Eight of NASCAR’s top drivers visited the White House last Wednesday at a special invitation from President Barack Obama. Denny Hamlin, Jeff Burton, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Bush, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch and Clint Bowyer met with the nation’s leader and took part in a ceremony honoring Johnson for his fifth straight Sprint Cup championship.

  “We get to see a few rooms that’s got like George Washington’s sword and things like that, just amazing memorabilia that you wouldn’t think still existed,” Hamlin said.

  Bowyer echoed Hamlin’s statement. “It was a neat day,” he said. “Obviously it means a lot as a human being to be in a place so special to our country, let alone a race car driver or anything else, for anybody to be able to get invited to the White House- That’s the House man! That’s where everything happens and to meet the President and everything that goes in with that day, it’s a special day.”

  Even Kyle Busch was not above being impressed. “The visit to the White House was fun,” he said. “It’s something that I’ve not done before so it was neat for me to get the invite and go there and see what it’s all about and see what our nation’s been built on. Certainly it’s a big house and it’s white and it’s old but there’s a lot of history built within it. Certainly to see that history and to meet a President of the United States is pretty cool. We enjoyed it and hopefully we can go back later on this year as champion.”

  But more than anything, it was the opportunity to talk with the President in a casual setting that most impressed the drivers. “To kind of meet Obama, away from the TV cameras and in a separate room and get to hear what he knows about NASCAR and things like that, it’s pretty amazing to see the sports fan that he is,” Hamlin said.

  Bowyer too enjoyed the chance to see the more personal side of Barack Obama. “You know when the cameras go on everybody kind of puts the game face on, takes care of business,” he said. “The parts I love about this business and getting to meet people and everything else is behind the scenes. The conversations, the relationships, you know the true relationship. You kind of get to see the real person just for a quick minute.”

  Bowyer was also impressed by Obama’s NASCAR knowledge. “He talked about our sport, he understands our sport and is in tune with it,” Bowyer said. “I think that speaks volumes about our sport when somebody like the President, who has so many things on his plate, can sit with a group of guys that do it for a living and carry that conversation on. I think it speaks volumes on his attention and thought for the sport.”

  During the East Room ceremony honoring Johnson, the President indicated the thrill of driving for NASCAR is something he is limited from enjoying.

  “I was telling these guys I’m not allowed to drive much these days, basically just my golf cart at Camp David, which is called Golf Cart One,” Obama said. “But I will say that it’s pretty tough to look at #48 and not want to jump in and take a few laps. I’m sure Jimmie would not be happy if I was doing that.”

  Still, Obama found similarities between their two fields of employment. “NASCAR is a sport where anything that can go wrong, will go wrong during the season similar to being President.”

  In his speech, Obama placed Johnson among the best in all of sports. “Jimmie is not only one of the best drivers of all time, he’s up there with some of the best sports dynasties,” the President said. “If you think about it, only the Boston Celtics, the Yankees and the Canadians have won more than four titles in a row.”

  Obama then praised the other drivers as well. “We also want to give credit to the other Chase drivers up here who want Jimmie to know the second he makes a mistake they will be ready to knock him out of the victory lane.”

  It was uncertain whether Obama plans to parlay the NASCAR moment into a Presidential victory lane of his own. In 2008, his campaign considered sponsoring a Sprint Cup car at Pocono, but that would not have been the first time a Presidential candidate put their name on a race car. The same year Ron Paul sponsored the two Nationwide cars driven by Kenny Wallace and Mike Bliss.

  Does Bowyer believe NASCAR is a good place to carry a presidential campaign?
  “I don’t know about the cars,” he said. “I think it’s a great place to campaign, we’ve seen that over the years. There isn’t any more loyal fans than NASCAR fans and if you can win them over you’ve got a fan’s vote.”

  Hamlin agreed. “It’s just that those guys know that there’s a huge audience, a lot of NASCAR fans watch each and every weekend and it’s the way to get their name out there.”

  At the end of the ceremony, Johnson presented Obama with the racing gloves he wore during his win at Las Vegas. The President said he would put them to use along with the helmet Johnson gave him during his previous visit. “I’ll wear the helmet and the gloves when I’m driving Golf Cart One.”