Giuliani laps Daytona track _ in his bus

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Rudy Giuliani sped across the finish line in Florida on Monday.

He didn't get the checkered flag he really wanted - victory in the Jan. 29 Republican primary - but had a great time all the same.

Giuliani's campaign bus took a detour from its two-day, eight-stop tour of Florida for a visit to the Daytona International Speedway. Aides assembled the press traveling with him in the grassy infield, setting up the camera shot they wanted - pictures of his giant "Florida is Rudy Country" bus tearing around the track and across the black-and-white finish line.

The big coach roared past the media pack, not at race speeds but fast enough to keep from tipping over on the banked track. Giuliani grinned in the front passenger seat.

No one was in the stands, though Giuliani - clad in his typical suit and tie - did mingle with a couple of dozen drivers and crew members. More>>