You're fired! Donald Trump bows to pressure and pulls out of driving pace car at Indy 500 after 17,000 fans sign petition

By DAILY MAIL
Updated: 20:39 EST, 5 May 2011

The message from some 17,000 angry race fans was clear: You're fired.

And it certainly seems to have got through, after Donald Trump pulled out of his commitment to drive the pace car at the Indy 500 later this month.

The Apprentice star claimed the honour would be 'impossible to fulfil' because it conflicts with the schedule for his possible presidential run.

But that seems increasingly unlikely after a poll revealed nearly 60 per cent of Americans would never vote for the real estate mogul. 

Dump Trump: Some 17,000 fans signed a Facebook petition, led by Michael Wallack, demanding for Donald Trump to be fired from driving the Indianapolis 500 pace car before the popular race later this month

The big race: Up to 400,000 race fans can watch a 500-mile thriller each year in Indianapolis. The communications tower is called 'the pagoda'

Today he bowed to pressure from the huge group of race fans, who demanded the Indianapolis Motor Speedway 'dump Trump'.

In a statement, he said: 'I very much appreciate the honour, but time and business constraints make my appearance there, especially with the necessary practice sessions, impossible to fulfil. I look forward to watching the race from New York.'

The annual 500-mile race on Memorial Day weekend draws a crowd of up to 400,000 in Indianapolis, and is a major television event.

Mr Trump had been invited to drive the pace car last month, but he proved an unpopular choice with fans who set up a Facebook page demanding he be sacked.

Hot in Indy: Donald Trump may be the hottest thing at the track this year. Sorry Danica Patrick

Many signers object to Mr Trump's questioning of whether President Barack Obama was born in the U.S. and his suggestion that Mr Obama was a poor student who didn't deserve to be admitted to Harvard's law school.

Indianapolis attorney Michael Wallack told The Indianapolis Star  he started the Facebook page April 8 because he thought Mr Trump's selection made no sense.

Today Jeff Belskus, the track's president, said: 'Donald Trump has been very enthusiastic about the "500" from the beginning of our conversations, and I have appreciated the interaction we have had with him and his staff.

'From my first conversation, I was impressed by his deep understanding of the event and history, and I thank him for being a true fan.'

It's another blow to Mr Trump's presidential ambitions, and it comes just a day after a poll revealed two-thirds of Americans would not support him or Sarah Palin as a presidential candidate

Mr Trump, who has been testing the waters for a possible 2012 run for the Republican presidential nomination, has said he would announce something before June - after his reality TV show, 'Celebrity Apprentice', ends its season on May 22.

Ms Palin was the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee and is keeping her supporters guessing on whether she will run.

The Quinnipiac University poll of 1,408 voters found that about half would consider or be enthusiastic about backing former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney or former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee in the November 2012 election.

Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, told Reuters: 'Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee are in the best shape.

Former pacer: 'Grey's Anatomy' star Patrick Dempsey drove the race pace car in 2007

Speed demons: Indy cars can exceed speeds of 200 mph, as they fly around a track that is 2.5 miles long

'Sarah Palin and Donald Trump suffer from the reality that, as our mothers told us, "You never get a second chance to make a first impression'".

Among the 613 Republican and independent Republican-leaning voters, the poll showed Mr Romney as favorite to win the Republican presidential nomination with 18 percent, followed by Mr Huckabee and Ms Palin with 15 percent and Mr Trump with 12 percent.

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels and former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich each have 5 percent, while former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and Minnesota Representative Michele Bachmann and both on 4 percent.

The margin of error for that subset was plus or minus 4 percentage points.

The telephone poll, conducted between April 16 and May 1, was released on the eve of a debate in South Carolina among a handful of potential Republican candidates, none of them high-profile names.

The error margin for the larger group was 2.6 points.

Watch video here