Last year's Chase finalists were able to get that White House trip in after all. Due to some schedule conflicts, NASCAR also added some current and former drivers to round-out the starting line-up for this afternoon's photo op with President Obama.
This administration has been very comfortable interacting with sports TV networks. The President made his picks for the NCAA Basketball tournament on ESPN and then hosted the winning team at the White House. Yes, he got it right.
Now, a new sport that he is not very familiar with is walking in with a lot on the agenda. NASCAR is struggling with everything from ticket sales to TV ratings. Many of the top drivers are polished corporate spokesmen who lack the excitement that sports TV viewers crave.
While there are many pictures floating around of Jimmie Johnson and other past champions with President Bush, this is a new administration and a very new political dynamic for the sport. It should be interesting to review the Tweets, emails and stories that come from this group.
TDP will be live blogging the 4:30PM ET White House special one-hour edition of NASCAR Now on ESPN2. Nicole Manske is the host and President Obama will be live with Manske and ESPN's Brad Daugherty shortly after 5PM.
Please join us for your thoughts on the TV coverage. Political comments will be deleted, there are plenty of Internet sites for that content. We are just watching NASCAR TV unfold as usual. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting. Thanks, this should be fun.
