President Bush plans to attend Daytona 500

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The political season revving up, President Bush will attend the Daytona 500 Feb. 15 in Florida, his 19th trip to the state that decided the 2000 presidential race.

Bush plans to spend that Sunday night in Florida where his brother, Jeb, is governor, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Friday in announcing the trip to the auto race. That same night in Wisconsin, Democrats are scheduled to hold a debate in advance of that state's primary on Feb. 17.

The NASCAR crowd represents an expanding group of voters that is important to Bush in his re-election.

He has a slight edge among white voters but needs to strengthen support among his core white conservative voters.

Bush also needs to lure more support from voters with a high school education or less, who currently are more inclined to vote against him, according to an AP-Ipsos poll. The NASCAR crowd is increasingly diverse, however, and includes far more upscale, well-educated voters than the auto racing crowds of 20 years ago.

The season-opening Daytona 500, the ultimate prize in stock car racing, this year will pay a purse of $15,972,313, the biggest payout in stock car racing history. Michael Waltrip collected $1,419,406 for winning the rain-shortened 2003 race.