A litany of motorsports luminaries were recognized on Wednesday at the White House in a ceremony hosted by United States President Donald Trump.
The guests included:
- NASCAR commissioner Steve Phelps
- NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell
- IMSA CEO Ed Bennett
- IndyCar Series owner and team owner Roger Penske
- Penske Entertainment CEO Mark Miles
- 2018, 2022 and 2024 Cup champion Joey Logano
- 2023 Cup champion Ryan Blaney
- NASCAR crew chief Paul Wolfe
- NASCAR crew chief Jonathan Hassler
- Two-time Indy500 winner Josef Newgarden
- IMSA champion Felipe Nasr
- IMSA champion Laurens Vanthoor
- Porsche Penske managing director Jonathan Diuguid
- Porsche Penske competition director Travis Law
- Posche Penske team manager Joel Svensson
The event featured three Penske race cars on the front lawn of the White House
- No. 7 Porsche 963 (IMSA)
- No. 22 Ford Mustang Dark Horse (NASCAR)
- No. 2 Chevrolet Dallara (IndyCar)
During the ceremony, Trump suggested at the behest of the Penske delegation that he should follow-up his two Daytona 500 appearances with a visit to the Indianapolis 500 this year.
“I’ll have to get there … maybe this year, with you,” said Trump.
Penske, who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom during Trump’s first term, replied “open invitation.”
The event quickly became about the international news of the day, Trump announcing a 90-day pause for most new tariffs, which became the topic of the Q&A that followed.
Penske, Blaney, Logano, Newgarden, Nasr and Vanthoor were invited into the Oval Office for a photo op earlier in the day before the group went to the law for the press conference and event with the cars.
