President Donald Trump has awarded Team Penske founder Roger Penske with the Medal of Freedom, which is the United States’ highest civilian honor.
Penske is the founder of Team Penske, which currently fields cars in multiple race series including the the NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. His NTT IndyCar Series team uses Chevrolet-Ilmor engines and is the most successful Chevrolet IndyCar team.
In addition to Team Penske, Roger Penske also operates Penske Automotive Group a national, car dealership group, along with Penske Trucking and number of other businesses under his Penske Corporation company.
“Receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom is really something special,” Penske, now 82, said during a White House ceremony on Thursday, which was attended by president Trump. “And to me it means more than any business success or motorsports trophy.”
“Many years ago, my mother and father invested in me and told me the love and passion of our great country, and to think that I’m standing here today in the Oval Office with the president and the vice president, and all of you here today and especially my family, to receive this award, just is hard to believe,” Penske added.
“From racing to business to philanthropy, you have moved from one great victory to another,” Trump said. “No matter what you do it turns to gold. You are a legend on the speedway, you are a legend in business. Your name is revered everywhere, the checkered flag flies and beyond that.”
According to NBC, Team Penske has racked up a total of 545 major race wins across multiple series, along with 621 pole positions and 36 championships. Penske has also won the Indianapolis 500 18 times.
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Source: NBC Sports
Comments
trump : ““No matter what you do it turns to gold.”
so penske is like the anti-trump.
i thought trump would’ve awarded this to someone who has filed bankruptcy a minimum of five times.
that is the true sign of a bigly beautiful stable genius.
So, you couldn’t say something positive even at a great time like this?
Penske is not one of my favorite fellows but you have to give him credit, he has been a smart business man and a mainstay in the automotive and motorsports arena.
Why not? Penske is a very nice man. He has helped many people in life to become great as well as many charities.
Too bad Roger had to get the award from Trump!
The orange idiot cheapens everything he touches.
SOMEPEOPLE WOULD BITCH IF YOU HUNG THEM WITH A NEW ROPE!
Remarks like that just prove how ignorant some people truly are!!
See “Everything Trump Touches Dies: A Republican Strategist Gets Real About the Worst President Ever” by Rick Wilson.
I hope the admins are watching the posts on this thread?
What exactly did he do to get the medal?
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is awarded by the president of the United States “for especially meritorious contribution to (1) the security or national interests of the United States, or (2) world peace, or (3) cultural or other significant public or private endeavors”.
I have followed these two men’s live’s for years. Especially since I love auto racing. For years been wanting to see these two together at the same time so, this was excellent.