This makes me want to burn MY shop to the ground...

Penske...500,000 sq.ft....

 

holy shit!!!! damn that looks more like a hospital than a shop...did you take those?

Bill

 

i'd be afraid of getting oil or grease in the grout...that floor looks like you could eat off it....very cool

 

too bad it's full of the wrong type of cars
for some reason those only turn left

 

Wow, think of all the junk you could store in there!!!!

 

Dang...that guy's got almost as much money as you!!!

 

how and where did you get those?
photos like those DONT get out of penske type places very often..

 

I don't see the beer fridge???? probably couldn't get anything done in there

 

And imagine some guys just need a place to build there cars and have trouble paying the Rentske.

 

well, now I've seen it all.....a garage on steroids!!! Roger has done pretty well for himself.

 

Damn ! he has me beat by one car ! shit !.....

 

I don't know guys, I don't think I could get anything accomplished in there. I'm so used to tripping over shit in my garage, I wouldn't know how to work on a car if I wasn't falling over welding lead or jack handles or something. I also noticed there aren't any tools all over the floor. I couldn't find anything if they were actually put away in the drawer the came from!

Dammit I'm jealous.

 

Most larger teams shops are similar. Most mid-size teams arejust as organized but not as "bling-y" in the photos. Corporate America is what has pushed the envelope to "mine is bigger and better than yours" mentality. These type shops are scattere all through-out our area.

On the opposite side of the spectrum is a few shops, one in particular is David Ifft's shop. If you don't know David, he is out of the Gastonia, NC/York SC area and is what is commonly reffered to as a starter crew-chief. A business man comes to him and says he wants to form a Nascar team and run 8-12 races a year. Corporate America is more interested in giving money to an established team than they are to a "wanna-be" so David leases Mr. Businessman a car, an engine package, a basic team, a hauler and etc. and they go racing. Once the new team is "on their feet" and get some corporate backing, then Mr. Businessman goes and builds his own shop and outfits it. THOSE smaller shops like David's are the one's you want to go see inside of. Their ability to make something from scratch, and the connections within the circles to get trick parts from big teams and secret factory backdoors is phenominal. The shops still must be super organized, and clean as a pin yet you see a world that we can all relate too. Yeah, I will agree that Penske's shop is a nice dream, but I see things that do not look user-friendly for me (hard tile floors with grouted seams) and I like practicality.

Whether you are a Cup team, --or a drag racer, street rodder, or tinker-er, having the abilty to own one of the smaller type shops like this that are outfitted with enough parts & equipment (jigs, mills, lathes, HVA/C, and etc.) to build what we all like is truly a neat way to dream. They are practical, and are believable in my eyes. Now others thoughts and mileage will vary........

 

Most of the NASCAR teams have a place comparable.
You should see the DEI complex ... or the Hendricks shop complex

One of the really cool things about living here near Charlotte NC is the shops and the support shops for the NASCAR world. GoodGuys has a poker run on Thursdays before their Charlotte event ... that goes to some of the NASCAR shops.

Heres a link to Juniors ... http://www.dalejr.net/experience-it/dei.htm

 

did ya notice how the toolboxes match the sponsor's colors behind the different cars??? even the paint above. CRAZY!!! i don't think i'd need QUITE that much space but i sure think i could get some work done if i WAS'NT tripping over myself in the garage all the time. NICE!!

...all i need are some sponsors i guess

 

I had the pleasure of visiting the DEI shop a few years ago..... it was nuts.... the CNC head machine.... the dyno room.... hell, I was impressed by the arcade in the lobby....

By luck, they were testing cams the day I visited..... revving motors until they failed just to get the data.... there was a line of motors in one area, around 60 engines, all ready to go.....and get destroyed....

I wonder what Smokey Y would think?

Personally, I am happy... I have a cement floor, a roof, and a stereo to work on my junk....

and I live in Wisconson, so I don't need a beer fridge.... in the winter you just put it in the snow and in the summer you drink really fast......

Now, if I can just find where I put that valve spring compressor... I know it's in there somewhere, admist all of the stuff.......

 

Back in the late 80's one of my customers was the Williams Formula 1 team, their workshop was a sight to behold, incredibly clean and tidy but nowhere near that big, but then they only run two cars at a time!

 

one more reason why I don't give a rats ass about NASCAR. bunch of rich fucks.

I wouldn't even want a shop like that. oh I'd like to have the building and the tools, but it sure wouldnt look like that for long

 

I couldn't function in a place like that.

 

I've always heard that Penske was a clean freak - always grabbing a broom and sweeping up - looking at those shots, Roger must get plenty of exercise!

 

I'd rather pay $55 for three days in the Famoso pits, then pay $55 a day to watch billboards go around the track. But then I'm in the minority I guess...

 

Yeah its nice but I'll bet you he still has all the broke and dented up stuff piled up in the back yard leaning on an old saw horse!!!

 

Looks like they spent a couple bucks putting that place together.
I'd be happy with an 1/8th of it, and it dosn't even have to be a clean 1/8th..

 

larry ..please remove all cars from shop before lighting it on fire !!!thank you!!
i dont care much for nascar...first off, im a straight line kinda guy...and second,, theres not one 'car' that even looks like a car anymore...
kinda like funny cars....man have they gotten ugly!!!thats why i like pro stock..they still look kinda car like!!!
but still...holy shit!!!!looks like a museum not a shop!!!kool

 

Just got home from the Moonshine Festival in Dawsonville. GA. There is where the real Nascar is. Home of Bill Elliott and the soul of the original Nascar before the France family turned it into a bank. Will get some pictures posted tonight.

 

Who's your sponsor, & how many millions a year do they contribute towards the building, & upkeep of your cars, & shop?

If the answer is, none, none, & you have to buy your own beer. Then save your matches.....LOL

 

Some of you Photoshop guys need to jump on this.
A HA/GR doing a sideways burnout on that floor.Then it might like "right",,,,kinda.

 

Yeah, I'm with ya on that recardo...never liked NASCAR, never will...

 

Look closely at this pic and you'll see the only rod with a HAMB decal (my black '40 coupe) parked INSIDE the Penske shop last night at the annual Penske Hot Rod Picnic, an invite-only gathering sponsored by Rodder's Digest and Don Miller, Penske Veep and a real hot rodder. Proud to be representin' traditional amongst the many upscale cars (however, Don Millers and Ryan Newmans cars are trad, too). vic