Obama-NASCAR Hoax Bombs

(April 2) -- It was supposed to be an April Fool's joke: a report on Car and Driver magazine's Web site that President Barack Obama had ordered Chevrolet and Dodge out of NASCAR as a condition for receiving federal bailout funds.

Not everyone got the prank, and it set off a storm of controversy that led Car and Driver to pull the item. But that was hours later, after critics of Obama pounced on the news, blasting the president for over-reaching.

On her celebrity blog, Sandra Rose wrote this: "Just when we thought we could take a breather from Barack Obama’s wacky policies, he reached across the Atlantic today to drop another one on us: the White House today announced that GM and Chrysler’s participation in NASCAR racing must end at the end of the 2009 season."

And liberal-hater Ann Coulter mentioned the item in her column Wednesday on the Obama administration's demand that the head of General Motors resign (which really did happen). If you check out her column, you'll find the NASCAR reference inthe 17th paragraph.

Over at the Orlando Sentinal's Web site, blogger Steven Cole said he recognized the hoax instantly -- and indicated surprise that so many people fell for it.

"My first thought: Geez, am I the only one with a calendar? It's April? April 1?" he wrote in his NASCAR Nuts & Bolts blog. "Second thought: The story contained direct quotes from the president of the United States. As far as I know, [Car and Driver writer] Jared Gall, a guy I like and respect, has never been to a NASCAR race. So the president spoke exclusively to Jared?"

As the "news" of the president's order spread, Cole said he received questions about the incident from ESPN, Sirius radio and three PR people.

Car and Driver pulled the fake story, but you can see a cached version of it here. That version, from midday on April Fool's Day, tucked the following text under the headline: "THIS IS A JOKE. LIGHTEN UP, PEOPLE."

USA Today reported that Denny Darnell, who handles public relations for Dodge's motor sports program, was disgusted by the prank.

"I've been in this business more than 30 years and I have never seen a story so irresponsible," he said in an e-mail.