Thursday, May 05, 2011

Trump Bails As Pace Car Driver For Indy 500

This is no doubt a face-saving move after being informed by IMS officials they couldn't stand the heat and decided to dump Trump as the honorary pace car driver for the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500:

Donald Trump is no longer this month’s Indianapolis 500 pace car driver.


The controversial host of NBC’s reality show, “The Apprentice,” told Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials that continuing with the program conflicts with his possible presidential campaign.

“I very much appreciate the honor, but time and business constraints make my appearance there, especially with the necessary practice sessions, impossible to fulfill,” Trump said. “I look forward to watching the race from New York.”

“Donald Trump has been very enthusiastic about the ‘500’ from the beginning of our conversations, and I have appreciated the interaction we have had with him and his staff,” Speedway president Jeff Belskus said. “From my first conversation, I was impressed by his deep understanding of the event and history, and I thank him for being a true fan.”

No replacement for the May 29 race has been selected, although fans hope it’s a former 500 winner. The pace car is a Chevrolet Camaro.
This is a pretty sad commentary when the Obama Nation crowd can block Rush Limbaugh from owning an interest in an NFL team or prevent Donald Trump from driving the pace car at an event that is 100% funded through the private resources of the Hulman-George family because they disagree with their political views. We now officially live in a dictatorship. This country is going straight to hell. Nobody complained when the Speedway officials had Colin Powell drive the pace car when he was considering a presidential run several years ago, but he wasn't posing a challenge to The One. Everyone who stands up to this incompetent, illegitimate president must be smeared as a racist. Maybe the family can bring back last year's guest, Internet porn slut Kim Kardashian, to take Trump's place. Maybe I'll tear up my tickets to this year's event and never return to the Speedway again.

UPDATE: The Speedway's spokesperson, who incidentally had to find a job working for the IMS because the race team he co-owned went bankrupt, a sign of the future for the Speedway, confirms Trump was pushed out:

"You have somebody like Donald Trump, who is controversial without being a political candidate, and the fact that he's really talking about running for president was something that bothered our fans a little bit," Boles said.
Trump was only controversial because he challenged Obama in a way every other politician in this country is too spineless to do. The race-baiting Amos Brown, who has never been a supporter of the Speedway because there are no black drivers (ergo, the Speedway is racist), was jubilant.

 "I am very pleased that Hoosier common sense prevailed and that Donald Trump is busy with other things," said Indianapolis radio host Amos Brown. "Mr. Trump recognized the importance of what the 500 has always stood for and that partisan politics has never been a part of the race."
Yeah, right. Amos was concerned about partisanship when Colin Powell used the honor to promote a potential presidential bid himself that went nowhere when Republicans finally figured out he wasn't a real Republican. When the Speedway starts worrying about what the city's biggest white-hating black man who doesn't hide his admiration for the anti-Semitic Rev. Louis Farrakhan thinks about how it conducts its business, its future is in question. Note to Speedway: Amos' audience isn't your audience. Hello? Is anyone listening?

Let's review what has happened this past week. Trump's bold pressuring of Obama on his refusal to release his birth certificate and other records is resonating with the American voters. The same day newly-released government records are made public that prove Barry's biographical narrative is made up fantasy he produces a long-form birth certificate he has spent millions blocking the release of for the past three years, which turns out to be a bad forgery. The White House Press Correspondents Dinner last weekend turned into a roast of Donald Trump instead of the President. The next day, Barry times his announcement to interrupt the regularly-scheduled broadcast of Trump's Celebrity Apprentice to announce that bin Laden has been captured and executed by U.S. special forces. Yesterday, the Speedway dumps Trump as the honorary pace car driver. Yesterday, he goes to Ground Zero for a photo op with the 9/11 victims, who are convinced he is simply using them as a campaign prop. Today, the President comes to town to promote alternative fuel uses at Allison's westside facility to help restore his failing public opinion numbers in a state that proved critical to his 2008 election win. Tell me this wasn't all scripted by a Hollywood movie producer instead of a President sincerely interested in serving the interests of the people he was elected to serve.

6 comments:

CircleCityScribe said...

The Greatest Spectacle in Racing can retain some dignity with this decision.

Maple Syrup Maven said...

Oh, good lord!

Since when is it appropriate to have a presidential candidate driving an IMS pace car?

Withdrawing was an unexpectedly classy thing for Trump to do.

Gary R. Welsh said...

Colin Powell was being speculated as a potential presidential candidate and he drove the pace car, but he's black and so that was okay. It's just those dirty white men that speak from a conservative perspective and are automatically branded a racist for asking legitimate questions of the most shady and slippery character to ever serve as president.

M Theory said...

Maple Syrup,
First, I did not know that Trump WAS a candidate. He was not present at the presidential debate last night.

Here's who IS a Republican candidate: Tim Pawlenty, Rich Santorum, Herman Cain, Gary Johnson and Ron Paul — a former governor, a former senator, a former CEO, another former governor and a former Libertarian Party nominee for the nation's top job.

Second, have you never seen a sitting president throw an opening pitch at a ball game? And how is that any different if if Trump WAS a candidate?

Here's a little history for you:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceremonial_first_pitch

Vox Populi said...

In other news, AJ Foyt has accepted the honor of driving the pace car. It's people like Foyt, the first four-time winner of the race, who should be invited every time, not political candidates or controversial billionaires with a penchant for abusing the tort system.

Gary R. Welsh said...

The actual pace car driver is an experience race car driver. Former Indy winner Johnny Rutherford has driven the pace car for the past several races. The role Trump was to serve was purely an honorary role that has been filled by a celebrity type. The person only drives to the starting lap and then turns it over to the experienced driver.