Posted on 10/31/2003 8:24:08 AM PST by the_devils_advocate_666
By MIKEMULHERN
Diversity is not only a social issue in stock-car racing, but it's also a major business issue, in Daytona and Charlotte and in New York's TV canyons.
And Dodge's decision to drop sponsorship for Bill Lester has NASCAR executives scrambling again on the diversity front. George Pyne said NASCAR "will help put four minorities in race cars and 12 minorities in a crew-development program" next year, although Pyne and other NASCAR officials aren't offering any specifics.
The issue looks deceptively simple: Golf has Tiger Woods, so where is NASCAR's Tiger?
It's not that simple. But to say it's a cultural thing that will take time to change is also too easy.
NASCAR is about marketing and selling, and some of the best salesmen in the world are right here. They're selling cars, trucks, cigarettes, beer, cereal, cell phones, power tools, home-building supplies, paper towels and candy. If these guys want to make something happen, they can make it happen.
Perhaps it's time for NASCAR to buy some TV spots promoting the changing face of the sport and promoting job opportunities.
Perhaps it's time for NASCAR to get out there and start recruiting, like the U.S. Marine Corps.
Ed Clark, who runs Atlanta Motor Speedway for Bruton Smith, was uptown the other day carrying this message.
"The diversity issue is important to us here in Atlanta, where Bill Lester is from," Clark said. "We've done some programs; in fact, we just took part in a NASCAR-initiated event this week, with the three African-American colleges in Atlanta. It was basically a one on one: 'These are the opportunities if you want to purse a career in NASCAR,' with everything from media, TV, mechanical engineering ...
"Bill Lester was there to talk about driving. It was pretty well-attended, and I thought it went well."
There are a number of minorities working in the Winston Cup garage. Joe Gibbs and Ray Evernham are two car owners in the forefront of the push. But too many other car owners lag behind in putting a visible face on diversity.
"We would love to hire some minorities, but no one has come to the shop to apply for a job," Jeff Burton said.
Perhaps NASCAR needs an affirmative-action plan. Ignoring a large part of the potential customer base is just bad economics.
NASCAR executives and Winston Cup track promoters have been pushing hard for several years now to crack the black market, with some slow success but no flashy headliners. A number of high-profile black athletes and celebrities have been wooed into the sport, but they've generally not gotten anywhere in attracting sponsorship dollars.
Dodge was spending $5 million a year the past three seasons to sponsor a black driver -- first Willy T. Ribbs, then Lester -- on the truck tour. Busch teams cost more. A Winston Cup team can cost $16 million.
Drivers are the most visible people in the sport, but driving isn't the only job. So NASCAR is trying to take its message to a wider black audience. (NASCAR's statement that 20 percent of its fans are minorities stretches credulity.)
"That's what we were trying to show this week, that drivers are only a small part of the show and there are numerous other opportunities," Clark said. "I think it is critical that at some point we have a Hispanic and an African-American driver out there running up front. Do we have to to be successful? No. Should we? Yes.
"You can go out here and find anything you want to find at any speedway," Clark said. "You've got your core group of fans and you can't forget them.
"But any time you can broaden your audience -- especially now that we're getting such good TV ratings and such new growth -- it's important to take that new interest to the next level ... I think you'll see that in time."
MIKE MULHERN writes for the Winston-Salem (N.C.)Journal.
Might as well hand out rides according to race/gender, not like it's real racing anyway.
I'm sure awarding contracts based on factors other than ability would do wonders for NASCAR's appeal as a legitimate motorsport.
Perhaps NASCAR needs an affirmative-action plan. Ignoring a large part of the potential customer base is just bad economics.
Whom are they ignoring? Is he saying blacks won't watch unless there's a black driver? Isn't that a racist assumption itself?
"I think it is critical that at some point we have a Hispanic and an African-American driver out there running up front.
Why?
Tiger Woods has TALENT. He didn't need Affirmative Action or points subtracted to his score. When a black Dale Earnhart comes along, he will WIN RACES. Then they will have "NASCAR's Tiger" and not one damn minute sooner.
I don't know what makes my blood boil more...the race pimps who beseige NASCAR or the NASCAR whimps who cave in to them.
The gist of this article and the obnoxious quotes is to shame, guilt, cajole, coax, plead, beg, etcetera White people into giving away what they have nurtured and built.
What it all comes down to is this; NASCAR has become highly successful and now people who have had nothing to do with creating that success want their “fair share” for being “neglected” and overlooked.
Frankly, I’m tired of the “good business/economic sense” being used to promote “DIEversity”.
All these companies and business have become successful without dieversity and that’s what ticks off these Marxist creeps.
Here's one.
1. NASCAR is convinced that if it is to sustain its growth, it much reach out to minorities.
2. NASCAR is convinced that they need minorities in prominent places, ie. the pits & the driver's seat to make that happen.
OK, here's where the problems come in:
1. Motorsports at the "developmental level" -- the minor leagues, if you will -- is not awash in cash.
2. Therefore, most participants do it for the love of the sport -- they aren't really seeking a career. There is no real "career track" unless you happen to be related to a racing family, or can cultivate similar connections.
3. This means that NASCAR is going to have to force a "top down" solution if they are to reach their goal. Affirmative Action, if you will.
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