The Super Tuesday presidential primaries are today, and Republican candidate Donald Trump last night picked up endorsements from NASCAR Chair & CEO Brian France, NASCAR HOFer Bill Elliott and three active drivers. France and the drivers made an appearance at a rally in Valdosta, Ga. NASCAR VP/Integrated Marketing Communications David Higdon in a statement said France’s endorsement was a “private, personal decision,” as opposed to one by NASCAR as a whole. However, Trump’s Twitter account this morning sent out a message reading, "Got the endorsement of Brian France and @NASCAR yesterday in Georgia. Also, many of the sports great drivers. Thank you Nascar and Georgia!”
Social media has been filled with responses since France’s endorsement, including from Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis, whose company title sponsors NASCAR’s Truck Series. Lemonis last year spoke out strongly against Trump due to his views on immigration, and last night on Twitter he wrote, "There is no place for politics/any political endorsements in any business. Your customers and employees should have their own mind. #period" (Adam Stern, Staff Writer).
This comes as presidential candidates are "spending big on ad spots" on sports networks. Home Team Sports "has sold five times more political ads" for Super Tuesday primaries than it did four years ago. The Fox Sports-owned ad sales group sold a "whopping 10 times more political ads from July to December 2015 than it did four years ago." Home Team Sports expects to ring up close to $10M in political candidate spending this cycle. Prior to '08, that figure was "closer to $200,000" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 2/29 issue).
