DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — President Trump put his showmanship skills on full display on Sunday at the Daytona International Speedway, leading the famous stock car drivers in a lap around the 2.5-mile racetrack. A sold-out crowd of 101,500 people cheered his appearance in a state he must win this year to secure re-election.

Serving as the grand marshal for the kickoff race of the NASCAR season, which was ultimately interrupted and then postponed because of rain, Mr. Trump arrived at the packed stands after a rare Air Force One flyover and later rounded the track in his limousine, nicknamed The Beast, to raucous cheers from the crowd. Shortly after the president told drivers to “start your engines,” Air Force Thunderbirds roared overhead.

“NASCAR fans never forget that no matter who wins the race, what matters most is God, family and country,” Mr. Trump said to the thousands in the stand and group of invited guests and members of the military at Victory Lane before the race started.

He called it a moment of “pure American glory” and said “the cars will take to the tracks, the tires will screech, rubber will burn, fans will cheer.”