Canadian driver Amber Balcaen may not have been racing in the Daytona 500, but she still felt President Donald Trump's energy when he arrived at Daytona International Speedway.
"I’m Canadian, but I’ve never experienced anything like that. You could feel the energy and even still talking about it, it gives me chills. It was really neat," Balcaen said during a recent appearance on OutKick’s "OutKick The Morning with Charly Arnolt."
"I raced the day before, so I didn’t get to hear him over the radio, but I was listening, and I can’t even imagine how the drivers must have felt in that moment."
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Balcaen, 32, raced in the ACRA Menards Series the day prior to the Daytona 500, which Gus Dean won.
Balcaen said Trump’s presence added even more to what is already an awesome atmosphere.
"The Daytona 500 is known as the great American race. It’s NASCAR’s Super Bowl. So to have Donald Trump, or the President of the United States there, I mean the energy is already absolutely electric on that day at Daytona. But to have the President there, it just added another level."
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Trump became the first president to attend the Daytona 500 twice when he visited the racetrack earlier this month.
After talking with some drivers on pit lane, he rode in the presidential limousine, "The Beast," as it took a pace lap before the green flag flew.
William Byron won the Daytona 500 for the second time in his career and talked to Fox News Digital earlier this month about what it meant having Trump in attendance.
"It was pretty neat," Byron said. "I think anytime you can have a sitting president come and see your sporting event, it is very special. And for him to take the time to do that was really cool. Just to be able to see the motorcade go across the track and just the various things that he did when he was there was pretty cool.
"Brought a lot of energy and excitement to the race before it started."
Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.
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Chief executive Bill Sweeney will face a vote of no-confidence at a special general meeting in late March
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Afghanistan will need a huge favour from England with South Africa strongly placed to make the last four ahead of their final group fixture
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The Georgia House recently passed the "Riley Gaines Act," which aims to prohibit transgender athletes from competing against biological girls and women.
The bill is named after Gaines, the host of the "Gaines for Girls" podcast on OutKick, who has been a champion for keeping biological males out of girls' and women's sports ever since competing against Lia Thomas, a trans swimmer who won an NCAA title three years ago.
Representatives voted 102-54 for House Bill 267 on Thursday.
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While all 54 no's came from Democrats, three of them voted to pass; zero Republicans voted no, and of the 10 who did not vote, nine were Democrats.
The measure moves to the Senate, which has passed its own separate legislation.
"Female athletes deserve fair competition and that means the chance to maintain the women’s divisions distinct from men’s categories," said Republican Rep. Josh Bonner of Fayetteville, the bill’s sponsor.
Georgia's high school athletic association currently bans transgender students from participating in sports based on their gender identity; 25 other states have laws restricting sports participation by trans athletes.
Democratic Rep. Karla Drenner of Avondale Estates said the bill is "calculated, dangerous, deeply discriminatory piece of legislation that goes far beyond the realm of athletics."
"Let’s call this the erasure of transgender Georgians act today," said Drenner, who was the first openly LGBTQ+ member of the legislature when she was elected in 2000.
Several states, despite President Donald Trump's executive order, have allegedly continued to allow transgender athletes to compete against biological females; the Department of Education has launched Title IX investigations into California, Minnesota and Maine for doing so.
Trump threatened Maine governor Janet Mills with a lack of federal funding if the state continued to ignore Trump's order.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Fenerbahce said Mourinho’s comments were taken ‘out of context’
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Potential No.1 overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, Shedeur Sanders, spoke to reporters on Friday at the NFL combine and did not lack confidence.
Sanders, 23, said he knows he can turn an NFL franchise around.
"We went from Jackson State to Colorado and changed two programs back-to-back. You don't think I could come to an NFL franchise and change a program again? It's history, it's always going to repeat itself," Sanders said.
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"If you ain’t trying to change the franchise or the culture, don’t get me. So, you should know history repeats itself over and over and over, and I’ve done it over and over, so it should be no question why NFL franchises should pick me."
One key to turning a franchise around is strong leadership, which the Colorado star quarterback said is his best trait.
