[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book II)]
[December 2, 2003]
[Pages 1667-1669]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Honoring 2003 NASCAR Drivers
December 2, 2003

    The President. Good to see you all. Thanks for coming. Welcome. 
Please be seated. Thanks for coming. Welcome to the White House, and 
congratulations on a great NASCAR Winston Cup Series. We're honored you 
all are here. I see a lot of the ``Bubbas'' who work in my 
administration who have shown up. [Laughter] I wonder why. I've hosted 
champions from many sports here at the White House--first time, however, 
we ever parked stock cars in the South Lawn. [Laughter] We're proud you 
all are here.
    I'm proud to be here with such an outstanding group of NASCAR 
drivers. I didn't realize you all dressed up so well--[laughter]--with 
the NASCAR owners, the crew members, and the executives of this fine 
sport.
    I appreciate the Members of Congress who are here. I see Senator Jon 
Kyl of Arizona. I didn't realize you were such a 
race fan, Senator--helped us get the Medicare bill through the Senate, 
by the way. I appreciate Bart Gordon of 
Tennessee for joining us. Congressman Mac Collins--I knew he was a race car fan. It's good to 
see you, Mac.
    Representative Collins. 
[Inaudible]
    The President Yes, you are a 
``Bubba.'' [Laughter] I'm glad you all are here. I thought you might be 
here just because you were looking for a fast ride back up to the 
Capitol.
    I want to congratulate Matt Kenseth, the 
2003 Winston Cup points champion. Like all champs, he succeeded because 
of his dedication and his hard work. He started racing late-model cars 
in his home State of Wisconsin before he was 20 years old. He worked his 
way up the ranks to the Busch Series. I kind of like the name of that 
series. [Laughter] This year, he drove his number 17 Ford all the way to 
the Winston Cup title. He's a great driver, and, like me, he married 
well. We appreciate Katie coming here today. 
Thanks for being here, Katie.
    But every NASCAR fan knows that behind the--the talent behind the 
wheel is not just enough, that NASCAR is a team sport. When you hear 
these drivers talk after a victory, they're always talking about how 
well their team performed, how well the team did. He had a great group 
in the pit, obviously--otherwise, he wouldn't be the champion--starting 
with the cat in the hat, the team owner, Jack Roush. Thank you for coming, Jack, and congratulations. Every 
team needs a strong crew chief, and Matt had a 
great one in Robbie Reiser. Robbie, thank you 
for coming. I appreciate you being here. Some of the other members of 
the crew are here as well. Where are they, Robbie? Where are the members 
of your crew? Well, they must have--couldn't pass the security check. 
Let them in the gate. [Laughter] But all of you have earned your right--
earned the right to call yourselves champs. I congratulate you. We 
welcome you to the White House. I'm really proud of the job you've done.
    One of the reasons for the success of NASCAR is the strength of its 
leadership. I want the thank Mike Helton, who is 
the

[[Page 1668]]

president of NASCAR, for coming today. Mike, you're doing a great job.
    But there's no doubt NASCAR is where it is today because of a great 
entrepreneur, a person who understands the consumer, the customer, and 
built this sport up to what it is, and that is Bill France, Jr. We're honored you're here, Bill. Thank you for 
coming. I appreciate Betty Jane coming as well. It's great to see you 
again, Betty Jane. I'm also so pleased 
that Lesa Kennedy, who is the president 
of the Daytona International Speedway, is with us; Brian France, who's taken over his dad's position at NASCAR. You 
know, there's nothing wrong, Brian, with following your father's 
footsteps. [Laughter] The France family is a great American family, and 
we're really proud you're here.
    We're proud some of the members of the board from NASCAR are with us 
today. I'm glad my friend, former Governor Bill Graves, is here. Thank you all for coming.
    We also have some former Winston Cup champs--Tony Stewart--I had the honor of greeting Tony at the Oval 
Office last year. Bill Elliott is with us. Some 
pretty fine Texans are up here too--the Labonte boys, Bobby and Terry--from Corpus, 
right? That's what I thought. You still from Corpus? They still claim 
you in Corpus. Yes. [Laughter]
    Mark Martin is not on the stage with us, but 
he's one of the fine drivers on the NASCAR circuit. Mark, we're proud 
you're here. Thank you for coming. Some of the young drivers are with us 
today. These are the ones that are attracting some of the young fans to 
this fantastic sport--Jimmie Johnson and Dale 
Earnhardt, Jr., Kevin Harvick, and Ryan Newman. I'm really 
glad you all are here. Thanks for coming. It's such a thrill to have you 
on the South Lawn.
    NASCAR is one of the fastest growing sports in America today; 75 
million Americans now count themselves as fans. And NASCAR has followers 
around the world who listen to your races in 21 languages and a hundred 
different countries. It's a fantastic international sport. And it's easy 
to figure out why the sport is so popular. The competition is intense, 
the drivers and their crews are skillful, the finishes are oftentimes 
dramatic.
    NASCAR has a proud history dating back to 1948. And today, you're 
carrying on the tradition set by some of the great legends of American 
sport, Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough and Dale Earnhardt.
    It's a time of change for NASCAR. It's one of the reasons why the 
sport is continuing to attract a lot of fans. Yet the values long held 
by the drivers in this sport endure. It's one of the things I like most 
about NASCAR. You know the work you do away from the track is really 
what makes the NASCAR drivers the true champs. After Hurricane Isabelle 
and the California wildfires, Jimmie Johnson 
worked with Lowe's and the American Red Cross to raise money for the 
victims for those disasters. Tony Stewart 
donated $1 million to the Petty family for the Victory Junction Gang 
Camp, which is a great facility in North Carolina where seriously ill 
children can have fun while undergoing treatment. Jeff Gordon has run a foundation to benefit children and families in 
need. These champs are champs on the racetrack, and they're champs off 
the racetrack, for which this country is grateful.
    I also appreciate the strong support that NASCAR's drivers and crew 
members and executives continue to give to our Armed Forces. By 
reminding your millions of fans that America's heroes are the men and 
women who defend our Nation, you're reminding us all about the 
importance of serving a cause greater than ourself.
    I want to thank you all for coming today. I want to congratulate you 
all for being such great champs. Good luck in the upcoming year. May God 
bless you all, and may God continue to bless our great country. Thanks 
for coming.

[[Page 1669]]

Note: The President spoke at 3:05 p.m. on the South Lawn at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Jack Roush, owner, Roush Racing; 
Bill France, Jr., co-vice chairman, NASCAR, his wife, Betty Jane, and 
their children, Brian France, chief executive officer and chairman of 
the board, NASCAR, and Lesa France Kennedy, president, International 
Speedway Corp.; and Bill Graves, member, board of directors, 
International Speedway Corp.