MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Larry Bluth and Clive Howell are the latest inductees into the Team Penske Hall of Fame.
The two have combined for over 80 years of experience with Team Penske during the course of their distinguished careers, serving as integral members of the organization. Bluth and Howell become the 12th and 13th inductees to the Team Hall of Fame that began in 2016 when Team Penske celebrated its 50th anniversary in motorsports.
Bluth is Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Penske Corporation and he also serves as Team Penske’s General Counsel. He joined the team in 1981 and became General Counsel in 1986. Bluth has overseen all organizational legal matters, while managing legal policy and strategy since that time, including the overall structure of the company’s motorsports business. Bluth helped establish Team Penske’s re-entries into NASCAR and sports car racing, the acquisition and development of its team facilities as well as the organization’s race track ownership. In addition, Bluth has also crafted Team Penske’s sponsorship, driver and OEM agreements.
“What an honor it is to share a Hall of Fame with so many greats that have made Team Penske what it is today,” said Bluth. “I am proud of the role I have played in the history of this great team. General counsels are not usually the first team members thought of, but we are working behind the scenes to make sure everything runs smoothly. It has been a great ride.”
Howell retired from Team Penske at the end of the 2018 season following a distinguished, 39-year career with the organization. A native of Surry, England, Howell began his professional career with an internship in the British aviation industry, where he became a qualified tool maker. Howell then maximized a family connection at Motor Racing Developments, a company started by Sir Jack Brabham and Ron Tauranac and later purchased by Bernie Ecclestone, to begin his racing career.
After working in Formula 1 with Brabham, Howell joined Penske Cars, Ltd. in Poole, Dorset, England. He then transitioned to the Team Penske IndyCar Series operation in Reading, Pennsylvania, first serving as a mechanic on the car driven by Bobby Unser. Howell advanced quickly in the organization, working in several management positions before he retired in 2018 after 20 years as the General Manager for Penske Racing Inc., an entity that oversaw the team’s NTT IndyCar Series and, formerly, IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship programs. Howell helped oversee 15 of Team Penske’s record 18 victories in the Indianapolis 500, as well as 12 of the team’s 17 IndyCar Series championships.
“I cannot thank everyone enough for this great honor and to be the first Brit to be inducted into the Team Penske Hall of Fame,” said Howell. “I came over here in 1980 knowing where Watkins Glen (N.Y) and Long Beach (Calif.) were, but nothing about what went on in the middle. I thought I would be here a few years, but I ended up meeting my wife. The rest is history, and what a history it was.”
With their inductions, Bluth and Howell join previous Team Penske Hall of Fame honorees: Roger Penske (2016), Mark Donohue (2016), Rick Mears (2017), Karl Kainhofer (2017), Rusty Wallace (2018), Walter Czarnecki (2018), Don Miller (2019), Dan Luginbuhl (2019), Helio Castroneves (2020), Tim Cindric (2021) and Jerry Breon (2021).