Joey Logano and his No. 22 Team Penske team were honored by President Donald Trump on the South Lawn of the White House on Tuesday for their 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship.
“I kind of got to pinch myself to think what I’m doing here right now,” Logano said during a 14-minute ceremony. “What an amazing day we’ve had, an amazing run we had last year to be able to win the championship, and like Roger and Mr. President said, it takes an amazing team to make that happen. Today we had quite the experience to see your team, the team that makes our amazing country be what it is and this a great reminder for myself, and I’m sure I’m speaking for my whole team of what goes into our great country and our freedom and everyone that’s fought for that.”
Logano also presented Trump with one of the helmets he wore last season, along with a replica of his championship trophy.
Logano won three races last season on his way to his first NASCAR national-series title — once during the regular season at Talladega Superspeedway and in the playoffs at Martinsville Speedway and the season-finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. His championship season came a year after missing the playoffs. He won during the 2017 at Richmond Raceway, but that win didn't get him into the playoffs because of a failed post-race inspection.
“I just want to congratulate you, Todd Gordon [crew chief], the whole crew,” Trump said. “I hear it’s just incredible what you’ve done. You’ve set records of your own. Truly talented people, I appreciate it. I watch it all the time, and I marvel at how you can do that.”
Trump also recognized team owner Roger Penske, who also was in attendance a spoke during the ceremony.
“I’ve watched you from business to racing to ownership of cars, and I just watch you have victory after victory,” Trump said of Penske. “No matter what you do, it turns to gold. So keep doing it for a long time to come. It’s an amazing achievement what you’ve done.”
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