DAYTONA BEACH, Florida - President Bush made history twice Sunday at this year's Daytona 500. Crowds and drivers alike were thrilled when the President appeared at the race and was invited to give the traditional command, "Gentlemen, start your engines!" But the sell-out crowd treated the President to boo's and cat-calls when he parachuted from Air Force One onto the raceway before the midpoint of the race, clambered atop a car carrier, and announced, "Race accomplished!"

"I don't know what he was thinking, the race wasn't even half over," said one man wearing a shirt saying, "Call me Bubba". "The parachute bit was cool, I'll give him that. But I guess I just didn't get his point."

"He called me after the race," said Dale Earnhardt Jr., "I wanted to ask him what that was all about. None of the other drivers saw it happen, neither did I. We heard about it afterward. I mean, we're there in the thick of the race, we had no way of knowing this was going on. So like I said, I wanted to ask him about it, but I just couldn't. He's the President, I guess he can pretty much do what he wants, right?"

The White House issued a press release Monday afternoon stating that the stunt was organized by NASCAR and the President was reading from a script prepared by NASCAR. "The President is himself a 'NASCAR Dad' and understands the importance of the race to the fans. He regrets any confusion his announcement may have caused."
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