Despite Clearing Kyle Larson’s Charlotte Return, NASCAR Fans Upset as Donald Trump Confirms Coca-Cola 600 Plans

Is Donald Trump really going to spoil Kyle Larson’s ‘Double Duty’ attempt? Case in point, just a few days ago, reports emerged that the former US President plans to attend the Memorial Day weekend race. But contrary to the expected reactions, fans didn’t really favor Trump coming over to the North Carolina track.

Many pointed out that his presence will only make it harder for the #5 Hendrick Motorsports driver to carry out his double attempt smoothly due to tightened security and track inaccessibility. But how true is that? Well, an industry insider recently gave fans a ray of hope, but it’s safe to say it wasn’t enough to appease them, with many still against the ex-POTUS’s attendance.

Will Donald Trump play spoilsport?

With the two events lined up one after the other on the same day, Kyle Larson will be in a race against time if he wants to make his name in the history books. As the Indy500 begins at 12:45 p.m. ET, and roughly runs for three hours, Larson will have only less than three hours to bridge the 578-mile gap to the Coca-Cola 600, which starts rolling at 6 p.m. ET. So, of course, neither he nor NASCAR fans would want anybody coming in his way; not even Donald Trump. But veteran reporters like Bob Pockrass have hinted that such an event is unlikely.

Here’s what he had to say in his X post, “Donald Trump plans to attend Coke 600. Security personnel here working thru plan. Teams have been informed additional security measures could be in place for anyone entering garage area.

“My understanding is it should not impact overall ingress/egress nor Larson helicoptering in.”

The former head-of-state’s presence will mark the first instance that a former or sitting president will be attending a race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Although we are unsure whether he will attend the state Republican Party annual convention in Greensboro the same weekend, Trump is expected to make his stop in Concord, North Carolina as part of his political rally. Charlotte Motor Speedway holds one of the longest races in NASCAR, and add to the fact that Trump will be revisiting a NASCAR track four years after his re-election rally in 2020, the experience at the 14,000+ seat arena would be electrifying, to say the least.

Earlier in the day, the former president had also attended the 2001 Daytona 500, and later also served as the Grand Marshal of the race in 2020. Additionally, Ronald Reagan was also present in Daytona in 1984, with George H.W. Bush gracing the venue in 1992 and George W. Bush in 2004.

One would expect fans’ remarks to have a soothing effect, but it turned out to be quite the contrary. Other concerns revolve around Trump’s presence overshadowing the event and disrupting the focus on Larson and other drivers. However, while such a reaction is quite clearly an exaggeration considering the popularity of Kyle Larson, social media was still abuzz with speculations. But with all due credit to the fans, everything is possible with Trump attending the main event.

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A fan pointed out the helplessness of NASCAR, stating, “NASCAR doesn’t own the track so unfortunately they can’t control who the invited guests are.” Currently, Speedway Motorsports owns the North Carolina track and while there’s no direct connection between the two entities as of today, Donald Trump has been an active contributor to the sport from time to time. The 77-year-old, back in 1999, had formed a partnership with the then-NASCAR president to build a major speedway, according to the New York Times.

Then fast forward to 2016, former NASCAR CEO and chairman, Brian France endorsed Donald Trump in a rally ahead of the presidential election. While this garnered objections from many stakeholders, including some sponsors, the executive was quick to defend himself and say that it was a “routine endorsement.”

NASCAR and politics haven’t been all that exclusive, and sensing a seismic impact that Trump’s presence might create, fans were not happy about these two events coinciding. Expressing their displeasure with the political presence, one X user went as far as to say, “NASCAR would be wise to tell him he’s not welcome but, anything for some publicity, I guess.”

Another big worry among fans is media coverage. People who are not particularly fans of Trump also hoped for TV coverage just to ignore him and stay focused on the race. On the other hand, some also cooked up theories at the expense of Tony Stewart’s misery and wrote,

However, not all fans were anti-Trump. Some of them recounted the good times drivers had with Trump. One of the fans talked about Trump’s past experiences with NASCAR, and said,

Thus, with race day almost on the horizon, fans are being vocal about their feelings. After all, it is a people’s sport. The 2024 Coca-Cola 600 will be remembered not only because of the challenge of the race and the drivers’ performance but also at the level of the public scrunity that has entailed on account of Donald Trump’s presence.

Yet, as Kyle Larson prepares to make his much-anticipated return, NASCAR also finds itself divided. How will things transpire ultimately? Only time will tell!