"I would say being a leader, that’s my best trait overall, because everything is mental. So, if I play my game from the neck up, I got to be able to adjust to my players, to have them have relatability for them to get to know me, for us to make everything smooth. I came from an HBCU and then went (to a Power Four conference), those two types of different players, and it’s very diverse, and getting to know people, talk to people and making everything genuine," Sanders said.
"That’s why when I’m here interacting with people, I love interacting with people so they can truly get to know me and not just know clicks or anything like that."
Sanders highlighted the importance of being in a strong mental headspace on the field as well.
TRAVIS HUNTER STEADFAST IN ABILITY TO BECOME SUCCESSFUL TWO-WAY PLAYER IN NFL: 'I'M JUST DIFFERENT'
"It’s extremely important to keep your mental in the best place because that’s where my game is played. My game is not played from my legs and not even just my arm. So I know longevity, the all-time greats. What’s Tom Brady's best trait? His mental. He’s able to think. So if you have those traits of greatness and I know where I’m heading, then why wouldn’t a franchise pick me? You’ve got the ultimate cheat code."
A lot of experts have said the top two quarterbacks in this class, Sanders and Miami’s Cam Ward, are not as good as the quarterbacks in last year’s class.
The 2024 quarterback class included Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, Michael Penix Jr., JJ McCarthy and Bo Nix, with a few of those quarterbacks having immediate success in their rookie season.
While Sanders may not have been selected high in last year’s class, the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year questioned those who do not see him as the top quarterback over Ward in the 2025 draft class.
"When people say I'm not one of the top quarterbacks or the top quarterback, what are y'all going based off of? Because I did it year after year after year, and you see the progression. Obviously, it has to be some kind of external hate that you have for the family, for the last name, for anything, because I know I’ve proven myself on the field."
Last season with Colorado, Sanders threw for 4,314 yards and 37 touchdowns with 10 interceptions, helping lead the Buffaloes to a 9-4 record and a bowl game appearance.
Sanders’ play is a big reason the team improved to 9-4 after going 4-8 the prior season; Colorado was 1-11 the year before the Sanders family came over.
There are a few quarterback-needy teams at the top of the draft that could select Sanders or Ward. The Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns and New York Giants are unsettled at the quarterback position and have the first three picks in the draft.
Only time will tell where Sanders ends up, and if he does indeed turn that franchise around.
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Following Michigan's huge upset over Ohio State during Rivalry Week, they attempted to plant a school flag at midfield of Ohio Stadium, and it did not sit well with the Buckeyes.
Members of both teams got into an all-out brawl that got to the point where police on the field used pepper spray to break uo the fighting.
That decision prompted some controversy, but according to The Athletic, reviews by two Ohio agencies say that law enforcement was justified in its actions.
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"Several people were on the ground, police officers were being pushed and shoved by large, highly trained and skilled division one football athletes in full football game attire," Ohio State University police detective Douglas Cunningham wrote in his department’s report. "The players had the advantage in both size, strength, conditioning, protective gear and they outnumbered the police presence trying to suppress the growing threat."
Cunningham said he used pepper spray to "assist in gaining compliance from the aggression/resistance of the surging crowd," as initial attempts to "suppress the aggressive, combative and growing crowd and to regain order" did not work.
LSU TRACK ATHLETE DEAD AT 18 AFTER FIERY CAR WRECK ON SCHOOL'S CAMPUS
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day defended his players after the melee, saying, "These guys were looking to put a flag on our field, and we’re not going to let that happen."
Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore, who waved goodbye to Buckeyes fans in the crowd after the Wolverines' final stop, took the high road following their 13-10 win.
"It was emotion on both sides. It can’t happen. . . . We got to handle it better," Moore said.
Michigan running back Kalel Mullins, who ran for over 100 yards in the contest, said the moment was "bad for the sport" and "classless" for the Buckeyes to take it to that level.
Each school was fined $100,000 for the brawl. Nobody was suspended.
It was the fourth year in a row that Michigan defeated Ohio State after the Buckeyes had won 15 of 16 meetings. But the Buckeyes got the last laugh, going on a run to become the national champions.
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