-second win over Oriol Servia.
With the victory, Power trimmed the deficit to series leader Dario Franchitti to just five points with three races remaining in the 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series. Power sliced 21 points off of Franchitti’s lead over the course of the weekend in Baltimore as the Penske pilot scored the points for the victory and the bonus markers for winning the pole and leading the most laps on Sunday while Franchitti finished fourth.
“I gave it absolutely everything I had,” said Power, who also captured his series-leading seventh pole of the season on Saturday. “That was an unbelievable result. One of my best races ever. That’s exactly what we needed. We’re closing in (on Franchitti)."
While Power was celebrating his victory, though, his teammates both encountered problems on the 12-turn, two-mile circuit constructed around Baltimore’s inner harbor. Ryan Briscoe finished 14th in the No. 6 Guidepoint Systems Team Penske machine following a mid-race penalty, while Helio Castroneves came home 17th in the No. 3 Shell V-Power Pennzoil Ultra Team Penske car after starting from the back of the field and falling a lap down when he was involved in a multi-car incident.
Power and his street course dominance were the story of the day on Sunday, however, as packed grandstands full of enthusiastic race fans soaked in their first taste of IndyCar racing on the streets of Baltimore. The key strategy of the race for Power and the Verizon team began during the extended caution period from laps 38-48.
Several competitors, including Servia and Tony Kanaan, came to pit lane under the long yellow flag hoping to stretch their fuel to the end of the race. Once the race was restarted, Power pushed as hard as he could to build a big lead over the cars that had pitted earlier. With a 27-second cushion, Power headed down pit lane and the Verizon crew executed a flawless stop to get their driver back on track ahead of Servia and Kanaan. From there, Power continued to set a blistering pace as he went on to produce his 12th win in 38 career starts for Team Penske.
“I just ran as hard as I could — basically running qualifying laps in the Verizon car to build that lead," said Power, who has now earned the most wins in a single season since Scott Dixon produced six victories on his way to the 2008 IndyCar Series title. “My guys had a great stop and they told me to go — to use my push-to-pass on my out lap so I could come out in front. When they told me on the radio that I was in front of Oriol and I was the leader I knew we were in a good position to win it. That’s a great feeling."
Unfortunately, Briscoe and Castroneves experienced different feelings on Sunday. After starting third, Briscoe ran among the top five for the first half of the race. On a lap 37 race restart, however, the Guidepoint Systems car made contact with the machine driven by Ryan Hunter-Reay, who spun in Turn 3 to create a logjam of cars. Eventually, race officials penalized Briscoe for avoidable contact in the incident and he was forced to serve a drive-through penalty on pit lane as he dropped from fourth to 17th in the running order. He finished in the 14th position and, as a result, fell from fifth to sixth in the series standings.“
"It ended up being a really disappointing day for us in the Guidepoint Systems car," said Briscoe. “After the contact with Hunter-Reay, we were penalized for avoidable contact. After that, we were pretty much done. It was really unfortunate for us as we had a car that was definitely capable of being in the hunt for another top-three finish. Good job to Will and the Verizon guys. They did what they needed to for the championship."
Castroneves also was impacted by the multicar accident in Turn 3 that touched off the long caution period, but even before the race started the three-time Indy 500 champion had an eventful Sunday. During the morning warmup practice, the brakes failed on Tony Kanaan’s car and it sailed over the top of Castroneves’ Shell Pennzoil machine and into the tire barrier. Fortunately, both drivers were uninjured in the scary accident, but they each had to turn to their backup cars as the primary machines were too damaged to repair. So, despite earning a seventh-place starting spot in qualifying, Castroneves was forced to start the race from the rear of the field in the backup car.
After working his way up in the running order, Castroneves was one of several drivers that stalled their cars after coming across the melee in Turn 3. After safety workers were able to re-fire the No. 3 Shell V-Power machine, Castroneves had fallen a lap down to the leaders and he was unable to recover.
“The Shell V-Power Pennzoil Ultra car had a lot of potential this weekend but we had a few bad breaks," said Castroneves, who remained ninth in the championship standings with Sunday’s finish. “We were in the warm-up accident with Tony, and I’m glad we both came out OK. The guys did a great job putting the backup car together but then the series penalized us for going to the backup. Once the race started we were doing OK Ñ we pitted early and were making track position, but there was an issue with the clutch when I tried to avoid all the cars in Turn 3 during the yellow and we ended up going a lap down. That really eliminated any chance of getting a top-10 finish."
Why does Pennzoil® compete in motorsports? Because that’s where you’ll find the most advanced engines being subjected to the most extreme operating conditions. Developing the technology to provide better protection and performance for these cars means developing better protection and performance for yours. Click on each of the series below to learn more about the technology transfer from track to street.