Rick Santorum Sponsors Daytona 500 Car, Hopes For An Unlikely Victory

GOP Presidential contender Rick Santorum is the newest sponsor in NASCAR after sealing a deal to sponsor the Daytona 500 racing car of Tony Raines.

Speaking to ABC’s This Week Santorum said he had the chance to talk with Raines and offer him some advice:

“I talked to him about a strategy. I recommended he stay back in the pack, you know, hang back there until the right time, and then bolt to the front when it really counts. So let’s watch. I’m hoping that for the first, you know, maybe 300, 400 miles, he’s sitting way, way back, letting all the other folks crash and burn, and then sneak up at the end and win this thing.”

That “sneak up” approach is obviously a direct link to Santorum’s own campaign while the GOP presidential hopeful said Raines’ run at Dayton 500 glory was “the feel-good, underdog story of the day.”

Santorum continued in his interview by noting:

“I like how Tony Raines turned some heads last weekend with his qualifying run and we’d like to keep turning heads too. I think we’re both looking for a win in the end.”

Team owner Bob Jenkins said in an official press released:

“It’s a pretty tight battle for the Republican nomination right now, and the former senator is right in the thick of it. We hope we’re in the thick of it come Sunday out on the racetrack, too.”

As shown above Santorum’s campaign message is featured on the hood of the car and he’ll also have spots showing on the racing cars quarter panels.

In the meantime Santorum can now only sit around and hope that Tony Raines doesn’t crash and burn, that would quite possible be the worst symbolism a political contender has bought into in recent memory.

Do you think sponsoring an underdog Daytona 500 car was a smart move on the part of Rick Santorum?