NASCAR’s King Richard Petty spotted with President Donald Trump at the Daytona 500 before the race

Retired seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Richard Petty was seen with the 45th and currently the 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump, prior to the start of Sunday's Daytona 500 on Sunday. Trump is amid his second time attending "The Great American Race" as the country's sitting President.

Petty's time spent with Trump was brought to light by Rubbin is Racing on X. The user posted a photo of the two and penned a message that read:

"The President and The King"

"The King" is a reference to Petty's nickname. He won 200 career Cup Series races, the most of all time. Petty's seven Cup championships are tied for the most all-time alongside Jimmie Johnson and the late Dale Earnhardt.

Petty and Johnson co-own Legacy Motor Club, which fields two full-time Cup Series cars and one part-time entry. Erik Jones pilots the #43 LMC Toyota while John Hunter Nemechek is at the seat of the #42 LMC machine. Johnson, meanwhile, fields the part-time entry in the #84 car.

Trump attended the 2020 Daytona 500 during his first term as the United States President. He served as the race's grand marshal that year and took laps around the track prior to the start of the race.

This year, Trump wasn't the race's grand marshal but did ride around the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway like he did in 2020. His appearance at "The Great American Race" comes on the heels of him attending this year's Super Bowl, the first time a sitting President has attended the monumental game. The game saw the Philadelphia Eagles defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22.

Trump represents the Republican Party. Last November, he defeated Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee and the sitting Vice President at the time, in the 2024 Presidential Election. Trump is one of only two Presidents in history to serve two non-consecutive terms after serving from 2016 to 2020.

The Daytona 500 halted early due to rain

The 67th running of the Daytona 500 got underway earlier this afternoon. However, the race only saw 11 laps completed before it was red-flagged due to rain.

"The Great American Race" was postponed to Monday last year due to inclement weather, only the third time in history that such a thing has happened. The prior two instances were in 2012 and 2020.

Chase Briscoe started on the pole for the Daytona 500 with Austin Cindric alongside on the front row. After 11 laps, Cindric was the leader of the race.