Trump starts Daytona 500 race, takes a lap around track
It’s always a show when presidents attend major sporting events. But when Donald Trump visited the Daytona 500 on Sunday, he wanted a spectacle.
Trump made his first visit as president to the famed speedway surrounded by political supporters in a state critical for a victory in the November election.
Air Force One descended on the race track just after 1 p.m. on a sunny Florida afternoon, reaching an altitude of merely 800 feet for a dramatic flyover carried live in the plane’s cabins on Fox Sports. The plane veered to its side just enough for Trump, his staff and guests on board to get an aerial peek of NASCAR’s logoed race cars geared to go.
Air Force Thunderbirds, which did two flyovers during the Daytona visit, were parked near the presidential plane as Trump disembarked with first lady Melania Trump and his son, Donald Trump Jr. The presidential limousine, known as the “Beast,” entered the speedway track followed by the full motorcade which occupied nearly a quarter of the 2.5 mile-long raceway.
Later, as grand marshal of the 2020 race, which opens the NASCAR season, Trump formally started the race by declaring: “Gentlemen, start your engines.”
His limousine led a parade of racing cars competing in Sunday’s race for a full lap around the speedway, crossing the finish line.
Three of his Republican predecessors – Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush – have visited the Daytona International Speedway. President Bill Clinton drove a quarter of the track in his motorcade to visit with a group of firefighters after a series of fires ravaged the state in 1998, according to The Washington Post.
During former President George W. Bush’s appearance at the Daytona 500 event in 2004, he took the presidential motorcade around the track.
The famously rancorous speedway crowd delivered for Trump, who expected a warm greeting from the audience when he agreed to visit. Former NASCAR CEO Brian France and several race car drivers have already endorsed Trump’s reelection, and many in his conservative base count themselves as NASCAR fans.
A campaign ad was prepared for home viewers and Trump’s reelection team flew a campaign banner for the crowd to see. Chants of “four more years” and “we love you” came from the stands.
“President Trump’s record of accomplishment for this country is indisputable and Americans are prouder of their country than ever before,” said Brad Parscale, Trump’s 2020 campaign manager, in an emailed statement. “NASCAR fans are patriots who support the President in huge numbers, so we definitely wanted to communicate directly with them about Keeping America Great during the Great American Race.”
Trump’s visit to Daytona Beach comes after the president attended his most expensive fundraiser yet, raising roughly $10 million in one night at a dinner of 40 guests on the shores of Palm Beach – a distinction from the 2016 campaign, when Trump declined to accept large-dollar donations.
Before a packed crowd at the speedway, Trump said, “rubber will burn, fans will scream and the great American race will begin.”
Corrects to $10 million the fundraising total provided by Trump Victory and the Republican National Committee.
This story was originally published February 16, 2020 at 4:16 PM.
