Racism in NASCAR
Damian Nytko
American Politics
Professor Jenkins
April 27, 2022
Blog Post 4
Racism is often present in the sports community, but it is heavily present in the NASCAR community specifically. If you’ve ever been to a NASCAR race, it is not hard to notice the predominantly white fan base and array of drivers. The industry can be said to be associated with “beer, trucker hats, and confederate flags.” In current times, there is a single black NASCAR driver, Bubba Wallace. Throughout Bubba’s career, he has seen a large amount of hate that is obviously inherently racist. Bubba has gotten booed by a majority of the people in the stands as he was announced, did his qualifying laps, and every time his name was announced during the main race. People tried to write this off as just the typical booing that drivers, such as Kyle Busch, often receive. Although this might have partially been the typical booing, it was bigger than that. Every time his name was said, the stands were flooded with boos, way more than with any other driver. Another incident that happened to Bubba, happened in 2020 right before a big race. NASCAR had just banned confederate flags at races, and the fan-base was not too happy. They showed their anger by hanging a noose in his garage, which the FBI later deemed was not a hate crime, and was a “hoax.”
NASCAR’s historically racist fan-base can be traced back to the Civil Rights Movement, when people began flying the flags as a form of defiance, and since then it has just been “what NASCAR fans do.” After the confederate flags were banned, fans began selling the flags right outside of the tracks, in an effort to show NASCAR that they don’t support this movement and will continue to wave the flags. Whether that be inside the track or not. During this same race, a plane flew over the track with a banner that read, “Defund NASCAR,” and fans often claimed that NASCAR taking these steps felt like NASCAR was trying to “change who the fans are as people,” as well as the industry. This obviously affects the fan base and the drivers, as it is a racist industry that people of color do not, for obvious reasons, want to become a part of. NASCAR has acknowledged they know their lack of diversity can cause problems, and they are taking steps in an effort to make it better. They listened to Bubba when he brought up banning the confederate flags, they began acknowledging Black History Month where they celebrated Bubba Wallace, and they are working on expanding their demographics in an effort to get people interested in the sport, outside of the South. In 2004, NASCAR introduced “Drive for Diversity,” which is a program whose efforts go towards diversifying the drivers and pit crews. NASCAR also partners with the Boys and Girls Club of America, which allows them to bring the students and give them a behind the scenes look. This is a great effort, as it allows the young people to possibly develop a love for the sport, and hopefully, one day, bring in a new generation of fans.
I believe that if NASCAR wants to fix this problem, they are moving in the correct direction. They have begun highlighting their drivers that are people of color and making an effort to force the fan-base to not be so racist. There is a quote from a driver that says, “We are ok leaving these fans behind if they are not on the side of making our sport as welcoming and inclusive as it can be.” This quote shows the industry’s determination to better its name, even if it means losing long-time fans in the process. NASCAR could also begin removing fans that have done actions that are noticeably and undeniably racist. It won’t be easy for NASCAR to get people to forgive and forget about their racist past, but if they continue to make efforts and explicitly have a zero-tolerance policy towards racism, maybe one day the environment will become more diverse. NASCAR can also work to get a more diverse population of drivers in an effort to get a more diverse population of fans. If NASCAR proves to be unable to diversify its community and get rid of the racism, I can see the industry eventually having bigger problems, possibly lawsuits and even potentially resulting in NASCAR fading away. As the world grows and attempts to get more progressive, it is important for all industries to be able to follow, and change with the world, even if some people get mad in the process.