As a youngster, my dad would serve as a firefighter for the races run at Michigan International Speedway.
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M.I.S. was less than 10 miles from my house. My brother and I plus one lucky friend would look forward to the four or five races each summer we’d attend.
This was before the era of luxury boxes and suites, so we’d sit behind pit row with the racer and pit crew families. I got to meet a lot of cool people and collect my share of autographs.
One person I never got to meet was Roger Penske. He’s arguably the greatest race car owner in history as he’s had tremendous success in all forms of racing from Formula One to Indy to NASCAR.
However, when I was going to Michigan International Speedway Roger Penske was the track’s owner. Even though I never met him, my father did on a couple of occasions. He’d rave about Roger Penske and how kind and friendly he was.
I have no idea what Roger Penske was like then or is like today. However, what I do know is he made my dad feel special.
My dad wasn’t a sponsor, a race car driver, or a member of the Penske family. I’ve no idea if he even knew my dad’s name, but my dad enjoyed every interaction they had.
Years later, I would become a college basketball coach which meant Tabitha and I moved a lot. Every single one of those sevens moves we made had us loading up our precious belongings onto a Penske moving truck.
My dad was a believer in Roger Penske. Penske Trucking didn’t need our business, but we needed them. We needed someone trustworthy when we nervously drove a thousand miles to a new region, a new job, and new friends.
More times than not, how you do anything is how you do everything.
My dad believed that if the owner of the company made random everyday people feel special, then he probably did the same for people inside his business and this would lead to a better culture which led to better products and services.
Roger Penske wasn’t trying to make a customer out of my dad, but we did become loyal customers because of how he treated my dad.
It’s a good reminder to be genuine and sincere in our actions and to make others feel special.