Friday Feature: Roger Penske Racing: The Can Am Challenge

In 1972 Roger Penske Racing set the Porsche 917/10K loose on the Can Am series with the goal of disrupting McLaren’s enduring dominance of the series. This video, Roger Penske Racing: The Can Am Challenge, tells the story of the opening round of the season at Mosport in Canada.

The 917 had already given Porsche wins in the 1970 and 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans, unseating another dominant force, the Ford GT40, in the process and earning its endurance cred. When it got to Can Am it did much the same, with Penske Racing driver George Follmer bringing home full points in five of the series’ nine rounds and stretching out a championship lead that doubled Denny Hulme’s total in the McLaren M20.

Roger Penske Racing: The Can Am Challenge follows the team through the first round of the 1972 Can Am season at Mosport and features plenty of behind the scenes footage, track action and the awe inspiring sounds of these magic old race cars.