Award from Trump humbles Penske

President Trump and Roger Penske

“What an honor it was to get a call from the President," Roger Penske said on Wednesday, while celebrating along with Indy 500 winner Simon Pagenaud and team sponsor John Menard at the grand opening of a Menards Megastore near Penske’s Michigan headquarters in Bloomfield Hills. “It was very humbling to understand that I would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. I responded to the President, and we’ll be setting up a date for me to go to the White House, probably in the next month or so.

“It’s very exciting for me, for my family, and certainly for our whole team and the people that have been around me to help me get to where I have been in life. This is more than about a sport. This is about your country. This is about you as an individual."

Penske is no stranger to the White House or the Oval Office.

“I’ve been to the White House twice now, first with Joey Logano when we won the NASCAR championship, so we had the team there," Penske said. “The President invited us to come back with Simon and the team after we won the 500.