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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Sarah Palin took a break from the snow and played politician on stock car racing's biggest stage. Pretty important place on the political landscape, too. The former vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor sped around Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, shaking hands and taking photos with drivers and fans alike before what she called the "all-Americana event." Palin said she was "having fun and not thinking about the politics of this," but didn't miss the chance to energize her base in one of the most critical regions of the largest swing state. "This is awesome," she...

October 11, 2008 Contact: Press Office NASCAR Legend Richard Petty Endorses John McCain ARLINGTON, VA -- McCain-Palin 2008 today announced that Richard Petty, widely known as the greatest driver in NASCAR history, is endorsing John McCain for president. Petty is announcing his endorsement at today's Bank of America 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C. "What we need right now in these uncertain times is a steady hand on the wheel -- a leader we can trust to put country first, ahead of politics," Petty said. "John McCain has always done that, and if you need proof, think about...

(CNN) – Hockey Moms might be the hot political demographic of the moment, but NASACAR Dads haven't been forgotten. The McCain campaign is moving Sarah Palin's Monday appearance from the Arthur Ashe Center in downtown Richmond, Virginia — capacity 6,000 — to a much larger outdoor venue: the Richmond International Raceway, which hosts two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races yearly and can accommodate over 100,000 people. The campaign doesn't expect to fill all those seats, but McCain's mid-Atlantic regional director Trey Walker said the demand for Palin tickets has nearly quadrupled the capacity of the original event site, the Arthur...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has remained neutral in the Democratic presidential primary. So much so that instead of spending Super Tuesday getting out the vote in her state's crucial primary contest or capitalizing off all the press attention -- she stayed in Washington to schmooze with a NASCAR driver. Pelosi, who voted on an absentee ballot last week (for whom, we know not), hosted two-time defending NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson in her Capitol suite Tuesday afternoon for the ostensible purpose of congratulating him on his recent victory. The meeting and photo-op is also a great chance for House Democrats...

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FORT MILL -- Fred Thompson brought his made-for-TV personality to York County for the first time on Tuesday, delivering a talk that mixed his trademark Southern drawl with sharp words for others in the Republican presidential field. Thompson needed less than 15 seconds to dispatch with the obligatory assault on Democrats as strong on welfare programs and weak on national security. But he spent the rest of an hourlong visit to Beef 'O' Brady's restaurant pointing out differences with rivals in his own party. The strongest critique was saved for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who leads in the polls...

Fried Coke has become the latest artery-clogging hit at US state fairs, local media reports. The gooey Coke-battered nuggets topped with cola syrup won the "most creative" title at the Texas state fair in Dallas last month. Since then, the deep-fried phenomenon has spread to North Carolina and Arizona. "We've been getting calls from everywhere since we introduced it," Elizabeth Martin, a spokeswoman for the North Carolina fair, told the Dallas Morning News. "Everyone wants to know where they can get it." Fried treats are as big of a draw at state fairs as the rides and prize-winning farm animals....

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (Reuters) - Four months before crucial congressional elections, Vice President Dick Cheney saw his first stock-car race on Saturday and hoped to fire up traditionally conservative " NASCAR dads" to turn out and vote. After Air Force Two buzzed the crowd, sweeping as low as 1,000 feet over the racetrack, Cheney's black SUV took a lap around the Daytona speedway at a sedate 65 mph (105 kph). Infield spectators perched atop behemoth recreational vehicles waved American flags and banners proclaiming devotion to their favorite drivers and the beer companies that sponsor them. "On Independence Day, we're reminded...

MANCHESTER, N.H. - (KRT) - Three months after losing the last national election, former U.S. Sen. John Edwards effectively began his campaign for the next one Saturday night. Edwards, the Democratic vice presidential nominee last year, rolled out a new stump speech at a state Democratic Party dinner, acknowledging the critics who say the party doesn't stand for anything. The party's future, he declared, is in asserting bedrock moral principles, such as lifting Americans out of poverty, a message he will take be taking across the country in the coming months. "What the country is looking for in its leaders,...

That's George W. Bush, not Kurt Busch [though Kurt's hoping they'll say the same about him after the final 4 races this season]. A little over a week ago, the guys at NASCAR.com ran a front page article detailing Presidential endorsements from NASCAR drivers, team owners, TV commentators, and members of the sport's sanctioning body. The article detailed the near unanimity of their endorsements going to President Bush. It seems to further prove over time what NASCAR's 'King', Richard Petty, has famously said: "You'd be hard-pressed" to find a Democrat in the garage these days. When pressed for further details...

