I contacted the 4 NASCAR racers and NASCAR about not going to the WH because

[Are_grits_groceries]

while I understand they may have legitimate conflicts, they are being celebrated as heroes by groups such as Stormfront. I don't believe this is a public image they want. They have been to the WH before, but the fact that 4 of them have declined gave this move an unfortunate perception no matter what they say.

NASCAR is trying to expand their base because they realize that the former base grounded in the SE is no longer big enough to support them. I grew up near a major track in Darlington. I keep up and watch the end of races at times.

Yes, some racers are probably white sheeters, but just as many don't care, support the President or do recognize what the office of the President represents. You may not be aware of this, but NASCAR now has many racers who do not have deep roots in the SE. The demographics of the racers have changed a lot. Don't assume you know what these all the racers believe.
It may be a futile act, but I wanted to express my views.

[MH1]

1. 'If we could be there, we would': NASCAR drivers 'did not mean' to offend Obama by refusing White Ho

http://m.dailymail.co.uk/mobile/news/article.html?articleID=2033275


What disturbs me more is that anyone thinks a NASCAR driver's opinion even matters in politics. (or is any more relevant than yours or mine)

[Are_grits_groceries]

4. Believe me.

There are a lot of people who keep up with NASCAR and their opinions count.
It is unfortunate that they do matter so much.

[MH1]

8. I know, I just don't get it.

I was raised on baseball, and I've never figured out what is interesting about watching cars drive around in a circle (or oval, whatever). I can stand brief periods of watching motocross where at least there's something besides crashes to break the monotony.

Not to mention that it seems inherently stupid to expend resources that way, but if we look at it objectively, other sports wouldn't do very well either, so NASCAR probably isn't special in that regard, just more obvious.

[Are_grits_groceries]

13. It is not my cup of tea.

I like keeping up with the racers and the overall picture. As for the races, I almost blew my eardrums out under the grandstand at time trials in Darlington. That was it for me.

Racing has deep roots in many parts of the South. People used to know a lot about the drives, owners, pit crew members, and probably the people near the track. Many still do. Because of this, it is much more personal to them. They see people, but a lot of people just see cars.

I think a lot of people would sum up racing as "Driving fast and turning left."

It isn't easy. It is extremely hot in those cars and they race for hours. The drivers and the pit crews have to stay in shape. The auto industry brought some pit crews in to show the people on the assembly lines what coordination should be.
I won't get into the argument about whether they are athletes or not.

If you ever get the chance, attend a Richard Petty driving experience:

Richard Petty Driving Experience puts you in a NASCAR race car for an adrenaline pumping thrill of a lifetime that gets you as close to being in The Race as you will ever get! Program offerings are year-round, throughout over 20 tracks nationwide.
Choose from one of our Driving Experiences where your hands are on the wheel, your foot is on the gas and 600 horses are ready to take you for 8 to 80 laps around your favorite speedway. Rather let someone else do the driving? No problem! Ride-along shotgun from the passenger seat as one of our professional instructors takes you for 3 laps around the track at speeds up to 165mph.
http://www.drivepetty.com/

It is an adventure and will give a new perspective if not a sick feeling.

[mmonk]

2. I don't pay attention to racing. Never got the going around in circles thing.

That being said, what's this all about?

[Exilednight]

3. The demographics of racing haven't changed that much. The overwhelming majority is still

male and still white. Sure, Danica Patrick will join their ranks and they have a couple minority racers, but not enough to get the number of minorities over 1%.

[Are_grits_groceries]

9. Demographics contain lot more categories than race.

The NASCAR Demographic

The demographic of people who are starting to like NASCAR has been increasing lately. Everyone has their own idea of what a NASCAR fan is and how they act; especially those who think all NASCAR fans are rednecks from the South. Well this couldn’t be more wrong according to the current stats.

Did you know that you are one of seventy-five million NASCAR fans around the world? These fans spread all the way from Maryland to North Carolina and Texas to Los Angeles; making NASCAR the number two sport (behind the NFL) in terms of television ratings.
<snip>
Women. People may often think of NASCAR as a man’s sport, but they’re quickly changing their minds when they see women making a name for themselves in the sport we love; drivers such as Jennifer Jo Cobb, Johanna Long, and Danica Patrick, just to name a few, and reporters, Krista Voda and Wendy Venturini. In reality, 40% of NASCAR fans are women, which is why so many sponsors (specifically ones that target women) are shown prominently in NASCAR.

Last, but not least, people say that the teenagers and younger population are the ones who will carry on the sport years from now, and that couldn’t be any truer. Did you know that 32% (slightly over three fifths) of the current NASCAR fans are between the ages of 18-34? Surprisingly, this is almost as the 37% of the adult (35-65 year old age bracket) population of NASCAR fans.
http://thenascarcorner.blogspot.com/2011/06/nascar-statssee-where-you-fit.html

While race is an important statistic, there are many other factors to consider. A lot of those are changing.

NASCAR also has a diversity program to bring in more minorities.
I am watching it to see what the results are. It is slow going for minority owners and drivers. Brad Daugherty and Randy Moss both own NASCAR teams.

