IndyCar Bans Political Branding at 2024 Race, Rejects Trump and Kennedy Campaign Requests

Rewritten Article: As the 2024 Presidential Election draws nearer, IndyCar has made it clear that it wants nothing to do with politics. The open-wheel racing series is prohibiting all political branding during next month’s Indianapolis 500 race. However, an entry was submitted promoting two presidential candidates – Robert F. Kennedy Jr. And Donald Trump – on a car’s bodywork, although the driver and team responsible for submitting this request have not been identified yet. An IndyCar spokesperson explained that “IndyCar does not approve sponsorships associated with elected officials, candidates for political office or political action committees.” This is not an isolated incident as Trump was previously scheduled to serve as the Grand Marshal at The Million Dollar Challenge in March 2023. But this plan also fell through before he could utter his iconic “Gentlemen, start your engines” line due to someone vetoing it. In a similar vein, Santino Ferrucci was prevented from running Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan on the side of his Formula 2 car back in 2018. Donald Trump also served as the Pace Car driver for the Indianapolis 500’s centennial edition in 2011. As “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” last year’s IndyCar race attracted over three hundred thousand spectators, and more than two million people tuned into its telecast from home – making it a tempting opportunity for political candidates to gain visibility through sponsorship deals.