Bush courts 'NASCAR dads' at Daytona 500

President George W. Bush smiles as he receives a No. 43 hat from The King, Richard Petty. AP

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) -- U.S. President George W. Bush on Sunday traveled to Florida to kick off the Daytona 500 stock-car race and court "NASCAR dads" -- a key voting group in the 2004 campaign.

"Gentlemen, start your engines," Bush told the 43 drivers at Daytona. More than 200,000 people saw the race in person and an estimated 40 million watched on television.

Clad in a black racing jacket, Bush appeared at the Daytona International Speedway after being dogged last week by questions about his Vietnam-era service in the National Guard. On Friday, he released hundreds of pages of records from his service to try to counter Democratic charges that he shirked his duty during part of his time in the Guard.

Bush was appreciative when a network sports interviewer said he wanted to focus on the race rather than having a "work-related conversation."

"I'm thrilled to be here," Bush said. "This is more than an event, it's a way of life for a lot of people."

Bush's plane did a fly-pass over the speedway and, after he landed, his motorcade took a spin around the track.

Before the race, he mingled with the drivers and mentioned his service in the Texas Air National Guard, when he flew fighter planes.

Asked if he would like to ride in one of the stock cars, Bush said, "I'd like to, but I'm afraid the agents wouldn't let me. I flew fighters when I was in the Guard and I like speed."

CRUCIAL VOTING GROUP, CRUCIAL STATE

The questions over Bush's Guard duty came as the 2004 campaign was moving into high gear. Democrats are starting to unify around a front-runner to challenge Bush, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts.

An ABC News/Washington Post poll released on Friday showed Bush's approval ratings have dropped to a new low, weighed down by concerns about the economy and the Iraq war.

Just as "soccer moms" were the sought-after demographic group in the 1996 presidential race, NASCAR dads are the hot voting group this year.

The label refers to culturally conservative family men who hail from rural areas of the South. Stock-car racing has its roots in the South, although the sport's appeal has broadened well beyond that region and many fans are women.

The NASCAR dad voting bloc leans heavily toward Republicans but Democrats are hoping to make inroads by emphasizing economic issues. Analysts say economic insecurity is a key issue for this group, which consists largely of middle-class Americans.

Bush plans to visit a factory in Tampa on Monday and is slated to speak about the economy.

Aware of the need to shore up the support of the NASCAR dads, the Republican party has opened a voter registration booth at Daytona.

Florida, battleground for the bitter recount vote in the 2000 election, is seen as a crucial state in this year's campaign and Bush has made frequent visits to it.

"This is George Bush country here," NASCAR chairman Brian France said at the track. The president's brother Jeb is governor of the state.

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