President Trump revved up NASCAR’s Daytona 500 on Sunday, becoming the second-ever president to deliver the Great American Race’s iconic command, “Gentlemen, start your engines!” and the first of any president to take a lap in the armored presidential limo, dubbed “The Beast.”
Trump, who was tapped to act as the race’s grand marshal, and first lady Melania Trump addressed the 100,000-seat racetrack at Florida’s Daytona International Speedway ahead of the race he called “pure American glory.”
Trump’s motorcade passes the grandstands as he leads the drivers around the track before the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Trump and Melania took a lap around the speedway in “The Beast” after giving the command for racers to start their engines. Leading the pack of 40 racers, the lap in the 22,000-pound, Cadillac-branded limousine marked a historic first for any president.