Latest news with #GreatAmericanRace
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Ahead of Indy 500, here's when Donald and Melania Trump attended NASCAR race in Daytona, Florida
An estimated 300,000 people are preparing to attend the Indy 500. Will President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump be part of that crowd? So far, signs point to no. The Indy 500, the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, starts at 12:45 p.m. ET Sunday, May 25, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana. According to the Indy Star, a USA TODAY Network newspaper, Donald Trump will not attend the 109th Indianapolis 500, despite "an open invitation" from longtime friend and Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Roger Penske, citing a report from Politico's Adam Wren. An Indianapolis Motor Speedway source with direct knowledge of the situation told IndyStar the track was of the same understanding. Though Donald Trump visited the Indy 500 at least once in the past as a private citizen, per IndyStar reports, he has yet to attend the Indy 500 in any political capacity. But it should be noted, Donald Trump attended the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway six times, including once as its grand marshal with Melania Trump at his side. The 2025 Great American Race in Daytona Beach, Florida, marked his return there as president. Photos of Donald Trump on the track with granddaughter Carolina Trump went viral. Here's a look back at Donald Trump's trips to the Daytona 500 with first lady Melania Trump, what we know about the great race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and that time he almost attended the Indy 500. There were no known plans of President Donald Trump's attendance at the Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana on May 25, 2025. Donald Trump's attendance at the Greatest Spectacle in Racing has long been rumored over the years. Scheduled, even, according to the IndyStar. On April 5, 2011, the billionaire reality TV star Donald Trump was scheduled to be the pace car driver for the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500. However, one month later he backed out of the race. In April 2011, Donald Trump had told Bill O'Reilly that then-President Barack Obama "doesn't have a birth certificate," and two days later, Donald Trump said on NBC that Obama's citizenship issue could be "one of the greatest scams in the history of politics and in the history, period." As backlash on Indianapolis Motor Speedway's pick to drive the pace car for such a historic edition of the race rolled in, Donald Trump continued his lashing out at Obama's credentials. Then on May 5, 2011, Donald Trump bowed out of the honorary position, citing his busy schedule and his potential to run for president in 2012. Four-time race-winner A.J. Foyt replaced Donald Trump as the 2011 Indy 500 pace car driver. Donald Trump did attend the Indy 500 as a private citizen in 2002, per IndyStar reports. One week after Donald Trump attended Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, Louisiana, with many members of the Trump family in tow, he attended the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida on Feb. 16, 2025. Super Bowl 59 and the Daytona 500 were two high-profile sporting events that Donald Trump attended, less than a month after his second inauguration. Here's when Donald Trump attended the Daytona 500, the signature NASCAR race: February 1998 February 1999 February 2000 February 2001 with then-girlfriend Melania Knauss, now first lady Melania Trump February 2020, during his first presidential term, Donald Trump served as the grand marshal for the 62nd annual Daytona 500. It was months before the 2020 presidential election, in which he lost to President Joe Biden. Feb. 16, 2025, President Donald Trump was the pace car driver. He was accompanied by son Eric Trump, his wife, Fox News host Lara Trump and their two children, Luke Trump and Carolina Trump. Donald Trump typically visits his private club and primary residence, Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, every Presidents' Day weekend, which coincides with the Daytona 500. His February 2025 return to Daytona International Speedway marked his second as president, and that weekend was the third appearance in his home state of Florida since he was sworn in as the 47th president of the U.S. on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, 2025. Some highlights from Donald Trump's previous trips to the Daytona 500 in Florida include: When he brought his date, then-girlfriend and model Melania Knavs (also known by her professional modeling name Melania Knauss) to "race day" in the early 2000s In February 2020, Donald and Melania Trump returned as president and first lady, with him giving the command for drivers to "start their engines" as grand marshal. His presidential motorcade passed the grandstands as he led the drivers around the track before the NASCAR Daytona 500 race, and his presidential limousine − the Beast − did a pace lap. His car also drove on "the apron" of the track. Melania Trump wore a black flared halter dress by Dior with tiny white embellishments and a wide white trim at the waist. In February 2020, Donald Trump Jr. brought his then-girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle, former Fox News host and Trump ally, to the Daytona 500. Donald Trump Jr. acted like a Trump fan himself, getting photos and video of his father being greeted by Trump fans at Daytona International Airport, which is next door to Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach. In February 2025, searches about "the little girl on the track with Donald Trump" spiked online after Donald Trump posed for photos with his youngest granddaughter, Carolina Trump, daughter of Eric and Lara Trump. See photos below of Donald and Melania Trump at the Daytona 500 NASCAR race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, over the years. Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper. This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Trump attended Daytona 500 in Florida many times. What about Indy 500?
