Pennzoil's origins trace to South Penn Oil Company, founded in 1889 in Oil City, Pennsylvania. The modern Pennzoil Company was formally incorporated in 1925 and became a major force in the North American oil industry. In 1963, South Penn merged with Zapata Petroleum and Stetco Petroleum to form the new Pennzoil Company, headquartered in Houston. Pennzoil was acquired by Royal Dutch Shell in 2002 and has operated as a Shell brand since then.
The company's marketing strategy has long included high-visibility motorsport partnerships across multiple racing disciplines, using competitive environments to demonstrate the performance credentials of its lubricant products to consumers.
Within NHRA competition, Pennzoil's most prominent association has been with Don Schumacher Racing, one of the most successful multi-car operations in drag racing history. Through this partnership, Pennzoil has sponsored elite-level competitors in both the Funny Car and Top Fuel professional classes.
Matt Hagan, a multiple Funny Car world champion competing for Don Schumacher Racing, has carried Pennzoil branding. Leah Pruett, a Top Fuel competitor also aligned with Don Schumacher Racing, has likewise represented the Pennzoil sponsorship at the professional level.
Pennzoil's NHRA involvement is part of a wider motorsport portfolio. In IndyCar, the brand supported Al Unser and Johnny Rutherford through the Chaparral team in USAC National Championship racing; Rutherford won the 1980 Indianapolis 500 and the championship that year. Rick Mears carried Pennzoil backing at Team Penske from 1983 to 1990, winning the Indianapolis 500 in 1984 and 1988. Sam Hornish Jr. raced for Pennzoil-sponsored Panther Racing in IndyCar from 2001 to 2003, and Helio Castroneves carried part-time Pennzoil support at Team Penske from 2011 to 2020. The brand's yellow livery across these programs became widely recognized, earning the nickname "Yellow Submarine."
In NASCAR, Pennzoil backed Steve Park in the Dale Earnhardt Inc. No. 1 car from 1998 to 2003, and Kevin Harvick at Richard Childress Racing from 2007 to 2010. Team Penske subsequently held the NASCAR Pennzoil sponsorship, cycling through Kurt Busch, A.J. Allmendinger, and Joey Logano, who won the NASCAR Cup championship in 2018 and 2022 as well as the 2015 Daytona 500 while carrying Pennzoil colors. Since 2018, Pennzoil has been the title sponsor of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway spring NASCAR Cup Series race, known as the Pennzoil 400.
Pennzoil has also partnered with the Haas F1 Team since 2016 and serves as official motor oil supplier to Scuderia Ferrari and MotoGP's Ducati Team through its parent company Shell's broader racing relationships.
Pennzoil's sustained NHRA presence reflects the drag racing category's importance as a marketing platform for performance lubricant brands. NHRA's high-torque, high-heat professional categories — where Top Fuel engines generate in excess of 10,000 horsepower and complete a pass in under four seconds — provide an extreme proving ground that aligns with the technical claims lubricant brands use in consumer advertising. The Don Schumacher Racing partnership in particular positioned Pennzoil alongside one of the sport's most decorated organizations, providing repeated championship-caliber exposure across Top Fuel and Funny Car divisions.