- Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum is sponsoring Tony Raines' No. 26 Ford Fusion at the rain-delayed Daytona 500.
- The Rick Santorum for President campaign messaging will be on the hood and quarter panels of the Ford Fusion.
- The campaign's hook-up with NASCAR is shaping up to be a scene-stealer, since the rain-delayed race will be held on Monday night under the lights and in prime time for the first time in its history.
DAYTONA, Florida — Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum is sponsoring Tony Raines' No. 26 Ford Fusion at the Daytona 500 in what's shaping up to be a scene-stealing move, since the rain-delayed race will be held under the lights and in prime time for the first time in its history.
The Rick Santorum for President campaign messaging in red, white and blue will be on the hood and quarter panels of the Ford Fusion. Santorum is believed to be the only presidential candidate slated to do any NASCAR sponsorships at this point in the campaign.
"NASCAR and the Daytona 500 are about as American as you can get — and it's great to have my campaign represented by one of these incredible machines," said Santorum in a statement posted on his Web site.
Raines will be behind the wheel of the No. 26 entry on behalf of Front Row Motorsports.
"We're glad to partner with the Santorum campaign," said Bob Jenkins, team owner, in a statement on the Front Row Motorsports Web site.
Santorum told Raines to use "the Santorum strategy" during the NASCAR season opener.
"Hang back, let the other cars in front get in wrecks and — or drop out of the race, and then move up at the end," Santorum said in a recent interview.
Inside Line says: Such a move obviously could backfire on Santorum's team, especially since Raines is starting at the back of the pack.
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426maxwedge says:
02:52 PM, 02/28/2012
With Santorum as a sponsor you can absolutely guarantee his team will NEVER abort a race.
vegan4life says:
07:49 AM, 02/28/2012
too bad Santorum couldn't have got his logo on a 2013 Fusion. Now that'd be progress!
fandiesel says:
06:32 AM, 02/28/2012
Raines wasn't driving, it was Romney in disguise !
wideturnone says:
06:09 AM, 02/28/2012
george2040, as others have noted, and you allude to, there really isn't much of a difference between either side of the political fence. You want a smaller, more efficient, government, so do I. The problem with thinking the republicans want this is THEY DON'T. They get into office (like the dems), making promises to the public, but those that pay their bills like the energy, health (insurance) and military sectors want things to stay the same or to grow their opportunity.
You say you support the Keystone project, which is fine, but what do you think you'll get from it? Or opening up drilling in the gulf or Alaska. Do you think this will give us cheaper gas? Or independence from the middle east? This is one of the great false-hoods that is being pushed down the unknowing population's throat. We the people in the US do not own the oil that will be drilled. The land is leased by the government to oil companies which happen to be publicly traded. Their job is to make a profit and sell the oil to whoever will pay the highest amount for it. If China continues it's growth path, they'll be the one to buy this extra oil and it will benefit the oil companies, not you and not me.
Now maybe, if we nationalized the oil industry, the story would be different, but the republican mantra - drill baby drill, provides us with nothing more than more oil on the market. If the excess oil drives prices too low (supply and demand being the driving factor) then the oil companies will reduce production or even abandon some fields, until they drive the price back up again.
I want government to provide me with safety and allow me to have the opportunity to do what I want. I don't want it to make false promises or worse, outright lie.
madarchitect says:
05:25 AM, 02/28/2012
Kate Upton for president!
urbanxj says:
03:55 AM, 02/28/2012
dmpete says
any one of the Republicans in the race would be better than the guy in there now.
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BWAHHAAAAAAA!!
Which one exactly? The flip-flopper, the religious fanatic, or the one who left his wife dying of cancer for his mistress? All great choices I guess.
dmpete says:
03:33 AM, 02/28/2012
Newsflash for all the dems listening, any one of the Republicans in the race would be better than the guy in there now, Going backwards? Really? How about spending more money in three years than (EVERY) president before him combined. Facts don't lie guys. Sorry to beat you with the truth.
urbanxj says:
01:02 AM, 02/28/2012
Santorum is basically a well dressed and well educated religious fanatic, and we've seen how well the middle east has done with their religious fanatics.
Hey, don't get me wrong, I'm no atheist, but being the leader of the United States requires you to be respectful of everyone's political rights and religious freedoms... NOT just the supporters of your narrow view.
Again, the dude's a fanatic, and I have no idea how he got so far along in this race.
90in55 says:
11:36 PM, 02/27/2012
Yup, gotta thank Dan Savage of the Village Voice for re-defining "santorum". And yet, Obama could potentially lose to one of these clowns.
brokenaudi says:
07:58 PM, 02/27/2012
Maybe he should put the definition of his last name on there too... look it up if you don't know what I'm talking about.