WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Martin Truex Jr. visited The White House on Monday as President Donald Trump honored him and his team for winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship in 2017. He's the first NASCAR champion to visit The White House under the Monster Energy banner and the first to meet with President Trump, being as Jimmie Johnson never visited him in 2017 following his record-tying seventh championship in 2016. 2015 champion Kyle Busch met with former President Barack Obama."It's unbelievable," Martin Truex Jr. told The Motorsports News Source. "It's a true honor, obviously like I've said, to be here. I think I have been to Washington a few times throughout my life, I've been somewhat close to The White House but never on the property or inside. To be the first Monster Energy Cup champion here, it means a lot to me and I am very proud of it. I am very thankful for Monster stepping up to support the series and keeping it going."
The tradition began in 1865 when President Andrew Johnson invited Washington Nationals and Brooklyn Atlantics. In 1924 Washington Senators visited the White House, the first World Series champions to visit. The 1963 Boston Celtics were the first to visit the White House as NBA champions while it wasn't until 1980 that the Super Bowl champions visited with the Pittsburg Steelers. The Pittsburg Penguins were the first to visit as Stanley Cup champions in 1991.
According to NASCAR, the first official visit by the sport to the White House was in 1978 with Cale Yarborough, David Pearson, Benny Parsons, and Bud Moore with former President Jimmy Carter.
Team USA's Olympic team, 2017 College Football Champion Alabama Crimson Tide, and the 2017 World Series Champion Houston Astros are just a few of the teams to visit The White House this year. This year's Super Bowl Champion Philidelphia Eagles are slated to visit on June 5th per the National Football League. (Koelle,2018)
Photo Credit - Christian Koelle/CCK Photography
Comments
Post a Comment