NASCAR Drivers Turn Down White House Invite

Jimmie Johnson will show, but Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, others bow out
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 2, 2011 1:10 PM CDT
NASCAR Drivers Turn Down White House Invite
Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, and other NASCAR drivers serve as a backdrop while Jimmie Johnson, not shown, gives an interview in Times Square, in this Nov. 28, 2007 file photo.   (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)

Are some of NASCAR’s top drivers snubbing the president? Barack Obama has invited 12 NASCAR drivers to the White House for an event honoring champion Jimmie Johnson—and five of them aren’t planning on showing up, SB Nation reports. While Johnson himself will be there, Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, and Tony Stewart have all bowed out citing “schedule conflicts.”

“They must be very busy people,” observes Jeff Gluck of SB Nation. “Regardless of one's political views, the president is still the president. … For a sport that prides itself on patriotism, having so many drivers turn down the president's invitation simply seems strange.” (More NASCAR stories.)

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