The stunning rout of the US election by President-elect Donald Trump and the Republican Party has brought a mixed reaction among the motorsport community.
Most notably, Mexican Formula 1 driver Sergio Perez has split with his new sunglasses sponsor via Twitter after the brand tweeted a message stating that crying Mexican eyes could hide behind its range of sunglasses when the much vaunted wall was being constructed between Mexico and the US.
Predictably in the Republican-stronghold NASCAR community, the election of The Apprentice star was rejoiced.
Danica Patrick led the charge of the NASCAR stars, calling on Americans to stay positive and declaring Election Night a ‘crazy night’.
‘Was a Crazy Night, I look forward to @realDonaldTrump #MakeAmericaGreatAgain Don’t we all want America to be great? Stay positive ‘Merica,” Patrick tweeted.
Ensuring there were no arguments in their household, her boyfriend, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was another to support Trump, simply tweeting ‘#MakeAmericaGreatAgain’ with the American flag emoticon.
Driver and pundit Michael Waltrip called for unity with his tweet ‘No matter the result tonight, on Nov 9th, let’s reach across party lines and shake hands. We must unite to keep America great.’
Former champion Brad Keselowski was circumspect on his position by tweeting ‘Not what I thought we’d see tonight – time to move forward’.
When the winner was announced, the Penske Racing driver followed that up with a racing reference:
‘Yes! It’s over. Send the winner to victory lane. Send second place to the media center for post race obligations. #nascar”
Jay Robinson – Reed Sorenson’s car owner went to the extravagance of presenting his Sprint Cup Toyota Camry in a Trump/Pence ‘Make America Great Again’ livery for the event at Texas Motor Speedway last weekend.
Meanwhile, IndyCar star Marco Andretti was looking for something other than the election:
‘Anything good on TV?’ he asked early into Election Night coverage, following it up with a message of peace:
‘Night all. Remember love conquers all.’
Holden Racing Team owner, Ryan Walkinshaw was clearly in camp Hilary: ‘Well, this is f***ing terrifying’” he tweeted early into the count.
Early in the election campaign, NASCAR President Bill France supported the American real estate tycoon, while last week F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone declared that Trump would make a great President.
Scott Dixon joked that he was on his way to the Senate in South Carolina with 99% of the vote across party lines.
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