Donald Trump is in town for the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 after sending fans wild by flying his private plane over the track in North Carolina.
The annual 600-mile NASCAR Cup Series points race is taking place on Sunday evening, with Charlotte Motor Speedway hosting the showpiece as usual on Memorial Day weekend.
And before it got underway at 6pm ET, Trump’s private plane was seen flying over the course as he made his grand arrival.
Fans went crazy when the former US President’s aircraft – known as ‘Trump Force One’ – jetted over ahead of Sunday’s event.
Trump, who is bidding to become President again in 2024, was booed repeatedly during an address at the Libertarian Party National Convention on Saturday night.
Donald Trump is in town for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motorway Speedway
When he took the stage, many jeered while some supporters clad in ‘Make America Great’ hats and T-shirts cheered and chanted ‘USA! USA!’
It was a rare moment of Trump coming face-to-face with open detractors, which is highly unusual for someone accustomed to staging rallies in front of ever-adoring crowds.
Libertarians, who prioritize small government and individual freedoms, are often skeptical of the 77-year-old, and his invitation to address the convention has divided the party.
Trump tried to make light of that by referring to the four criminal indictments against him and joking: ‘If I wasn’t a Libertarian before, I sure as hell am a Libertarian now.’
Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 follows the Formula One Grand Prix over in Monaco and Indy500, which got off to a nightmare start when multiple cars collided on the very first turn.
It all started when rookie Tom Blomqvist of Great Britain in the No. 66 Meyer Shank machine lost control of his car on the grass apron on the inside of the first turn and spun out.
Trump is in attendance at the 600-mile NASCAR race after flying his plane over the track
The former US President’s personal aircraft is famously named ‘Trump Force One’
He was jeered by members of the crowd at a Libertarian convention on Saturday night
However, a delay to the event in Indianapolis due to a thunderstorm ended Larson’s hopes of pulling off the historic feat.
‘It looks like it’s going to be that window where I guess we might be able to get it dry to race today,’ Larson said earlier in the day. ‘But obviously that affects things for the 600. It’s still the weather. You don’t know how that is going to go exactly.
‘But the worst-case scenario is happening, which is a bummer. We’ll get on the track in something today.’
He spun directly into 2022 Indy 500 winner and former Formula 1 driver Marcus Ericsson in the No. 28 Andretti- who had no time to avoid the wreck and was immediately out of the race.
Kyle Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion, was attempting to become just the fifth driver in history to attempt the Indianapolis-Charlotte double by racing in the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.
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