During an oval office meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday, the United States President Donald Trump announced that legendary motorsports team owner Roger Penske will be awarded with the Medal of Freedom.
“He’s very deserving,” Trump said. “He’s a great gentleman. I’ve known him a long time.”
Penske has made two trips to the White House this year alone. Once as his NASCAR team was honored for winning the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship with Joey Logano behind the wheel and once for his IndyCar team, which won the Indianapolis 500 with Simon Pagenaud driving.
The Medal of Freedom is an honor that has been bestowed among many since 1963, and there are varying categories for the award. The different categories include: Architecture, Art, Dance, Movies & Theater, Literature, Music, Photography, Business and Economics, Computing, Education, History, Humanitarian, Law, Media, Medicine, Military, Philanthropy, Philosophy, Politics and Government, Religion, Science, Space Exploration, and Sports.
Penske will join Richard Petty as the only recipients of the award based on their performance in auto racing. Petty was awarded the medal in 1992.
Penske released a statement talking about the honor.
“It is truly an honor to be recognized by President Trump and awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom,” Penske said. “I am humbled by the President’s ackowledgement 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.”
