NASCAR drivers too busy for President Obama

President Obama recently invited several NASCAR drivers to the White House to honor their accomplishments on the racetrack, but nearly half declined the invitation.

The invitees are the top finishers from NASCAR’s 2010 Sprint Cup. According to sbnation.com, which is sponsored by Sprint, drivers Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart are not attending due to “schedule conflicts.”

Last year’s champion Jimmy Johnson will be attending however, along with Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch (who was originally among those not attending), Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton and Matt Kenseth.

It is entirely likely that this is being over-politicized as NASCAR drivers do have an incredibly busy schedule: meeting with sponsors, fans, photo shoots (which is what Busch had to reschedule), and so on. There is really no off-season in this sport. The federal government has become an unwelcome part in all of our lives over the last few years, but (as of this writing) Uncle Sam is not the largest sponsor in auto racing (they are the largest landowner, healthcare provider, employer, broadband internet provider, etc.).

But that all could change if the Obama administration deems the racing industry “too big to fail.” Then we would no doubt see something like a $500 billion sponsorship of a race team claiming to run on solar power panels – only to go bankrupt in a matter of months. And by then we could hear Carl Edwards thank the ACORN/SEIU team for putting together a great car after winning the Daytona 500.

My advise to the four holdouts is remember “Joe the Plumber” – embarrass the President and dirty political goons will go through your past with a fine-tooth comb, looking for anything that can destroy you. Call your accountants and have them cross the t’s and dot the i’s. Maybe leave your calendar out in a highly visible location with “Meeting with George Soros” or “key Rush Limbaugh’s car” circled on the day of the White House event. Make a point to be seen in a Che Guevara shirt. Get a “Had enough? Vote Democrat” bumper sticker for your NASCAR.

Just in case.