Ronald Reagan Becomes First Sitting President to Attend NASCAR Race

• Ronald Reagan was in Daytona Beach on July 4, 1984 for what turned out to be one of NASCAR's most famous moments.

• Using a special phone and a video feed from perhaps 38,000 feet over South Carolina, the 40th President gave the “Gentlemen, start your engines” command.

• The Firecracker 400 was past halfway when Air Force One arrived.

NASCAR had presented 1,421 Cup Series races since 1949 before a sitting President finally showed up. Several candidates had campaigned at race venues and some had hosted drivers, owners, officials, and the media at White House functions. But Ronald Reagan was the first to attend a race.

Fortunately for him, he was in Daytona Beach on July 4, 1984 for what turned out to be one of racing’s most famous moments.

Reagan was in full re-election mode. He and vice-presidential candidate George H. W. Busch were running that summer against Walter Mondale and vice-presidential hopeful Geraldine Ferraro. The Republicans led every poll, and Mondale-Ferraro wasn’t given any chance of an upsets. This time, the experts were right.

Reagan-Bush won everywhere except DC and Mondale’s home state of Minnesota. They won a record 525 of 538 electoral votes and 59 percent of the popular vote; Mondale-Ferrero took 13 electoral votes, an all-time low. But voters are fickle, and the Republicans didn’t want Floridians and other NASCAR-heavy Conservatives to think they were being disrespected.

Thus, Reagan’s group boarded Air Force One on Wednesday morning, July 4 and headed for Daytona Beach International Airport. Around mid-morning, using a special phone and a video feed from perhaps 38,000 feet over South Carolina, the 40th President gave the “Gentlemen, start your engines” command.

The Firecracker 400 was past halfway when AF-1 arrived. Reagan’s group went directly to a suite overlooking the start-finish line with the France family and selected VIPs. There, they watched Richard Petty beat Cale Yarborough by a foot under a yellow-white flag following a late-race accident in Turn 1. (Yarborough lost second by pulling off on the last lap, thinking the 160-lapper was over; Harry Gant was scored second, Yarborough third).

It was a memorable day for Republicans, including Petty, Yarborough, the Frances, Reagan, and (almost assuredly) most in the crowd of 80,000. It was Petty’s 200th and final Cup Series victory, worthy of a post-race picnic featuring Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pepsi-Cola products. Reagan reveled in his visit, doing radio and TV chats with the Frances, the Pettys, and Bobby Allison. It was a swelteringly hot day, but few cared.

Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush also attended Daytona races, as did Donald Trump. None stayed as long or interacted with fans and teams as Reagan did. Overall, it was 12 well-spent hours.