President Donald Trump will attend the Daytona 500 Sunday afternoon as grand marshal. He will be the second president to serve in that role, and the first since President George W. Bush in 2004. Trump is also planning on airing a campaign commercial during the broadcast.
On Thursday, the White House said Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will attend the 62nd annual Daytona 500 at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.
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“On Sunday, Feb. 16, President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will travel to Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL, to attend the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season opener Daytona 500 race,” the White House said in a statement. “Their attendance will mark the first NASCAR race either have attended since the President’s inauguration. George W. Bush was the last sitting President to attend the Daytona 500 in 2004.”
Daytona Beach International Airport spokeswoman Joanne Magley told News 6 Air Force One will land sometime this weekend. The FAA also issued flight restrictions for the area and the U.S. Secret Service will institute a “no drone zone” 30 miles around the racetrack.
“The Daytona 500 is one of the greatest events in sports and the prestigious season-opening event to the NASCAR Cup Series,” Daytona International Speedway track president Chip Wile said in a statement. “Daytona International Speedway has been privileged to have hosted several sitting Presidents of the United States over our history. We’re honored that the President of the United States has chosen to experience the pageantry and excitement of ‘The Great American Race’ by attending Sunday’s 62nd annual Daytona 500.”
Although Trump is only the second president to serve as Daytona 500 grand marshal, he is the fourth consecutive Republican president to visit the track during a re-election campaign, reports the Daytona Beach News-Journal. In 1984, President Ronald Reagan arrived at the Firecracker 400 in the middle of the race, and told drivers to “start your engines” from Air Force One. President George H.W. Bush visited three Daytona races, but only the July 1992 Firecracker 400 while president.
In addition to serving as grand marshal and attending the race, Trump will also air a re-election campaign commercial during the broadcast. The campaign committee will also fly an aerial banner near the speedway.
“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,” campaign manager Brad Parscale said, reports NJ.com.
The Daytona 500 starts at 2:30 p.m. ET on Fox Sunday, with pre-race coverage starting at 1 p.m. ET.
Photo credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images
