Two NASCAR teams are going political at the upcoming season opener at Daytona, Valentine's Day weekend. Mike Harmon Racing (MHR) announced today that the No. 47 Chevrolet Camaro driven by Joe Nemechek will be featuring a red, white, and blue, "Trump | Pence 2020" livery in the NASCAR Xfinity Series season opener.
The livery is sponsored by a political action committee called The Patriots PAC of America in partnership with a group called Race Fans for Trump 2020. The group also supports driver Tim Viens in the Mike Affarano Motorsports No. 3 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Gander Truck Series. I reached out for more information on the PAC, their plans for the season, and if they would be sponsoring the teams beyond the season opener, but they declined to comment beyond the initial press announcement. I also requested an interview with a representative of the PAC, but have not received a reply at the time of this posting. The Board of Directors did issues a statement that was included in the MHR press release.
We are honored to support Mr. Nemechek and bring true American values back to America, bridging the gap between forgotten Americans to keep our duly elected President in office, our hopes are that the silent majority comes together to support us in ‘Keeping America Great.’
The Patriots PAC of America
NASCAR has no rules banning political advertising and this isn't the first time that NASCAR has gotten political. Back in 2010 Democratic U.S. Senate candidate, Kendrick Meek sponsored Mike Wallace's car for the Daytona 500. One of the more notable political sponsors was the conservative group American Majority who was the primary sponsor of driver Jason Bowles and MacDonald Motorsports car #81 for fourteen races of the 2012 Nationwide Series leading up to the November presidential election. Throughout the year's political campaigns on both sides of the aisle have slapped their names on the side of NASCARs including Rick Perry, Bob Graham, Rick Santorum, even former President George W. Bush had his Bush | Chany logo on the side of Kirk Shelmerdine's Ford Taurus.
While the Trump livery is not likely to be considered controversial with most NASCAR fans, it is sure to draw the comments from both in and outside of the sport. The NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series NextEra Energy 250 is set for Friday, February 14th at 7:30 PM and the NASCAR Xfinity Series NASCAR Racing Experience 300 will take place on Saturday, February 15 at 2:30 PM both will be broadcast live on FS1. So tune in and see if the Trump teams win "bigly" or end up in the wall, but tune in for some awesome racing from Daytona International Speedway.
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