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A22 SPORTS
Tuesday 7 January 2020

In this Monday, Nov. 4, 2019, file photo, Penske Corporation
Chairman Roger Penske responds to a question during a press
conference at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis.
Associated Press
Penske takes

France's Clement Noel celebrates on podium after winning an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom ownership
in Zagreb, Croatia, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2020.
Associated Press
4th career win sends Noel of Indianapolis

top of slalom standings Motor Speedway

By JENNA FRYER Terms of the sale have not
By ERIC WILLEMSEN "I can be proud of what Soldeu. AP Auto Racing Writer been disclosed, but peo-
ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — I did today. It was a tight Noel went top of the slalom Roger Penske completed ple familiar with the trans-
Clement Noel returned race but it was a good standings with 180 points, his purchase of Indianap- action have told AP some
to winning ways Sunday, race," Noel said. "I knew if five clear of Olympic olis Motor Speedway on of the discussions involved
shrugging off the disap- I did no mistake I could be champion Andre Myhrer, Monday, becoming just the offers of $250 million and
pointment of failing to finish the fastest." who placed fourth Sunday. fourth owner of the historic $300 million for the pack-
a race in front of his French Zenhaeusern led Noel by The retirement of Marcel facility and subsidiaries that age, with a promise of ad-
home crowd three weeks 0.27 seconds but lost frac- Hirscher has left the slalom include the IndyCar Series. ditional capital improve-
ago. tions of his advantage with season title wide open. The The speedway had been ments to the speedway.
Watched by 8,000 specta- each split time in his final Austrian record eight-time owned by Tony Hulman It took the Penske Corp.
tors on the Sljeme hill, Noel run. overall champion won the and Hulman & Co. since only six weeks to reach a
came from behind to win "In the end I have to be discipline globe six times in 1945, but the family ap- purchase agreement with
the first men's World Cup happy. It was close, it was the last seven years, with proached Penske in Sep- Hulman & Co. and the sale
slalom of 2020. tight, it was only seven hun- Kristoffersen as the only tember for advice when was initially announced
Fourth after the opening dredths," said the Swiss ski- other winner, in 2016. Tony George and his three in November. The very
leg, Noel edged first-run er, who was also looking for The three races so far this sisters decided to sell. Pen- next day, the 82-year-old
leader Ramon Zenhaeusern his fourth career victory, af- season have produced ske jumped at the opportu- Penske walked the entire
of Switzerland by 0.07 sec- ter winning two city events three different winners. nity. grounds and began mak-
onds for his first win of the and one slalom - in Kranjska "Marcel was a little better Penske first attended the ing lists on improvements
season and fourth overall. Gora near the end of the than everyone. He was the Indianapolis 500 in 1951 "The Captain" wants done.
"It's really amazing," Noel 2018-19 campaign. big guy, the best skier in the as a teenager and has The sale puts him in charge
said. "The race was really, Noel started the season by world for so many years. It's missed only six runnings of of the speedway, the
really perfect. There are so finishing runner-up to Krist- good to have new faces "The Greatest Spectacle in open-wheel series that is
many people here and the offersen in Levi in Novem- on the podium," Noel said, Racing" since. His 18 victo- built around the 500 and
atmosphere was incred- ber but skied out of the first before adding with a smile: ries in the Indy 500 as a car the track's esteemed pro-
ible. What a way to start run of his "home" slalom in "Sometimes it's good that owner are a record, and duction group. Penske will
2020." Val d'Isere last month. Marcel is not here any- Simon Pagenaud swept step down as race strate-
Alex Vinatzer of Italy was "In Val d'Isere it was a big more." the month of May for Team gist for Will Power to avoid
0.29 back in third for his disappointment," Noel said. Kristoffersen was leading Penske last year. any conflict of interest in
first career podium result, "I wanted not a revenge the standings going into "We are looking forward to owning the series as well as
while Austria's Mario Matt, but to cross the finish line the race, but he dropped carrying on the tradition a three-car team.
who was second behind is a good point, especially to fourth. of the Indianapolis Mo- The IndyCar Series has
Zenhaeusern after the first when you win the race." The Norwegian and Pin- tor Speedway and Indy- been in a slow rebuild but
leg, failed to finish his final The 22-year-old Frenchman turault were among the Car racing," Penske said. the industry hopes Penske's
run. had his breakthrough in the many racers in the first run "We have been diligently reach can speed up the
Henrik Kristoffersen and final two months of last sea- who got in trouble on a working with the teams at process. Penske does not
Alexis Pinturault, who won son. snow bump with a red gate IMS, IndyCar and IMS Pro- plan to make any immedi-
the two previous slaloms Having not been on a right behind it. ductions over the last two ate changes to leadership
this season, both failed to World Cup podium be- Kristoffersen nearly skied months to ensure a smooth at the speedway or Indy-
recover from disappointing fore, he finished runner-up out and carried a deficit of and productive transition Car, but he does plan to
opening runs and finished in Adelboden in January 1.50 seconds into his sec- and we are ready to hit the put his own board of direc-
19th and ninth, respective- before winning races in ond run, where he failed to ground running." tors in place. q
ly. Wengen, Kitzbuehel and make up the deficit.q