DAYTONA BEACH, Fla -- Defending NASCAR champion Joey Logano gave President Donald Trump a racing helmet and a miniature trophy during a brief ceremony honoring the Penske team driver Tuesday outside the White House and president responded by giving him and his team a walk-through of the Lincoln Bedroom.
“I’ll give you a personal tour – it is special, and you are special,” Trump told Logano and racing team owner Roger Penske on the South Lawn.
Knowing that NASCAR fans -- primarily white and from the South - are among the strongest supporters within his base, Trump went out of his way to heap praise on Logano, 28, the 2015 winner of the Daytona 500.
“Truly beautiful car,” Trump told Logano Tuesday in a photo opp with Logano's No. 22 Ford Fusion off to the side. "Went a little faster than the other ones, but it also had to do with your right foot, I think.”
YouTube download / AP video / President Donald Trump welcomed NASCAR champion Joey Logano — and his race car — to the White House Tuesday. Trump celebrated the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series Champion on the South Lawn, along with team owner Roger Penske (April 30).
Knowing that NASCAR fans -- primarily white and from the South - are among the strongest supporters within his base, Trump went out of his way to heap praise on Logano, 28, the 2015 winner of the Daytona 500. “Truly beautiful car,” Trump told Logano Tuesday in a photo opp with Logano's No. 22 Ford Fusion off to the side. "Went a little faster than the other ones, but it also had to do with your right foot, I think.”
The president said NASCAR racing epitomizes the American spirit.
"You never forget what matters most," Trump said. "God, family and country."
For his part, Logano said he couldn't "get over my car sitting here in front of the White House."
Logano gave Trump a helmet he wore during a race, as well as a small replica of a NASCAR trophy.
In this current NASCAR Cup season, Logano drives the No. 22 Ford Mustang, and is second in the driver standings behind frontrunner Kyle Busch in the No. 18 Toyota.