AVONDALE, Ariz. — There is no such a thing as a perfect season. At least that is what Roger Penske told The Associated Press hours after winning his third consecutive NASCAR championship. Maybe not. But Team Penske sure came close. It started in January with a rare show of emotion from “The Captain” — Josef Newgarden said his 87-year-old boss was in tears — after Team Penske won its first Rolex 24 at Daytona endurance race since 1969. Weeks later, Joey Logano put a Penske car on the pole for the Daytona 500 for the first time in team history. It turned out Logano was wearing an illegal glove for that historic qualifying run — a trick Penske lit into his veteran leader for even trying — but the organization moved on to win nearly everything else in major motorsports this season. Will Power came up short in the IndyCar championship to three-time champion Alex Palou, and Team Penske didn’t win the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but shy of that? Most major trophies say Penske this year. The IndyCar team — rocked by its own cheating scandal in the season-opening race — won six races and Newgarden claimed a second consecutive Indianapolis 500 victory. Scott McLaughlin finished third in the final standings. The sports car program that Penske has built from scratch with partner Porsche last month won the IMSA championship and two weekends ago in Bahrain won the World Endurance Championship. At the same time in Martinsville, Virginia, reigning NASCAR champion Ryan Blaney won the race to put two Penske cars in Sunday’s winner-take-all Cup Series championship at …
