By Jerry Jordan, Editor
SONOMA, CA. – For only the second time in history, a member of the racing community is being honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom as NASCAR Hall of Fame member, Roger Penske, will receive the tribute from President Donald Trump in an upcoming ceremony.
The news broke Thursday during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when Trump said Penske was “very deserving” of the honor.
“He’s very deserving. He’s a great gentleman. A very brilliant guy,” Trump said.
Penske has made two trips to the White House this year – once with 2018 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Joey Logano and, then again, with Simon Pagenaud for winning the Indianapolis 500 last month.
“It is truly an honor to be recognized by President Trump and awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. I am humbled by the President’s acknowledgment of our achievements in business, in motorsports and in our community. Thank you to President Trump for this special recognition. On behalf of my wife Kathy (Penske), our family and our nearly 65,000 team members worldwide, it will be my privilege to accept this prestigious award.”
In April, when Penske made the trip to the White House with Logano, Trump shared his admiration of Penske as he welcomed him to give comments to those at the ceremony, “I’m really honored to welcome to the podium the Chairman of Penske Corporation, and one of the truly great people of this world — not only our country; I really mean that — one of the truly great people of our world, Roger Penske.
The only other racing figure to receive the highest honor bestowed on a civilian was Richard Petty in 1992 from then-President George H.W. Bush.
A date for the ceremony has not yet been set.