Originally posted by: 1sikbITCH
I do not like racing at all.
However referring to NASCAR fans as rednecks and hillbillies showcases a lack of education that might be expected of say... rednecks and hillbillies. NASCAR has evolved.
Sure Sure - if that was the case - there would not be such a drive and effort to change that image - now they are even including congress members to start initiatives .. money is green ... and they want non-redneck money too now ... if it was truly a evolved national sport - u wouldnt need drives like this from NASCRAP ... and this is a weekold article ...
also this was frontpage news - and look at the subtitle - they printed "REDNECK" on the frontpage of KC Star which is a redneck area ... here is the article:
Circuit seeks to shed redneck image
NASCAR takes a run at minorities
By MATT STEARNS
The Star?s Washington CorrespondentWASHINGTON ?? Think NASCAR and a couple of images pop to mind: Fast cars. White people.
NASCAR officials want to change half of that equation. On Wednesday,
joined by members of Congress, they announced the latest in a string of initiatives designed to put the image into the pits.
?We believe strongly that the old Southeastern redneck heritage that we?ve had is no longer in existence,? NASCAR president Mike Helton said. ?
But we also realize there?s going to have to be an effort on our part to convince others to understand that.?
The new effort is a partnership with the nation?s historically black colleges and universities to encourage minority students to pursue careers in automotive technology in general and in stock car racing specifically.
?The goal is to recruit, train, place and promote? minority workers, Helton said.
While laudable, the plan has a
financial motive as well, said Hampton Stevens, a freelancer who?s written about NASCAR.
?
The only color that matters is green. They?re doing it because they want to get more viewers, and they want to sell more stuff.?
With 75 million fans and growing outside the Southeast, NASCAR has had some success in attracting Latino fans.
To many, however, the sport retains the patina of old-time moonshiners careening down back roads. Confederate flags often flutter at NASCAR tracks, although officials say they do not condone such displays.
Racing already has some diversity programs. However, there is but one black team owner and one black driver in the sport?s major series.
The only black driver to win a major NASCAR race was Wendell Scott in
1963.
Increasing the number of minorities in the sport would help build the minority fan base, said Stann Tate, an executive at Kansas Speedway who is black.
?They?ll have friends and family members who are interested in their careers who may end up following the sport a little bit more.?
Tate, who previously worked at the National Collegiate Athletic Association, said he couldn?t pinpoint why there aren?t more blacks working in NASCAR-related jobs, ?other than they say, ?I don?t want to work in that sport because of the past.?
?But I can tell you, the past is past,? Tate said. ?I?ve never had any problem with colleagues, vendors or consumers.?
Jim Hunter, NASCAR spokesman, didn?t foresee much difficulty in persuading the industry to embrace the latest diversity initiative.
?I think it?s just a question of educating them,? Hunter said. ?
I think everybody in NASCAR is well aware that to truly become a national sport, that we?ve got to be representative of the nation.?
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/13825654.htm
sure .. believe what you will ... ever see the old spice / nascar ad ... the mktg group did all the marketing studies ... that whole ad is filled with rednecks ... unless u say that mktg ppl did not do their homework ...
oop: (yeah it allows punctuation in the password)
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