Indianapolis Star
14-05-2025
- Automotive
- Indianapolis Star
Will Trump go to the Indy 500? Here are some sporting events he has been to as president
Practice for the 109th Indianapolis 500 is underway, and all eyes are on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the green flag on May 25. There has been no official word from the White House on whether President Donald Trump will attend the Indy 500, though he has been no stranger to sporting events since returning to office in January. While many events have been near Mar-a-Lago, known as the Southern White House, in Florida's prime season this winter, he has also jetted over to New Orleans for Super Bowl LIX. Here is a look at the other big events Trump has attended so far this year: Great American Race: Trump was at Daytona 500 in Florida. Did Melania, Ivanka or Barron Trump attend? Not only has Trump been a spectator at these high-profile sporting events, but the notorious golf-lover has spent time on the course himself. According to the president has spent 24 days golfing since taking office earlier this year. Weather permitting, the race will be on May 25, 2025. Practice started Tuesday, May 13, and there are several scheduled events ahead of the big race. Some practice days, qualifying events and the race are available to stream on and the Fox Sports app. Contributing: Jennifer Sangalang, Scott Horner, USA TODAY Network
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Austin Cindric had 'good talk' with Larson, but Atlanta incident still 'gets blood pressure going a little bit'
Only two races into the 2025 Cup Series season and tensions are beginning to rise. Carson Hocevar was the biggest topic of discussion on-track with his run-ins and conversations with multiple drivers at Atlanta Motor Speedway last Sunday, but the late-race incident between Austin Cindric and Kyle Larson for the lead flew under the radar as Ross Chastain spoke to Hocevar on the infield grass. On Monday, Cindric and Larson spoke over the phone and hashed out their perspectives on the contact off Turn 2 that sent the No. 2 Team Penske Ford spinning along with Daytona 500 winner William Byron. RELATED: | 'I thought we had a good talk,' Cindric said during a Zoom teleconference Wednesday. 'Kyle took responsibility on the end of the race there, which obviously ended our race. Talking about it doesn't really un-wreck my race car, but I think we're on the same page as to what the expectations are moving forward racing together.' To schedule the call with Larson, Cindric didn't have Larson's number and said he doesn't find the purpose in having his competitors' phone numbers. Instead, shortly after the race, Cindric handed a business card to Hendrick Motorsports President and General Manager Jeff Andrews. 'When the race is over, you know, I was helping my guys load the car and as you're standing there, we're the first hauler, and I can't say I was really in a very good head space to want to talk to anybody,' Cindric said. 'But at the same time, knowing that this is something I definitely wanted to discuss with Kyle, I was like 'if somebody comes up to me, I'm just going to give them my phone number and be done with it. I do have a stack of business cards that I brought around with me, like going to the Rolex [24], like as a teenager, handing them out to team owners and team managers. So I still had all of them in my backpack, and I saw Jeff Andrews and Chad Knaus standing over by the 24 hauler, so I figured that was a good way of ensuring that I would get my conversation that would be a lot healthier than just showing up at the race track.' With Cindric's prowess on drafting tracks, there's an argument to be made he could have two wins already stashed away and a guaranteed bid into the 2025 NASCAR Playoffs. The fourth-year driver finished eighth in the Daytona 500 and 28th at Atlanta but the results don't show what Cindric was able to do in those events. He led the most laps in the 'Great American Race' and followed it up by leading 47 circuits around the 1.5-mile Georgia track. Looking deeper into the numbers, Cindric also scored 20 stage points combined in the first two races of the season and according to Racing Insights' loop data, Cindric ran inside the top 15 for all but 17 laps, including the nine he missed after exiting the race following the wreck. 'I felt like I could have said a lot more than I did,' Cindric said. 'I like to honestly keep that behind closed doors so maybe if you felt like I spoke up and I felt like I was holding back, that tells you how upset I was with the situation. It's still something I'm relatively upset about and gets the blood pressure going a little bit. But that's racing. I mean, I'm not the only one that's been in those positions and felt like they haven't been able to capitalize on an opportunity to win a race or had somebody else be the cause of that. It doubles down with it being two weeks in a row. At this level, race wins don't fall out of the sky.' While it's still way too early in the season to discuss postseason outlooks for drivers, Cindric's early-season heartbreaks already harken to a playoff-contending driver who had multiple win opportunities taken from him last season — Chris Buescher. Cindric is nowhere close to any sort of panic button as he sits a healthy fourth in the points standings but with two golden opportunities out of the mix for the No. 2 driver, he will have to battle Larson again and other stars of the sport to get that coveted checkered-flag sticker on his Ford Mustang. 'I know if I want to win in this series, I'm certainly going to have to race against him [Larson] a lot more,' Cindric said. 'I certainly expect us to be at that level throughout the year and I just expect it to be better than what we had on Sunday.'
