As NASCAR drivers and more than 80,000 fans got ready for the start of the Coca-Cola 600, Donald Trump was part of the excitement before Sunday’s big race.
The Republican presidential candidate met with Austin Dillon, driver of the No. 3 car for Richard Childress Racing on the track. Fans and potential voters cheered and showed their admiration for Trump, while taking pictures on their cell phones. As he made his wat toward Dillion’s pit box the crowd chanted “USA,” several times.
Trump’s visit marks the first time a sitting or former president has attended a race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It also shows the importance of North Carolina in the 2024 election as Trump campaigns to get back into the White House.
North Carolina is considered a swing state in the election and NASCAR’s fanbase has long been perceived as conservative-leaning.
The motorcade arrived Sunday evening after his Trump Force One flew over the racetrack before landing at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
Before he came to the track, Trump met with Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer Christopher Tolley — one of four officers shot in a deadly shooting in east Charlotte on April 29. He also spent time with the family of CMPD officer Joshua Eyer, one of four officers killed during the incident.
Trump also met with Gold Star families of service member who died while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.
The Coca-Cola 600 is one of NASCAR’s major races. The others are the Daytona 500, the Southern 500 at Darlington, and the Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis.
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