The U.S. Presidential Elections are a whisker away on the clock and politicians across the country are running out of time to spread good words about themselves.
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Republican candidate Donald Trump was recently in an interview on C-SPAN when he used some of his precious seconds to talk about Roger Penske, the CEO of the Penske Corporation and the benefactor of Cup Series outfit Team Penske.
The former president was engaged in a discussion about the trucking industry when he touched upon what a great guy Penske was.
He said, “He’s won like 19 Indianapolis 500s. Think of how good this guy is. Japan spends billions on coming up with a racecar. Germany spends billions. I don’t know if they’ve ever won. Maybe 1 or 2. Roger Penske is an incredible guy.”
“He’s won like 19 Indianapolis 500’s. Think of how good this guy is. Japan spends billions on coming up with a racecar. Germany spends billions. I don’t know if they’ve ever won. Maybe 1 or 2. Roger Penske is an incredible guy. He won 19 Indianapolis 500’s. It might even be 20.” pic.twitter.com/j78ocwRoe9
— Nick Yeoman (@NYeoman) November 2, 2024
Trump’s admiration does not come out of the blue. He awarded the nation’s highest civilian award, the Medal of Freedom, to Penske back in 2019.
Transforming a single car dealership into a global automobile giant is not an achievement to be taken lightly and Trump knows it better than most as a businessman himself. His words during the awarding ceremony reflect his respect.
He said, “You’re a very unique person and truly a great champion and truly a winner. No matter what you do, it turns to gold. You are a legend in the speedway and you’re a legend in business, and your name is revered everywhere the checkered flag flies and beyond that.” And of course, there has been more than just words of praise in return from Penske for this.
Penske is one of Trump’s top donors
It all comes down to the dollar. Penske received the Medal of Freedom not long after he signed the first paycheck in favor of Trump being elected as president again.
Notably, he funded republican groups that opposed Trump in 2016. A Forbes report from this August says that he shelved out $1.1 million (to that point) in 2024 in support of the candidate.
This is but a fraction of his $6.4 billion wealth. However, it is his highest contribution to a political figure. Michigan is one of the states where the competition is expected to be extremely heavy.
U.S. News confirmed recently that Penske is one of the biggest Republican donors in the swing state and that he has contributed $1,866,100. NASCAR has become intertwined with the elections a lot this time around.
Away from Penske, Richard Childress has expressed staunch support for Trump as well. And so has Danica Patrick. Interestingly, Patrick has gone a step ahead of Penske or Childress and become a spokesperson for Trump, participating in rallies and town hall meetings.
