CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- For his entire life, Jimmie Johnson wanted to race in the Indianapolis 500. In 2007 or 2008 -- he can't recall specifically -- as a NASCAR champion with an established name, respected among racers worldwide, he took the initiative to try.

Johnson approached Roger Penske -- the man who fielded cars for his childhood hero, Rick Mears -- with a point-blank question: "Would you consider me for Indy?"

Not only did Penske consider, he agreed, and even arranged to summon Mears to serve as Johnson's driving coach. Johnson's wife, Chandra, was onboard. Their agreement was that Johnson could attempt the Indy 500 until they had children. Their first child, daughter Genevieve, wasn't born until 2010.

Then, when Johnson approached his NASCAR owner, Rick Hendrick, with the plan, Hendrick was uncertain how the driver's sponsor, Lowe's would respond -- or even how he himself truly felt about it. But one thing was certain -- Johnson could never run that race in a Honda-powered car. And by the time Chevrolet re-entered IndyCar in 2012, Johnson was a father. Too late.

It was too late to race at Indy, but the experience of business engagement with Penske left a lifelong impression.

"The fact that he had confidence in me to do it -- I mean, it's a fantasy," Johnson said. "I daydreamed about it constantly, the chance to go to Indy with Penske, and Rick as coach, that whole fantasy. And I was floating on cloud nine the entire time thinking about it.

"For me, my path, Rick Mears as my hero, the whole thing. To have that come together with the potential to actually happen, to be there with the best team, I was completely awestruck."

Rusty Wallace won more races with owner Roger Penske than any other. ISC Images & Archives/Getty Images

I can relate. Penske always says hello and imparts some wisdom. I'm startled he even knows my name. He seems to know every name.

On a cold afternoon in January, Penske is folded into one of those wooden director's chairs with the cloth seat-bottom and matching backrest. It is perched atop a riser. The reflective glare of a blazing spotlight bounces from his right eye and trademark starched-white button-down. He is holding court, separated from a small group of reporters by a seatbelt stretched between a pair of metal poles.

Penske answers question upon question about Brad Keselowski's attitude and driving style, and Joey Logano's maturation and how his racing team in 2014 managed to produce $300 million in exposure for its sponsors.

As I watch this, I realize that every word he says has weight. I figure that's a derivative of the respect he commands. And in a world of baseless 140-character drivel, this moment is a testament: Few people in auto racing are as respected. No one in auto racing is more respected. The same could be said for American businessmen.

I wonder about Penske, his life, his failures or near misses or regrets. I wonder how it all unfolded. I wonder about the iconic brand built on his surname and his word, which crosses all manner of business platforms but is, he says, an auto racing company at its bullseye-center. I wonder how this one man accrued 45,000 employees worldwide and 340 car dealerships worldwide and 200,000 trucks roaming the highway.

"He's the world's best organizer," said Rusty Wallace, who scored 37 of his 55 career NASCAR victories in Penske's iconic No. 2. "He knows how to assemble people, and has a great sense of what will and won't work, and how people will work together.

"He's met so many thousands of people that he has a great sense of personalities. He's probably got more respect than anybody I know. You'll never hear anyone say anything negative about him. I hear negative things about other people all the time. But not Roger. He gets the ultimate respect. And that's also because he's a nice guy. He always helps another man out when they need it. That's big."

Wallace says he questioned Penske's decision-making many times. He shouldn't have.

"I learned that he's generally always right," Wallace said with a laugh. "He has an amazing way to look at talent, whether it's [Mark] Donahue, Danny Sullivan, Mears, myself, Keselowski, on and on and on.

"With so much experience under his belt with the dealerships and the transportation stuff, he's been there, done that. He'll tell you he's made many mistakes, like we all have. But he's worked out all the bugs."

Though there is a keen prologue to Penske's story, the first chapter was truly penned in 1964. Naturally, because he chose to go to work.

I'm told this is a well-oiled tale in IndyCar circles but I'd never heard it, and find it completely fascinating. In the early 1960s Penske was dabbling successfully in various forms of auto racing as a driver, when he was asked by legendary IndyCar mechanics Clint Brawner and Jim McGee to try out at Indianapolis.

But to attend the test Penske would have had to miss work. He couldn't afford to miss work. He was a sales engineer for Alcoa in Philadelphia, which at the time, he told me, was a far more stable occupation than race driver was.

"I couldn't get the time off," Penske grins now. "I was making $450 a month! So I said, 'I better keep this job.' I said no to the test, and a guy named Mario Andretti took that test in that car."

Well, then.

Roger Penske is active in numerous businesses, but one of the biggest is his car dealerships. ISC Images & Archives/Getty Images

Old hat or not, that's a hell of a serendipitous scenario that launched two legendary careers and thus, as far as I'm concerned, deserves telling and retelling. Maybe that explains the grin on Penske's face.

"I wouldn't do anything any different," Penske continued. "I made a decision not to take an Indy driving test when I could've, the car that ended up as Mario Andretti's. That was the right thing. I picked business over being a driver, and then was able to get into the racing business.

"When you think about that, there's not much more I could do. I'm in the business I like. It's always changing. Automotive has been terrific for us. The big thing for me is the fact that I've been able to grow a company with 45,000 people now who really understand Team Penske and who know we want to win.

"That gives me pride. It's not the paycheck. It's more the success you see of the people you put in, like a [Ryan] Blaney or Keselowski or Logano or Mark Donahue or Rick Mears, on and on and on, people you gave a chance to, and they dug deep and produced. That's the secret of our success."

Racing, he says, is in his blood. Racing, he says, is the common thread throughout his empire.

"We use it to drive professionalism within the individuals, the continuity, the integrity, the teamwork. It's my golf game or fishing trip every weekend," he said. "It's been able to give me a chance to differentiate myself and our brand throughout the world. That's important today.

The benefit of that, he said is an organic competitive foundation and the reputation that accompanies it: Racers compete. Period. And the Penske brand and every business therein, he said is tied to motor racing.

"The value has been there for us," he said. "We've been able to generate success and then generate great sponsorships with some of the great companies. Racing has always been that entry."

Penske claims to have failed often in life, but the empire suggests otherwise. Next year will mark his 50th anniversary as an owner of professional racing teams. The résumé is ridiculous.

"My biggest failure might be that I haven't spent more time with my family," he admitted. "But I'm fortunate, with 12 grandchildren and five children and a great wife. We've been married 42 years, so I'd have to say with all of the racing and all the business, we're still smiling.

"In business there's always something you've got to rub down to bare metal, and I've got a few of those that I deal with every day. But the good news is, more wins than losses."

More wins than losses. That's all a man can ask for really, isn't it?

"Just talking through all that with him was so wild," Johnson said. "It was a lot like meeting and talking to Rick, and getting to know him. It's an out-of-body experience.

"There's a lot of great owners in our sport, but Rick and Roger, it's different."