Jacksons Recruited To Drive In Presidential Motorcade
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Everywhere POTUS goes, an entourage of staff and media follows.
"They kept calling him 'POTUS,'" said Tracy Jackson, who served as a presidential motorcade driver in Florida Sunday. After a while, she realized the acronym meant "President of the United States."
Tracy and her husband, Brad, of Syracuse, were two of about 18 drivers who escorted staff members and media representatives from Air Force One's landing at Daytona Beach International Airport to and around the Daytona International Speedway prior to the Daytona 500, and back to the airport.
A cousin of Brad's, whose name Brad will not mention because of security, is a part-time Secret Service agent. Whenever a president visits his region, the cousin goes into service.
The Kosciusko County northern district commissioner escorted White House staff members to and from the track Feb. 15. Tracy's van was called "Wire 1" because she drove the media.
The motorcade drove into the pit area before the race and Bush emerged to thunderous applause.
Tracy's position in the queue didn't allow her to get close to the president, although Brad got within 20 feet. That distance was close enough to take pictures, but not close enough to speak with Bush or shake his hand.
"Here's the reason I didn't get any closer," Brad said, going through a stack of photographs commemorating the event. He indicated a dark-suited individual, one of several maintaining a barrier around the president. "That guy was huge."
He did get close enough to NASCAR driver Tony Stewart, who placed second in the race - and Jimmy Johnson - to have his picture taken with them.
"We gave our names, addresses, Social Security numbers and driver's license numbers about a week before," Brad said.
"It was an almost surreal experience, being on the track with the president and the people who protect him," Tracy said. "I've never felt safer. There was security everywhere.
"There were snipers on the rooftops of the airport buildings. They used a metal-detecting 'wand' on us and we were sniffed by 'bomb' dogs."
Hyper-alert agents rode shotgun with machine guns.
She found the Secret Service personnel personable, kind and funny.
"The race fans (numbering about 180,000 on Sunday) were a surprise. It was a thrill to see them that excited," Tracy said.
She got close to a few NASCAR drivers, too. When Dale Earnhart Jr. walked by Wire 1, she identified him as Dale Jarrett at first. "I don't follow the sport," she admitted. To her credit, she correctly sighted Ward Burton and Richard Petty, who was escorting his grandchildren.
The Jacksons also talked to a Secret Service agent who drove Bush into Baghdad - in a Hertz rental car - during POTUS' appearance in Iraq last year.
Brad said President George W. Bush and his followers stayed for three-fourths of the race.
"I'd do it again in a heartbeat," Tracy said. [[In-content Ad]]
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Everywhere POTUS goes, an entourage of staff and media follows.
"They kept calling him 'POTUS,'" said Tracy Jackson, who served as a presidential motorcade driver in Florida Sunday. After a while, she realized the acronym meant "President of the United States."
Tracy and her husband, Brad, of Syracuse, were two of about 18 drivers who escorted staff members and media representatives from Air Force One's landing at Daytona Beach International Airport to and around the Daytona International Speedway prior to the Daytona 500, and back to the airport.
A cousin of Brad's, whose name Brad will not mention because of security, is a part-time Secret Service agent. Whenever a president visits his region, the cousin goes into service.
The Kosciusko County northern district commissioner escorted White House staff members to and from the track Feb. 15. Tracy's van was called "Wire 1" because she drove the media.
The motorcade drove into the pit area before the race and Bush emerged to thunderous applause.
Tracy's position in the queue didn't allow her to get close to the president, although Brad got within 20 feet. That distance was close enough to take pictures, but not close enough to speak with Bush or shake his hand.
"Here's the reason I didn't get any closer," Brad said, going through a stack of photographs commemorating the event. He indicated a dark-suited individual, one of several maintaining a barrier around the president. "That guy was huge."
He did get close enough to NASCAR driver Tony Stewart, who placed second in the race - and Jimmy Johnson - to have his picture taken with them.
"We gave our names, addresses, Social Security numbers and driver's license numbers about a week before," Brad said.
"It was an almost surreal experience, being on the track with the president and the people who protect him," Tracy said. "I've never felt safer. There was security everywhere.
"There were snipers on the rooftops of the airport buildings. They used a metal-detecting 'wand' on us and we were sniffed by 'bomb' dogs."
Hyper-alert agents rode shotgun with machine guns.
She found the Secret Service personnel personable, kind and funny.
"The race fans (numbering about 180,000 on Sunday) were a surprise. It was a thrill to see them that excited," Tracy said.
She got close to a few NASCAR drivers, too. When Dale Earnhart Jr. walked by Wire 1, she identified him as Dale Jarrett at first. "I don't follow the sport," she admitted. To her credit, she correctly sighted Ward Burton and Richard Petty, who was escorting his grandchildren.
The Jacksons also talked to a Secret Service agent who drove Bush into Baghdad - in a Hertz rental car - during POTUS' appearance in Iraq last year.
Brad said President George W. Bush and his followers stayed for three-fourths of the race.
"I'd do it again in a heartbeat," Tracy said. [[In-content Ad]]