Who could forget, five long years ago in 2020 when NASCAR made the bold decision to ban confederate flags at racetracks.

A staple of Southern pride was suddenly outlawed from all tracks on the schedule. Spearheaded by Bubba Wallace, the choice was a bold evolution for a sport mired in stereotypes and gross assumptions.

NASCAR was focused on losing the stigma associated with it one step at a time, with the hopes of attracting new fans regardless of political belief or identity. Jump back to the present, we start the season with the Daytona 500.

Confederate flags are still gone, but the popularity and growth the sport wanted to garner is still on a slow uptick. New bold media ventures, a diversity program and modern sponsorship acceptance such as cannabis company 3Chi all working at a snail’s pace to strike fire and get new faces.

So with rain looming and fans from around the world eagerly waiting for the start of the race, what does NASCAR and FOX decide to do? Give President Donald Trump his own little show before the big race. Showcasing his plane, his brigade and gushing over his presence. Full interviews, asking drivers and crew how they felt about him showing up.

Are we kidding? Opinions about his policy aside, Trump has been one of the most divisive presidents in the history of the United States. Really, any president nowadays merely represents a fraction of the country.

Gone are the days of being upset with policy but respecting the president. For many in the United States, you either love him or hate him. Besides the fact Trump has taken shots at various marginalized groups in this country countless times, he’s taken shots at our sport itself!

The noose “hoax” from 2020 is an entirely different story, but his demeanor and attitude on the incident said all I needed to hear. It was an uneducated attack on a driver personally. When has any other president done that?

Now we just expect that has changed and we can give him his own parade before our race, it’s embarrassing. How do drivers like Wallace feel about his presence? How about Truck series driver Rajah Caruth, who also represents an entire demographic Trump has chosen to either ignore or insult over the course of nine years?

NASCAR has been fighting for years to return to that level of approachability they found in the mid 2000’s, when the average American would have a driver hat or sticker on their bumper. Before seeing driver merchandise in the wild was a pleasant surprise. Before you would be the only person in the classroom saying you like NASCAR.

With F1’s recent western explosion, NASCAR would rather choose to be at the behest of FOX and waste time showing appreciation to someone who has disparaged such a large portion of American citizens.

Trump is and always has been a billionaire. He does not represent you or me, or the average American. He has only chosen to be at the Daytona 500 because he knows alienating the sports fans further would be a dumb choice for his popularity. He is a con and a hypocrite.

What’s even funnier, is that The Rizzler showed up to the race! So rather than focus on a celebrity who has spent the last half year bringing generations and fans together despite politics, you choose Trump.

Hey NASCAR, if you want to appeal to a broader audience, maybe don’t get a convicted felon who has spent his last two terms pitting us against each other to apparently represent us at the biggest race of the season.

Until then, this sport will continue to get more and more irrelevant as its reputation is forever known as a backwater, racist, homophobic joke series where all cars do is go in circles.

Be better.