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Sports See other Sports Articles Title: Still Mostly White NASCAR Trying To Diversify Still Mostly White NASCAR Trying To Diversify By WALTER WOODS, MORIEKA V. JOHNSON Cox News Service Monday, February 20, 2006 The last black man to win a NASCAR race couldn't accept his trophy in 1963 because officials feared a riot in the stands. The white runner-up took the laurels and kissed the beauty queen that day, and the winner, legendary driver Wendell Scott, was given the trophy unceremoniously a month later. Four decades later, NASCAR still is one of the whitest of major American sports. In nearly 60 years of pro racing, only five black drivers have revved an engine in a major competition. And if you watch NASCAR from the sofa or tailgate at the track, you are probably white. Less than 9 percent of NASCAR fans are African-American, according to the sport's own data. While some African-Americans were in the stands at the NASCAR race in Daytona Beach on Sunday, the crowd was overwhelmingly white. A few Confederate flags fluttered. But NASCAR, the country's fastest-growing sports spectacle with hopes of rivaling the NFL, is doing everything it can to diversify. It is recruiting drivers and track employees on black campuses, running races in Mexico City and considering opening a hall of fame in downtown Atlanta, a city famous for its diversity. "I tell people that if we don't get diversity right, we won't be successful," NASCAR chief Brian France said earlier this month during a stop at a business conference in Buckhead. "We are America's sport, and we need to reflect America in every way we can." NASCAR's bosses have said part of the mission of the hall of fame will be to bring new fans, and faces, to the sport. Atlanta's team vying to win the attraction sees it as its edge, and its bid highlighted the city's diversity vs. its rivals for the hall, Charlotte and Daytona Beach. The black population of metro Atlanta, more than 1.3 million people, is equal nearly to the entire population of Charlotte. But will a largely white sport with white fans and white drivers venture to downtown Atlanta, the cultural seat of the black South? Will fans used to such North Carolina heroes as Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty celebrate their sport in the home city of Andrew Young, Shirley Franklin and Lil' Jon? NASCAR, at least officially, seems to say "yes." When he was in Atlanta, France described Atlanta's diversity as "a plus" for the city's hall of fame chances. NASCAR fans already are coming downtown, whether to the Georgia Aquarium, a boat show or a convention, said A.J. Robinson, president of Central Atlanta Progress and head of the local bid effort. "The issue is can NASCAR attract those fans and others that aren't fans yet" to the hall of fame, Robinson said. "That is what we have to offer and what we can do better than the other cities." Ernestine Jones, a social worker from Baltimore who counts herself among NASCAR's African-American fans, said if NASCAR wants to use the hall of fame to expand its fan base — particularly among minorities — a large urban area like Atlanta is right location. On Sunday, she attended her second Daytona 500, accompanied by her daughter, a fan of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Still, Jones thinks Atlanta is a long shot. "I lean toward Atlanta, only because I like the city, and it will be easy to get into," she said. "But [the hall of fame] will probably end up in Charlotte," where most of NASCAR's race teams are based. One of NASCAR's diversity consultants, former Oklahoma Congressman J.C. Watts, once a college quarterback who was a rising African-American star in the Republican party, said racing fans will pay to see their sport's shrine in any city, regardless of the racial makeup. They won't be coming to the hall of fame "to see J.C. Watts' diversity program," he said. "They're coming to see some history and Dale Earnhardt." Don't underestimate the ability of sports to overcome stereotypes and other social divides, Watts said. A rainbow of fans, Republican and Democrat, black and white, drive to downtown Atlanta to see the Falcons and quarterback Michael Vick light up the Georgia Dome, he said. And New Orleans' displaced NBA franchise is selling out seats in his old Heartland stomping grounds, Oklahoma City. "If we lose some fans for trying to bring people together under a sporting event, we probably don't want them there anyway," Watts said of NASCAR's diversity initiative. "That's my opinion." Whether an asset or not, Atlanta, both in perception and population, is more diverse than any of NASCAR's traditional strongholds, such places as Charlotte and Daytona. Atlanta also has larger minority populations than some of NASCAR's new centers, such as Kansas City, Kan. Of the 4.7 million people in metro Atlanta, about 28 percent are African-American, according to Claritas, a demographics research firm. Atlanta's Hispanic and Latino community numbers about 387,000 people, or 8 percent of the population in the metro area. The Charlotte area has just under 1.5 million people, according to Claritas. Charlotte's black population is about 346,000, or 23 percent. Its Hispanic and Latino community is made up of about 103,000 people, or about 7 percent, according to Claritas. Beyond the figures, metro Atlanta is an international melting pot, with multi-racial mega-churches, Asian groceries and Spanish newspapers. It also is the birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr. and was a host city for the Olympics. But cosmopolitanism isn't a selling point for some NASCAR fans. Lew Conley, a white landscape surveyor and planner from Cape May, N.J., who flew down to Daytona for the race, said "Atlanta is wrong" for the hall of fame. "Atlanta is a new, modern city," Conley said. "You might as well put the hall of fame in New York City." He said he doubts he would visit the museum if it landed in Atlanta. He prefers Daytona — the birthplace of NASCAR — for its smaller, hometown feel. Wherever the hall of fame ends up, NASCAR will use the attraction to send its new diversity message, said Eddie Gossage, president of Texas Motor Speedway and a veteran of 27 racing seasons. NASCAR's brass is "very serious and very committed to this," Gossage said. "It's not PR." On Sunday, NASCAR fan Haywood Smith, a black pastor from Danville, Va., was enjoying his 25th Daytona 500 race. He said he was introduced to the sport by Wendell Scott himself, also a Danville native. Smith said racial differences take a backseat when it comes to the NASCAR crowd. "A race fan is a race fan." Still, Smith noted, the sport has changed over the years: "NASCAR — it ain't no white-boy sport anymore." News researcher Nisa Asokan contributed to this article.
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 2.
#1. To: Mind_Virus (#0)
Why? NASCAR seems to be doing just fine.
Sid and Marty Kroftt opened a multi million fraud ($) fantasy theme park that flopped in Atlanta. People were too frightened to venture there for fear of the black crime wave.
#3. To: HOUNDDAWG (#2)
Diversity is a gay negro named Carlos trying to find out your name.
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