• Blog Home
  • About
  • Categories
  • Archives
  • Websites
  • Careers
  • Logistics
  • Truck Rental
  • Truck Leasing
  • Rental
  • Leasing
  • Logistics
  • Why Penske
  • Careers
  • Search
Mobile Navigation Icon
Social Media
Penske Logo
  • About
  • Categories
    • Insights (22)
    • Logistics (586)
    • Penske Careers (300)
    • Penske News (684)
    • Sales Promotion (27)
    • Truck Leasing (406)
    • Truck Rental (460)
    • Used Trucks (114)
  • Archives
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
  • Websites
    • GoPenske
    • Penske Careers
    • Penske Logistics
    • Penske Truck Leasing
    • Penske Truck Rental
    • Penske Used Trucks

Move Ahead

The Official Blog for Penske Truck Leasing, Truck Rental and Logistics

Penske Restores Iconic Transporter That Delivered Team Penske First Indy 500 Win

February 20, 2017

Comment

Following an exhaustive restoration process Team Penske has unveiled one of the most unique pieces of its history, a customized 1972 International Fleetstar truck known in the racing circles as The Blue Hilton. Penske Truck Leasing played a key role in the restoration process.

With assistance from Morgan Corporation and a dedicated group led by Penske Truck Leasing’s James Svaasand, Michael Klotz, and David Hall – along with Team Penske Historian Bernie King – it took over 8,000 man-hours to complete the Blue Hilton transformation (see the top image).

The truck was one of the first known enclosed transporters used for racing purposes. It served the team in various capacities from 1972-1983. The restoration is complete down to the smallest detail, including authentic PPG paint and hand lettering just in time for Roger Penske’s 80th birthday.

An iconic part of team history, the Blue Hilton (see bottom photo) transported the No. 66 McLaren that Mark Donohue drove to victory in the 1972 Indianapolis 500 – the first of Team Penske’s record 16 wins in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

In conjunction with its sister transporter, The White Hilton, it was used to transport the powerful, championship-winning Porsche 917s that dominated the landscape of the Can-Am Series in the early 1970s with George Follmer and Donohue before it was sold in 1983.

“After we confirmed that it was, in fact, the Blue Hilton that was for sale, I called Brian Hard (president and CEO of Penske Truck Leasing) and we agreed that we had to find a way to bring her back to life,” said Team Penske President Tim Cindric.

“This transporter was there when the foundation was laid for Team Penske and it is symbolic of the way in which we operate today,” Cindric continued. “Everyone at PTL did an unbelievable job restoring this vehicle. I can’t wait for Roger to see it in person, as it is something he will cherish.”

The Blue Hilton helped change the landscape of auto racing, as it was the precursor to today’s impressive closed transporters that carry cars, parts and equipment to race tracks all over the globe.

With his keen engineering mind, Donohue – a 2016 inaugural Team Penske Hall of Fame inductee and the organization’s first champion driver – designed the payload area of the truck based on efficiency and functionality. It was aptly named the Blue Hilton based on its royal blue exterior and the sleeper area above the cab, which is a standard feature in today’s transporters.

Until Jerry Breon, a long-time Penske team member, located the sales listing in an automotive trade magazine in the fall of 2015, this historic vehicle was thought to have been scrapped.

The truck was purchased from George Boyd of Urbana, Illinois, who had utilized it while competing in various racing series until retiring it to a spot on his property. He was the only owner of the truck after its days at Team Penske.

After verification and removal from the Boyd property, the Blue Hilton was towed to the Penske Truck Leasing collision repair center in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, where the restoration began with the help of Donohue’s original blueprints.

“When you talk with the crew members that drove and worked out of this transporter over those years, and you look at the photos from the many cars it carried, you see how the Blue Hilton was an integral part of our history,” said Bernie King.

“It’s certainly very much a part of the Team Penske heritage,” King said. “Everyone at Penske Truck Leasing that was involved did a fantastic job of restoring this truck to how it was when it ran and carried many of the team’s winning cars.”

Initially, Blue Hilton will be on display at the Team Penske headquarters in Mooresville, North Carolina, where fans can view it from the fan walk that runs the length of the massive shop floor.

By “Move Ahead” Staff

Penske NewsTruck Leasingbest practicesblue hiltoncollision repair centerindianapolis 500Indy 500IndyCarpenske racingPenske Truck Leasingrace haulerteam pensketransportationtruck collision repair center

Speak Your Mind Cancel reply

*

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  1. JAMES ATKINSON says:
    February 23, 2017 at 10:29 AM

    love this story and I am very proud to be apart of this heritage go team Penske PTL SHOP 0506-10 THANK YOU PTL FOR ALL YOU DO …

    Reply
  2. Jamie Sierra says:
    February 16, 2018 at 9:59 AM

    Penske’s Body Shops are all amazing but this story is just fantastic from start to finish. Awesome job and what a great gift!

    This would be a great feature for the entire company to see the amazing work our Body Shop Technicians produce each year, with pictures and videos. As you can see in this feature above, this is just a small piece of what our Technicians produce each year. They re-build trucks, some from the ground up.

    Reply

Recent Posts

Ops Supervisor Rides Motorcycle to Change Children’s Lives at Full Throttle

Friendship Drives Associate’s Campaign for Organ Donor Awareness

Roger Penske Inducted Into NASCAR Hall of Fame

Penske Associates Plant Seeds for Lasting Volunteerism

Penske Logistics Truck Driver Jim Clark Named to ATA America’s Road Team

Plymouth, Michigan, Associates Volunteer at Teddy Bear Toss Event

Penske Logistics Returns as Top Sponsor of Automotive Logistics Mexico Conference

New UTI Campus Opens Penske-Branded Diesel Lab

POSTS COMMENTS
  • Archives

    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017
    • March 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • October 2016
    • September 2016
    • August 2016
    • July 2016
    • June 2016
    • May 2016
    • April 2016
    • March 2016
    • February 2016
    • January 2016
    • December 2015
    • November 2015
    • October 2015
    • September 2015
    • August 2015
    • July 2015
    • June 2015
    • May 2015
    • April 2015
    • March 2015
    • February 2015
    • January 2015
    • December 2014
    • November 2014
    • October 2014
    • September 2014
    • August 2014
    • July 2014
    • June 2014
    • May 2014
    • April 2014
    • March 2014
    • February 2014
    • January 2014
    • December 2013
    • November 2013
    • October 2013
    • September 2013
    • August 2013
    • July 2013
    • June 2013
    • May 2013
    • April 2013
    • March 2013
    • February 2013
    • January 2013
    • December 2012
    • November 2012
    • October 2012
    • September 2012
    • August 2012
    • July 2012
    • June 2012
    • May 2012
    • April 2012
    • March 2012
    • February 2012
    • January 2012
    • December 2011
    • November 2011
    • October 2011
    • September 2011
    • August 2011
    • July 2011
    • June 2011
    • May 2011
    • April 2011
    • March 2011
    • February 2011
    • January 2011
    • December 2010
    • November 2010
  • Meta

    • Log in
  • gopenske.com
  • Used Trucks

© Penske. All Rights Reserved.

  • Social Media Channels
  • Commenting Policy

Contact Penske 1-888-236-3560

  • gopenske.com
  • Used Trucks
  • Penske News

© Penske. All Rights Reserved.

  • Commenting Policy