The story has been updated to include comment from NASCAR.
The chief executive of NASCAR, along with some of the racing association’s drivers, has endorsed Donald Trump.
Joining Trump at a campaign rally in Georgia Monday night, NASCAR CEO Brian France called the Republican frontrunner a “winner” in his professional and personal life.
“Mr. Trump is changing American politics forever and his leadership and strength are desperately needed. He has had an incredible career and achieved tremendous success. This is what we need for our country,” France said at the rally, according to The Hill.
Retired NASCAR champion Bill Elliott and two other current drivers joined the rally to throw their support behind Trump as well.
NASCAR hasn’t always leaned toward Trump. In July, Politico reported that the association declined to hold a series of banquets at a Trump-branded resort on the heels of his comments about Mexican immigrants, in which he referred to them as “rapists” and criminals.
The NASCAR endorsement comes at a good time for Trump. Georgia, along with a slate of other Southern states where the endorsement is likely to play well, including Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, and Texas—will hold presidential primary elections on Tuesday.
As Trump has gained momentum in the past month, beating his rivals in both South Carolina and Nevada, he has begun to draw high-profile endorsements. Last week, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and later Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions, endorsed the candidate.
In a statement to Coins2Day, NASCAR VP David Higdon said that the endorsement was a “private, personal decision by Brian [France].”
