Certainly one of the most memorable events in NASCAR history occurred on July 4, 1984.
The Firecracker 400 at Daytona International Speedway ended with one of the most exciting finishes ever as Richard Petty defeated Cale Yarborough by a bumper length.
It was the 200th, and last, career victory for Petty.
As significant as that is, what made the race even more memorable is that it was seen by President Ronald Reagan, who had flown into Daytona on Air Force One.
American presidents haven’t had a great deal to do with NASCAR … well, only when it served them politically, so to have one actually attend a race was unique.
And in Reagan’s case, it was more than just attendance. Reagan gave the command to fire the engines at 10 a.m. by telephone from Air Force One.
The plane landed at 11:36 a.m., and Reagan arrived at a VIP suite in time to watch the last 30 minutes of the race and be interviewed by MRN’s Ned Jarrett.
After the race, winner Petty joined Reagan in the VIP suite to be congratulated, and later the president joined all competitors for a fried chicken dinner in the garage area.
As special as that day was, it wasn’t the first time that a president had interacted with NASCAR for something other than a campaign visit.
And that president did not come to any NASCAR facility. He invited NASCAR to the White House.
Before he won the presidency in 1976, Jimmy Carter was known as a peanut farmer with keen political knowledge and skill.
By the time he became governor of Georgia, everyone in the state — and beyond — knew he was a stock car racing fan.
He knew his NASCAR, its competitors, events and history. He showed up at several races, mostly in a campaign mode, but he rarely failed to spend some one-on-one time with individuals, many of whom were invited to gatherings at the governor’s mansion.
Before the 1976 election, in which Democrat Carter was matched against Republican Gerald Ford, Carter made a campaign promise: If he won the election, he…
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