The conundrum for Penske Corp. -- the holding company overseeing Penske's many ventures -- is that, even with a well-orchestrated succession plan, companies -- notable among them Walt Disney, Starbucks, Microsoft and, arguably, Apple -- often stumble after the departure of their founder/innovator/spiritual force. For instance in racing, Dale Earnhardt Inc. was absorbed into Chip Ganassi's race team eight years after the death of its founder (not to suggest that DEI was as prepared as is Penske Racing for what is an eventuality of succession).