President Trump Will Attend and be Grand Marshal for the DAYTONA 500

President Trump is expected to arrive at about 1:30pm prior to the start of the Daytona 500 which starts at 2:30pm at Daytona International Speedway.

Official portrait of President Donald J. Trump, Friday, October 6, 2017. (Official White House photo by Shealah Craighead)

UPDATE: It has been confirmed that President Trump will be the Grand Marshal for the 61st running of the Daytona 500. As Grand Marshal, President Trump will give the command to start engines.

JJ Watt, Defensive End for the Houston Texans was originally announced as the Grand Marshal. Daytona International Speedway did confirm that JJ Watt will still attend the race and take part in pre-race activities.

ORIGINAL: DeLand Municipal Airport announced on Tuesday that they have received a notice to airmen (NOTAM) from the Federal Aviation Administration’s Daytona Beach Tower that have advised there is a strong possibility that President Donald Trump will attend the Daytona 500 this Sunday.

President Trump is expected to arrive at about 1:30pm prior to the start of the Daytona 500 which starts at 2:30pm at Daytona International Speedway.

Several former US Presidents have visited both the Daytona 500, and the Firecracker 400.

George H.W. Busch has visited Daytona three times, however were all before he became the 41st President of the United State.

One of the most popular moments in NASCAR that involved a sitting US President, was when Ronald Reagan was the Grand Marshal for the Firecracker 400 at Daytona in 1984. Richard Petty that day won his 200th and final NASCAR Cup Series race.

George W. Bush visited the Firecracker 400 in 2000 before election that coming fall. Bush returned to Daytona for the Daytona 500 in 2004, the only time a current sitting US President has ever visited the Great American Race.