Drive for Diversity initiative adopts new training style
http://www.nascar.com/2009/news/headlines/official/09/16/d4d.academy.training/index.html

The change in minority participation will be very slow, but the change in the type of overall fan has been significant.

[Exilednight]

11. Agreed, but I am talking about the racers, not the fans. It's overwhelmingly white and male. n/t

[Are_grits_groceries]

18. That has changed too.

There are no longer many old school racers. A lot of the racers are young, photogenic, bland, and from many parts of the country. Many of them will list there homes near Charlotte or other places, but they are really from a wide variety of places.

Again, race isn't the only factor. It is one that is most focused on. It occurs in a lot of areas. There are more white children living in poverty. However, many people assume that only minorities are poor and getting help. That perception needs to be corrected or help for all of the lower classes will not appear.

Minorities are the target and unfairly singled out as the majority of criminals, drug users, poor, homeless, and on welfare.

[Exilednight]

20. I don't think parts of the US constitute as a demographic in this particular case. Racism knows no

borders. Someone from the north can be just as racist as someone from the south, and just as ignorant. Minorities generally do not come out in overwhelming support for sports that are predominantly ruled by white athletes (and I use that term loosely).

NASCAR has gone out of its way in the past to keep minority teams out of the sport (again, I use that term loosely).

I'm not against NASCAR, I'm just stating the facts. NASCAR is still made up of the good 'ol boys network and it's not going to change any time soon.

[Are_grits_groceries]

21. Those good ol' boys can

read a balance sheet. They know that attendance has gone down because of many factors. They practically danced in the streets when Danica Patrick left open wheel racing. It will bring more people in.

This the same thing that happened in Southern football. Bear Bryant knew he needed minorities if he was going to stay on top. NASCAR IS watching the changing fan base. They are trying to appeal to minorities to have a larger pool. Why do you think they raced in Mexico?

It is about the bottom line. The good ol' boys may be racist unregenerate Neanderthals, but it's all about the Benjamins. Just because they drawl and are bigoted, don't assume they are stupid in all areas. That assumption has given them edge because they are underestimated.

If they needed to race monkeys to bring fans in, they would find Tim Flock in a hurry (or at least someone like him).

I have grown up around these mooks and watched them all my life. I don't like them, trust them or want to be around them. I wouldn't spit on them if they were on fire. However, I also keep an eye on them, and I don't turn my back on them. Ever!

[DCBob]

5. This is really sickening. An entire sport has been infected with Obama hate.

I blame RW talk radio for this. They have brainwashed a large percentage of our population.

[malaise]

6. Interesting that the unrecs are out in numbers

Is this still Democratic Underground?

Thanks for the info

[DCBob]

7. It's not the driver's politics its the politics of the demographic who follow NASCAR and buy..

the sponsored products.

[Are_grits_groceries]

10. The drivers' politics can have an influence on the fans and vice versa.

As that demographic changes, the perceptions may change some too. Race is only one demographic factor.

[DCBob]

17. Yeah, I agree. But I am just saying its the sponsors who nixed this.. not the drivers.

[Are_grits_groceries]

19. I agree, but

that is changing too as NASCAR changes. As I said, it will unfortunately take a long time for minorites to really make a difference. Don't think that the NASCAR sponsors aren't watching the changes. They may move slowly, but they will move to broaden their customer base instead of sticking to a shrinking group.

[B Calm]

12. I don't call racing when one goes around the track pushing another car!

They ruined NASCAR

[Are_grits_groceries]

16. They need to do some thing about the drafting.

Part of the problem is in the design of the COT. An answer from a fan:
"The front and the rear bumper of the NASCAR COT now line up where one car can stay in constant contact with another without causing any lift on the rear tires. Because the cars are so close together the aerodynamic effect called the draft is more pronounced than in previous years. This makes the pair faster as the second car does not have any wind resistance.

One danger of this maneuver is that the engines can overheat as no air is entering the radiator of the car pushing. Since the Shootout was run in temperatures of around 40 degrees the engines were not getting overheated, but the Daytona 500 will be run during the day so the drivers will need to be very careful to get air over the front of their cars to keep from blowing their motors."
(from someone I know in Darlington)

This tactic is omnipresent on the supertracks in resistor plate racing. If they removed those plates, the races would be gawd knows what.

[B Calm]

26. I remember the days when racing was when one driver was trying to win.

[lynne]

14. Unrec as this faux dust-up between NASCAR and White House has already been debunked -

- here > http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=1865876&mesg_id=1865876

And I'm just sick of the whole "everybody must genuflect before Obama" BS as well as the constant denigration of anyone that lives below the Mason-Dixon line.

[Lugnut]

23. K&R n/t

[Skip Intro]

25. +100 nt

[Kurmudgeon]

15. They've always been goose step right wing, they booed Clinton and Kerry too.

[DirkGently]

22. As you note, they didn't say they hate Obama. They said they couldn't make it. That's unacceptable?

[geologic]

24. He's apparently concerned that if the drivers don't show up (again...)

the white racists types will make up lies and use it as propaganda--
to scare all the uninformed-stereotyper types...

[Shadowflash]

27. They're making a left turn!!

<>