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White House honour for Matt Kenseth
Washington DC, Dec 03: NASCAR champion Matt Kenseth was honoured at the White House.
Washington DC, Dec 03: NASCAR champion Matt Kenseth was honoured at the White House.
NASCAR champion Matt Kenseth was honoured by U.S. President George W. Bush at the White House on Tuesday (December 2).
Many of Kenseth's colleagues joined him including NASCAR Top 10 finishers Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, Bobby Labonte, Bill Elliott and Terry Labonte, as well as Rookie of the Year Jamie McMurray. Others in attendance on Tuesday were former Winston Cup Series champions Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip, Rusty Wallace and Dale and Ned Jarrett, as well as two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip. "NASCAR is one of the fastest growing sports in America right now. Seventy-five million people now count themselves as fans and NASCAR has followers around the world who listen to your races in 21 languages in 100 different countries...fantastic international sport," Bush told the invited audience of over 200 outside the White House.
Several NASCAR owners also attended the event, including Rick Hendrick, Richard Childress and Ray Evernham. Many championship-winning sports teams are invited to attend White House receptions, and some of NASCAR's most recent champions, namely Bobby Labonte and Tony Stewart, have toured the grounds. But this is the first time an entire league will be on hand at once.
Some political analysts have specifically identified NASCAR and its many fans as an important segment of the electorate in the upcoming 2004 presidential elections. The race series is wildly popular in the american south which will be a hotly contested battleground. Senator Bob Graham sponsored a NASCAR team as a part of his early presidential bid. In 2000, President George W. Bush swept the South, thanks largely to his astonishing margin among white men there: Seventy percent voted for him, according to exit polls. Conventional wisdom says Democrats must win at least one or two Southern states to get elected, therefore the Democratic candidate must find ways to peel at least some of these voters away from Bush.
Bureau Report
NASCAR champion Matt Kenseth was honoured by U.S. President George W. Bush at the White House on Tuesday (December 2).
Many of Kenseth's colleagues joined him including NASCAR Top 10 finishers Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, Bobby Labonte, Bill Elliott and Terry Labonte, as well as Rookie of the Year Jamie McMurray. Others in attendance on Tuesday were former Winston Cup Series champions Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip, Rusty Wallace and Dale and Ned Jarrett, as well as two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip. "NASCAR is one of the fastest growing sports in America right now. Seventy-five million people now count themselves as fans and NASCAR has followers around the world who listen to your races in 21 languages in 100 different countries...fantastic international sport," Bush told the invited audience of over 200 outside the White House.
Several NASCAR owners also attended the event, including Rick Hendrick, Richard Childress and Ray Evernham. Many championship-winning sports teams are invited to attend White House receptions, and some of NASCAR's most recent champions, namely Bobby Labonte and Tony Stewart, have toured the grounds. But this is the first time an entire league will be on hand at once.
Some political analysts have specifically identified NASCAR and its many fans as an important segment of the electorate in the upcoming 2004 presidential elections. The race series is wildly popular in the american south which will be a hotly contested battleground. Senator Bob Graham sponsored a NASCAR team as a part of his early presidential bid. In 2000, President George W. Bush swept the South, thanks largely to his astonishing margin among white men there: Seventy percent voted for him, according to exit polls. Conventional wisdom says Democrats must win at least one or two Southern states to get elected, therefore the Democratic candidate must find ways to peel at least some of these voters away from Bush.
Bureau Report