Rick Santorum will be on the track during this year's Daytona 500.... kind of

Much has been said about messaging, powerful videos and super PACs this campaign season, but this ad may take the cake:

Driver Tony Raines may have some new fans (and hecklers) this Sunday when he gets behind the wheel of this Rick Santorum brandished stock car in the Daytona 500 race. USA Today reports that the candidate will sponsor the car as part of his "Made in the USA" campaign messaging. The season-opening race drew an average audience of 15 million on Fox and more than 30 million total viewers last year.

"NASCAR and the Daytona 500 are about as American as you can get, and it's great to have my campaign represented by one of these incredible machines," Santorum said in a release. "The race weekend is a wonderful tradition that we're excited to be a part of as we spread our message. I like how Tony Raines turned some heads last weekend with his qualifying run, and we'd like to keep turning heads, too. I think we're both looking for a win in the end."

USA Today on the surprisingly active history of stock car campaign ads:

"Former Virginia governor Mark Warner was a backer of cars at Richmond International Raceway and Martinsville Speedway. In 2004, Bob Graham was on a Roush Racingtruck with his 2004 Democratic presidential campaign.

Two years ago while running for a third term as governor of Texas, former Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry sponsored the car of Texas native Bobby Labonte in the April 2010 race at Texas Motor Speedway. The campaign spent $225,000 on the sponsorship and said it delivered a significant return through social media and a two-week tour of the state with a replica of Labonte's Chevrolet.

The first driver believed to carry political signage was Roy Tyner, who put a "John F. Kennedy for President" sticker on his car in 1960."

(H/T: National Journal)