Rick Mears qualified this car on the pole and won Penske Racing's 7th Indy 500 and his 3rd Indy 500 in 1988. Danny Sullivan and Al Unser Sr. qualified PC-17s 2nd and 3rd to capture the Indianapolis 500 front row for Penske Racing.
The Penske PC-17 weighs 1550 lbs and is powered by an IImor Chevy DOHC V8 engine delivering 720 horsepower. It uses a Penske 5 speed for the speed oval courses and a 6-speed for the speed road course. It has a 40 gallon fuel tank to house the methanol gas.