Who's who of key U.S. voter groups. Blocs seen as vital in squeaker race. Red States. Blue States. White Noise? U.S. election coverage often bogs down into a jumble of labels — Limousine Liberals, Discerning Democrats, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, Texans for Truth, Soccer Moms (now called Security Moms), Battleground States, Swing States, States In Play. But there are some key demographic segments of American society which will go a long way to deciding whether U.S. President George W. Bush wins a second term Nov. 2 or is unseated by Democratic challenger John Kerry. Here's a look at eight...

Steven Prescott is an ardent auto racing fan. He's a conservative Republican and a lifelong resident of rural areas. This weekend, the 36-year-old father of two plans to be in the stands to watch Nextel Cup stock car racing at the New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, N.H. He is exactly the type of person President Bush hopes to rally during a campaign stop at Sunday's race, the largest sporting event in New England, with more than 100,000 fans expected to attend. Prescott, who lives in Manchester, epitomizes the so-called "NASCAR dad" - the demographic buzzword given to voters who...

WASHINGTON - President Bush will woo those key voters known as ``NASCAR dads'' by visiting the New Hampshire International Speedway next weekend and declaring, ``Start your engines!'' Bush will participate in the opening of the Sylvania 300 NASCAR race in Loudon a week from tomorrow before heading to Derry for an ``Ask President Bush'' event. With his visit, the president continues his push for one of the most sought-after groups of swing voters this year. Dubbed NASCAR dads, they are largely blue-collar, white men who live in rural or suburban areas. The socially conservative bunch used to vote Democratic but...

The good news for the Bush campaign is that the incumbent has retaken the lead in the presidential contest in our most recent InsiderAdvantage poll. On the other hand, perhaps not so good news, as just a confirmation of its insignificance in this year's elections, is that there is no such thing as a "NASCAR dad." The latest InsiderAdvantage survey of the presidential race asks: If the presidential election were held today, would you vote for? George W. Bush, 46 percent; John Kerry, 43 percent; Ralph Nader, 1 percent; someone else, 2 percent; don't know/undecided -- 8 percent. The poll...

ATLANTA - Call it the Shooter Voter bill. The state Senate unanimously approved a plan Wednesday that would require businesses that sell hunting and fishing licenses to also act as voter registration sites. Sen. Preston Smith, R-Rome, said the bill is modeled after the federal Motor Voter bill - which allows voter registration at sites where driver's licenses are issued - and intended to increase voter turnout. "The purpose of this bill is to encourage Georgians to come out and to participate in our political process," Smith said. The plan was sponsored by Republicans and Democrats, both of whom hope...

John Kerry can already wow an audience with ‘Ring of Fire.’ Now a group of industry leaders is trying to convince Southern country music fans to support the senator in November. How does John Kerry plan to capture the hearts and minds of the so-called Nascar Democrats, those relatively conservative, rural Southern whites who tend to vote Republican? There's choosing an appealing running mate, of course. But there are some party insiders who think a liberal Yankee could take another route: country music. The Music Row Democrats (MRD) aim to do just that. Founded earlier this year in Nashville by...

Soccer moms, campus kids, "freestyle evangelicals," "office-park dads," "security moms" — they crop up every election like mushrooms behind the barn (and they thrive in the same kind of medium). We call them the "group du jour" — the crucial swing voter group that's said to hold the key to the next election. In fact, as Ellen Goodman once put it, they usually can't swing anything more than a headline. Now it's NASCAR dads. Who are they? Depends whom you ask. According to ABCNEWS' Political Unit, they're "auto racing fan Democrats, usually anti-gun control, and tend to live in more...

<p>CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) — Until last month, President Bush hadn't been to a NASCAR race since he was governor of Texas and running for president. On Monday, he goes to a rodeo and livestock exhibition in Houston — again, for the first time since he was governor. Such appearances at sporting events this election year help Bush shore up his standing with his core supporters: white men.</p>

The highly symbolic first action President Bush took after he came out of the closet this week and explicitly acknowledged that he is, in fact, a candidate for high office, was to support a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. In so doing, he jumped into a fiery, headlining new front in the long-running culture war that Republicans just love to wage. As it happens, the Senate is battling that culture clash on another front but this scrap won't muster many headlines. The issue is gun control. You may think that is a law enforcement issue not a sociology topic. It...

In this season of the Democratic primaries, everything is perceived in dichotomies of red and blue. We're reminded that the electorate is evenly divided, that ideology is rampant and that the voter sees the issues in negatives and positives. Polls suggest that George W. Bush will get a large majority of the white male vote and John Kerry will get a majority of the female vote. Conservatives are supposed to appeal to the NASCAR dad, the hard-drinking, hard-living workingman in the stands at the Daytona 500. Democrats will get the vote of the softer, socially conscious liberal ladies. "Democrats trolling...