PORTLAND, Ore. – (Sept. 1, 2022) – Freightliner, a Daimler Truck North America (DTNA) brand, welcomed long-time partners Penske Truck Leasing (PTL) and Team Penske to its hometown for the upcoming NTT INDYCAR SERIES Grand Prix of Portland. After a charge at DTNA’s Electric Island, the first-of-its-kind electric charging station for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles in North America, the No. 3 Freightliner Dallara/Chevrolet INDYCAR was hauled from DTNA headquarters to Portland International Raceway by the all-electric Freightliner eCascadia.
“Through our collaborative efforts with customers like Penske Truck Leasing, we continue to advance sustainable commercial fleets and move toward the decarbonization of the trucking industry,” said Mary Aufdemberg, General Manager, Product Strategy and Market Development, DTNA. “And with a great relationship to Team Penske, we’re able to highlight that collaboration in unique ways while bringing that camaraderie to our hometown racetrack and the Portland Grand Prix. We look forward to cheering on Team Penske this weekend.”
Since 2020, Penske Truck Leasing has tested Freightliner eCascadias with its customers in a number of different logistics operations, making deliveries of everything from foodstuffs to grocery stores, supplies to quick-service restaurant chains, medical equipment to hospitals and, more recently, race cars to racing events. Earlier this year, the three organizations made history when a pre-series Freightliner eCascadia was used by Team Penske to pull a full-sized racecar hauler to the Busch Light Clash event in Los Angeles, California.
“Overall, driver and customer feedback about the Freightliner eCascadia has been very positive with many noting the electric vehicle features provide a unique driving experience in a familiar package along with the added benefits of enhanced sustainability,” said Paul Rosa, Senior Vice President of Procurement and Fleet Planning at Penske Truck Leasing. “We continue to expand our electric vehicle fleet, using the trucks for customers in various applications, including bringing our Team Penske vehicles to races.”
Team Penske at the Portland Grand Prix
Racing for Team Penske at the Grand Prix of Portland will be Scott McLaughlin, who is in his sophomore season in the INDYCAR SERIES. McLaughlin has already earned two poles and two victories, including at the season-opening event at St. Pete and on the legendary road course at Mid-Ohio. McLaughlin’s pole at Nashville tied him with teammate Will Power as the all-time winningest pole winner in Team Penske history, with 61-career poles across Supercars and INDYCAR. He is a three-time Australian Supercars Champion and has won 56 races over the course of his Supercar career, including the 2019 Bathurst 1000.
Over the course of its storied career, Team Penske’s INDYCAR program has earned six wins and eight poles at the Grand Prix of Portland, with their most recent win coming in 2019. The Grand Prix of Portland is scheduled for Sept. 2 to 4. To learn more, visit portlandgp.com.
Charging at Electric Island
Daimler Truck North America and Portland General Electric (PGE) opened the first-of-its-kind heavy-duty electric truck charging site in North America in 2020. Electric Island helps accelerate the development, testing and deployment of CO2-neutral commercial vehicles (tank to wheel) like Freightliner’s recently launched, all-electric eCascadia Class 8 truck which is being built in Portland.
Extensive development and rigorous testing through prototypes and customer-tested trucks, resulted in a powerful and efficient battery electric truck with multiple battery and drive axle options, providing a typical range of 230 miles (depending on vehicle configurations). The eCascadia is ideally suited for short-haul routes that allow for depot-based charging like last mile logistics, local and regional distribution, drayage and warehouse to warehouse applications.
Electric Island is located across the street from DTNA headquarters in Portland, OR. Equipped with eight different chargers, the site is designed to allow the chargers of today to be replaced with new charger technologies of the future, including megawatt chargers.
Electric Island serves also as the blueprint for a future joint venture (JV) with DTNA, NextEra Energy Resources, LLC and BlackRock Renewable Power (BlackRock) to design, develop, install and operate a high-performance charging network for medium- and heavy-duty battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles on critical freight routes along the east and west coasts and in Texas by 2026. First phase is set to begin construction in 2023.
Media contact:
DTNA: anja.weinert@daimlertruck.com
Team Penske: jeremy.troiano@teampenske.com
Penske Truck Leasing: randolph.ryerson@penske.com
About Daimler Truck North America
Daimler Truck North America LLC, headquartered in Portland, Oregon, is a leading provider of comprehensive products and technologies for the commercial transportation industry. Daimler Truck North America designs, engineers, manufactures and markets medium- and heavy-duty trucks, school buses, vehicle chassis and their associated technologies and components under the Freightliner, Western Star, Thomas Built Buses, Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp and Detroit brands. Daimler Truck North America is a subsidiary of Daimler Truck Holding AG (DTG), one of the world’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturers. Visit www.northamerica.daimlertruck.com to learn more.
About Freightliner Trucks
Freightliner Trucks is a division of Daimler Truck North America (DTNA) LLC, headquartered in Portland, Oregon. With 80 years of experience, Freightliner produces and markets medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks as the leading heavy-duty truck brand in North America. DTNA is a subsidiary of Daimler Truck Holding AG (DTG), one of the world’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturers. More information is available at www.Freightliner.com.
About Team Penske
Team Penske is one of the most successful teams in the history of professional sports. Cars owned and prepared by Team Penske have produced more than 600 major race wins, over 660 pole positions and 41 championships across open-wheel, stock car and sports car racing competition. Over the course of its 56-year history, the team has also earned 18 Indianapolis 500 victories, three Daytona 500 Championships, a Formula 1 win, victories in the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring, along with a win in Australia’s legendary Bathurst 1000 race. In 2022, Team Penske competes in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, NASCAR Cup Series and the FIA World Endurance Championship. For more information about Team Penske, please visit www.teampenske.com.
About Penske Truck Leasing
Penske Truck Leasing is a Penske Transportation Solutions company headquartered in Reading, Pennsylvania. A leading global transportation services provider, Penske Truck Leasing operates more than 390,000 vehicles and serves customers from approximately 1,300 locations in North America, South America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. Product lines include full-service truck leasing, contract maintenance, commercial and consumer truck rentals, used truck sales, transportation and warehousing management and supply chain management solutions. Visit www.pensketruckleasing.com to learn more.
