For Jamie Little, race weekends usually mean chasing down drivers, team owners, and breaking stories from pit road. Over the years, she’s interviewed everyone from stars like Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano to influential figures like Michael Jordan and Joe Gibbs. But every once in a while, the job throws something completely different her way. And not once but twice, it wasn’t just another racing personality that she got a chance to interview. Instead, it was none other than the sitting President of the United States, Donald Trump, and a behind-the-scenes experience few ever get to see.
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Jamie Little’s encounters with the President
“I’ve actually interviewed him three times. One time not being president. And he’s been lovely. He’s like, we were flying around in Air Force One and we’re watching you on TV. You do a great job,” Jamie Little revealed on the Lights Out With John Roberts podcast, recalling one of the more surreal moments of her career.
For someone used to pit road chaos, this was a different kind of pressure. Jamie Little interviewed Donald Trump on the grid at Daytona International Speedway ahead of the 2025 Daytona 500, where the conversation ranged from his return to the race to his planned lap around the track in “the Beast” presidential limousine, along with a message to NASCAR drivers.
And it wasn’t her first time, either. Back on February 16, 2020, she had also interviewed Trump prior to the Daytona 500, when he attended as Grand Marshal and spoke about his admiration for the sport. Both moments, came while Trump was serving as President, and that’s where things got intense.
The buildup to those interviews involved layers of security rarely seen in motorsports. Jamie Little described receiving a direct call from the White House, followed by extensive background checks and coordination. The night before the interview, she had to meet with the Secret Service and was issued a special credential pin that allowed her to be within arm’s reach of the President.
Every detail was accounted for, from her movement to what she would be wearing. Even in her most recent interaction, when some of the formalities were streamlined, the level of monitoring remained astonishing. Security teams already knew exactly where she would be and how the interaction would unfold.
For Jamie Little, it was a reminder of how unique her role can be, even in a sport built on speed and unpredictability.