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
John Hunter Nemechek responds to Hamlin's podcast ponderings: 'I'm here to make a name for myself as well'
John Hunter Nemechek responded to remarks lobbed his way by fellow driver Denny Hamlin on Wednesday, saying he was uncertain why he was singled out in the latest episode of his podcast after Sunday's Daytona 500. Nemechek's remarks came in a media availability Wednesday afternoon, three days after his fifth-place finish in Sunday's season-opening event. The result was part of a banner day for his Legacy Motor Club team, led by owner/driver Jimmie Johnson's third-place effort and teammate Erik Jones in 12th. RELATED: | Hamlin made an extended critique of the Daytona 500 finish earlier this week in his 'Actions Detrimental' podcast, saying that superspeedway skill had been minimized by current NASCAR Cup Series rules and procedures. 'I just want to see us do something different, to put the sport back in it and take luck back out of these prestigious events,' Hamlin said. Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 winner, said that Sunday's victory by William Byron — who squirted past a last-lap crash that foiled Hamlin and multiple others — helped to legitimize the outcome, given Byron's star power and his ability to repeat in the 'Great American Race.' Hamlin then asked rhetorically, 'Let me ask you this, how do we feel if John Hunter Nemechek was in William Byron's spot?' before offering, 'that's not a knock on John Hunter. I just think that, I believe that the people would view it differently.' Nemechek said he was made aware of Hamlin's comments in the moments before Wednesday's availability, adding that he hadn't discussed them with his fellow Toyota driver. He added that Hamlin was one of the drivers he confided in when he was at a career crossroads after the 2020 season. 'I mean, I guess I get it from the perspective that I haven't necessarily made a name for myself in the Cup Series yet, but that's what I'm here to do,' said Nemechek, who is beginning his second season with Legacy M.C. 'I'm out on the race track, racing as hard as I can. We're up front with Denny at the end. He was pushing me, and our car wasn't super-fast to lead the lane, but he stayed committed to me. So in that circumstance, I know that he's pissed about not winning the race, but like I said, I'm here to make a name for myself as well, whether that's winning the Daytona 500 or winning another race throughout the year. Yes, anyone can win at the Daytona 500 or any superspeedway race, in my opinion. But to second that, I would also say that you have to put yourself in the right position. You have to execute all day as a race-car driver, and there are a few guys that are really good at superspeedways, and they're the ones that are always up there. 'For my Cup career at Daytona, especially, I finished relatively well in every start, so I'm not really sure why I was the example of that, but from the standpoint of promoting the sport and things of that sort, I guess, like I said, William already has his name established from winning a bunch of races, being a championship contender, and I really haven't had that shot yet in the NASCAR Cup Series, so not really sure what he was thinking or where his head is at with that. Part of me wants to say, 'Screw you, Denny,' but at the same time, I also have to earn respect from those guys, and I get that. But I feel like, for myself, I feel like I do a great job promoting the sport, and I'm not saying he said that I don't.' MORE: | Nemechek and the rest of the Legacy Motor Club organization aim to build on their solid showing in Daytona Speedweeks in Sunday's Ambetter Health 400 (3 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Atlanta Motor Speedway, an intermediate-sized track with superspeedway-style characteristics. The 27-year-old driver pointed to a handful of key personnel moves that LMC made to prepare for the 2025 season, plus its learnings from a week in Daytona, as reasons for optimism. 'It's a testament to everyone that is working hard and a lot of long hours during the offseason in the shop and just trying to get the place running smoothly and like we want it to be able to be a contender one day,' Nemechek said. 'Brick by brick, we want to build this place to be able to try and win races and have the opportunity to win championships.'
Reuters
19-02-2025
- Automotive
- Reuters
Daytona 500 draws mixed ratings amid rain delays
February 19 - The Daytona 500 carried the sports calendar over the busy Presidents' Day weekend, but the "Great American Race" still suffered a ratings hit. After waiting out a nearly four-hour rain delay, the 41-car field resumed under the lights on Sunday, putting it up against the NBA All-Star Game. Despite the delay, the Daytona 500 did manage to draw an average of 6.761 million viewers on Fox. That was up 13 percent from the 5.96 million who tuned in for last year's race, which was forced to Monday due to weather, but down from the 8.17 million viewers who watched the 2023 race held on a Sunday. The 6.76 million viewers still made this year's race the most-watched over Presidents' Day weekend, topping the 4.4 million who tuned into the NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off on ABC on Saturday night. The Daytona 500 peaked at 7.959 million viewers from 2:05-2:15 p.m. ET, shortly after the green flag dropped to begin the race around 1:30 p.m. Following two delays, the race resumed for good around 6:20 and William Byron finally took the checkered flag a bit after 9:30 p.m. It was the first race in NASCAR's seven-year, $7.7 billion media rights deal that includes Fox, NBC Sports, Amazon and TNT Sports. The Cup Series moves to Atlanta this weekend for Saturday's Ambetter Healthy 400. Byron recorded his second consecutive Daytona 500 win for his 14th career victory while also producing the 10th win at the 500 for Hendrick Motorsports, breaking a tie with Petty Motorsports.
