Stewart Meets With the President Monday UPDATE: President Bush is honoring NASCAR champion and auto racing’s reigning bad boy Tony Stewart, adding a sport with a prized voter profile to the list of winners who get his White House treatment. Last year’s NASCAR champ, Jeff Gordon, got no presidential honors. But “NASCAR dads” became the demographic du jour in the last election. They are white, working-class men who admire Bush but who can often be persuaded to vote Democratic if the issues are right. NASCAR is particularly popular in the South and Midwest, two regions that generally favored the president in his 2000 election and that he must protect for his re-election. Stewart secured the title Nov. 17 by crossing the line at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and just two weeks later, Bush was paying him tribute today in the Oval Office. By contrast, the National Hockey League champion Detroit Red Wings had to wait five months for their White House visit. Bush invariably reminds sports champs who are invited to the White House about their responsibilities to the young people who idolize them. He told the Red Wings last month, “It’s one thing to be the champion on the ice; it’s another thing to be a champion living your lives.” With Stewart, Bush was honoring a champion with a history of violent confrontations. Stewart was placed on probation after punching a photographer in August. He was fined $10,000 by NASCAR and $50,000 by his sponsor, Home Depot, and underwent anger-management counseling. He apologized for bumping another photographer on the eve of his championship victory last month. The White House invited photographers, but not reporters, to the get-together. That meant Bush planned no speech honoring Stewart.(Charlotte Observer/AP)(12-2-2002) UPDATE: Tony Stewart kicked off his Champion’s Week in grand fashion Monday as he visited the White House and met President George W. Bush. Stewart, the 31-year-old from Rushville, Ind., met with President Bush for about 15 minutes and signed and presented one of his Home Depot racing helmets. “It was quite humbling,” Stewart said following his visit. “It was a very grateful feeling in that short amount of time with the President. He made us feel like one of the guys – except that he has a lot of power. I was a lot more nervous going to the big red (NASCAR) trailer than making the trip to the Oval Office. It was very flattering to have the private time he spent with us.” Stewart was joined on the visit by his girlfriend, Jaime Schaffer; team owner Joe Gibbs and his wife, Pat; crew chief Greg Zipadelli and his wife, Nan; and The Home Depot President/CEO Robert L. Nardelli. “It was an awesome experience standing in the Oval Office, and we were very fortunate to be in the same room as the President,” Gibbs said. “All of us were very impressed by how approachable he was. We were all excited, especially Tony.”(FoxSports and see images there)(12-3-2002)
