Obama Turns Down NASCAR Tickets To Sprint Cup Race – Commemorative Pass Auctioned Off At A Loss

President Barack Obama turned down an invitation and free tickets to the Sprint Cup race at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway; so the racetrack decided to auction off the tickets (which were printed with Obama’s name and White House address) for a children’s charity. Unfortunately for the non-profit organization, there was not much of a demand for President Obama’s cast-off NASCAR tickets even though they were for some of the “best seats in the house, The Blaze reports. According to The Sporting News, the tickets retail for $110 each and the set of four Obama Spring Cup tickets garnered only $300 on the auction block.

New Hampshire Motor Speedway President Jerry Gappens noted in a press release that the Obama ticket auction did not “create the frantic, high-paced competitive bidding that we had hoped.” The racetrack was willing to take a loss on the president’s tickets and donated the $300 to the Speedway Children’s Charities.

Gappens told The Sporting News that he had hoped Barack Obama would “stop by the speedway” when he was in New Hampshire campaigning on race day, but the president politely declined the invite. President Obama did tell Gappens that he “appreciated the offer,” when noting he would not attend the NASCAR Sprint Cup race.

The Obama NASCAR ticket auction lasted for two weeks and was highly advertised. Francine Slesinski was the eventual winner of the Sprint Cup tickets and the new owner of a one-of-a-kind collectible, even if it was not a highly sought after trinket. When First Lady Michelle, Jill Biden attended a NASCR event in November the crowd “booed” the wives, The Blaze reports.