Team Penske celebrates racing success at White House with Trump

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — President Donald Trump hosted Team Penske at the White House on Wednesday, recognizing the team’s recent accomplishments in NASCAR, IndyCar and IMSA. 

NASCAR Cup Series champions Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano were in attendance, as was two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden. The Rolex 24 winning team of Nick Tandy, Felipe Nasr and Laurens Vanthoor were also on hand to visit the Oval Office. Wednesday’s event was all about celebrating the Mooresville-based team’s recent success across numerous series. 

“Roger Penske is a great friend of mine,” Trump said. “I’ve known him a long time. He received a few years ago the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest award in the country outside of the Congressional Medal of Honor.”

Penske reportedly told Trump he has an “open invitation” to attend the Indianapolis 500 in May. Trump was at NASCAR’s Daytona 500 in February, and last year attended the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte. The Coca-Cola 600 and Indianapolis 500 are run just hours apart on Memorial Day weekend. 

NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps and president Steve O’Donnell joined the Penske contingent, as did IndyCar CEO Mark Miles. After taking the group into the Oval Office, Trump chatted with them outside near cars parked on the White House driveway. 

“We love champions and these are the greatest champions in the world,” Trump declared. “These are the greatest champions on racing.”

Trump asked how fast NASCAR champions Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney could go in cars like the one parked by the South Portico. When told it was 190 mph (306 kph), “One ninety? You can have it,” Trump said.

Informed that other vehicles for IndyCar and international motorsports were even faster, the president said he wouldn’t ride in those “if you paid me.”

Trump said he was a racing fan, adding that many people “don’t realize what great athletes they are.”

“It takes a special genetic, you know that, right?” Trump said. “It’s genes really. Most people couldn’t do that. Very few people could do it.”

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