A congressman believes Tyler Reddick’s Daytona 500 victory was his way of paying tribute to Donald Trump.
On Sunday, Reddickthe driver of the No. 45 car for Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing team in the NASCAR Cup Series, won the prestigious race, a year after finishing second. Right behind him was Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driving the No. 47 Hyak Motorsports car, just 0.308 seconds behind Reddick.
“Notice the Daytona 500 finish is 45-47 in tribute to President Trump!” Tenney wrote about X, along with a photo of the unofficial results that show Reddick and Stenhouse together at the front of the field.
Fans were quick to respond to Tenney’s post, with some wondering why this is what the 65-year-old got out of racing. “It’s got to be all about politics, right?” one fan wrote in response to Tenney’s social media post.
Another added: “Notice how this is stock car racing and it has nothing to do with politics.” Others were apparently upset to learn that instead of a high-intensity race that was the main topic of conversation for some, it was the fact that first and second place coincidentally coincided with the order in which Trump was elected president.
“It’s so disheartening that it even crosses people’s minds,” a third fan posted no Teammate Bubba Wallace’s garage.
Another Trump-related incident occurred at the Daytona 500, this time between Suarez and an unruly fan. Suarez, the only Mexican driver in the Cup Series, was giving an interview in Spanish when a fan approached him and said “47” before tapping him on the shoulder.
Fans on social media thought the fan was referring to Trump, since he is the 47th president of the United States. “@Daniel_SuarezG is an American citizen. He did it the right way. Absolutely unjustified,” we can read on social media.
“This outlet was trying to be funny by shouting ’47’ knowing Suarez was Mexican-American and the ’47’ was shouting Trump, who was adamant about a border wall! Total disrespect,” another added.
