Black NASCAR fans have always existed. Now they have hope.
Kevin Johnson became enamored with NASCAR as a kid through clips on 鈥淲ide World of Sports,鈥� decades before billion-dollar broadcast deals when auto racing shared precious air time with barrel jumping and demolition derby.
Raised in the South Bronx, Mr. Johnson considered himself 鈥渁 closet NASCAR fan,鈥� without a friend or family member who truly shared his interest in catching the latest race.
鈥淎s you can imagine,鈥� Mr.聽Johnson said, 鈥渢here just simply weren鈥檛 a lot of people receptive to the sport given its history.鈥�
Mr.聽Johnson recalled staying in his Temple University dorm during the聽massive blizzard that wreaked havoc on the East Coast聽in 1979 to watch the Daytona 500, broadcast live in its entirety for the first time. His roommate was stuck elsewhere because of the weather, leaving Mr.聽Johnson alone with the TV.
鈥淣obody knew,鈥� Mr.聽Johnson said, laughing. 鈥淎s a Black person in an urban area, it wasn鈥檛 acceptable. I wasn鈥檛 really out there. But that love continued to this day.鈥�
Mr.聽Johnson, who has retired to Miami, shares his passion for the sport with a Black NASCAR Fans group on Facebook. The group鈥檚 bio says: 鈥淵es we exist.鈥�
The fans share favorite race memories, photos of their collectibles, and, yes, stories of the historically uneasy relationship NASCAR has had with the Black community.
Mr.聽Johnson has been called racist slurs at the track, felt queasy at the sight of the Confederate flag, and often wondered if the good-ol鈥�-boy Southern attitudes seeped in the sport would ever fade.
The catalyst for change has come for the U.S. with聽the death of George Floyd聽in the custody of Minneapolis police. Not long after that, driver Bubba Wallace shoved NASCAR toward the overdue step of聽banning the Confederate flag, for decades a waving, nylon symbol to Blacks that they were not welcome in NASCAR Nation.
The thought of facing the flag and the potential anger from its staunchest defenders has kept many Black fans away and made the ones who did come watch their step. Mr.聽Johnson said banning the flag will make NASCAR 鈥渕ore inviting.鈥�
鈥淲e need to get more people, encourage more people of color to come and enjoy what goes on around race weekend,鈥� added Brad Daugherty, the lone Black team owner in NASCAR.
According to NASCAR, the latest demographics show an overwhelmingly white fan base 鈥� 75% 鈥� but the multicultural slice of 25% has climbed from 20% in 2011. Black fans make up 9% of the total.
The sight of Black fans lined against the Talladega fence to cheer for Mr.聽Wallace a day after a聽noose was found in his stall聽was a heartening moment for NASCAR. But earning the trust of a new generation of fans extends beyond 鈥渋f you ban it, they will come.鈥� NASCAR and its tracks need bolder attempts at ticket and community outreach programs, much in the way baseball, the NHL and the NBA celebrate pride or ethnic-themed nights.
Minorities may not necessarily become the dominant demographic for the stock car series, but they can certainly grab a larger share of the marketplace.
鈥淚 think the challenge for NASCAR is this: they spent a lot of time and money over the years building up a specific brand that centered on Confederate flag-waving Southern white folks as their target market, and aligned themselves with business partners and politicians who also found symmetry with this demographic group,鈥� said聽Joshua Newman, a Florida State professor and author of 鈥淪port, Spectacle, and NASCAR Nation: Consumption and the Cultural Politics of Neoliberalism.鈥�
鈥淭his worked well to create a very specific NASCAR culture, a spectacle of celebrity politicians, military flyovers, conservative symbolism, an all-white driver line-up 鈥� for many years, but not always 鈥� and grandstands filled with predominantly white consumer fans,鈥� Mr. Newman said. 鈥淚t was unique in the North American sports landscape for its racial homogeneity and pronounced affiliations with one political party.鈥�
But cultural politics can change and NASCAR鈥檚 boom has faded. To Mr.聽Newman, that means NASCAR limited its growth potential and now must find a solution.
Could Mr.聽Wallace, who finished second in the 2018 Daytona 500, engage new fans if he won a checkered flag or two driving for an underfunded team? Would a diversity program that places more drivers in the Cup Series 鈥� where Mr.聽Wallace is the only Black driver 鈥� broaden exposure and create fans of all genders, ethnicities and backgrounds?
NASCAR has worked on building awareness among multicultural audiences for years, including Latino-focused efforts at Auto Club Speedway in California. Last year, NASCAR and the Urban Chamber of Commerce in Las Vegas teamed with a local youth group to bring a group of Black children to the race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The Drive for Diversity program dates to 2004 and a separate effort to work with key minority business and community leaders started three years later.
鈥淚f people look at the sport and see the stars of the sport are representative of different groups, I think it鈥檚 just another step toward making the sport feel more open to a larger audience of folks,鈥澛燚rive for Diversity director Jusan Hamilton聽said. 鈥淚f people look at the sport and feel that it鈥檚 open, that in turn will help make more folks be interested in coming to the sport.鈥�
The few Black drivers who came before Mr.聽Wallace have heard that hopefulness before only to often end up discouraged at the frayed bond between NASCAR and minorities.
鈥淚t鈥檚 time to realize it鈥檚 a new day,鈥� said Bill Lester, who made 145 career NASCAR starts from 1999-2006. 鈥淣ot all the race car drivers happen to be white. There are people of color. There are women out there who want to race.鈥�
Mr.聽Lester said he believes NASCAR President Steve Phelps, who tearfully told Mr.聽Wallace about the noose in the garage, and veteran executive Brandon Thompson can provoke tangible culture change within the sport.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a willingness to listen and engage that NASCAR has that I don鈥檛 believe they were sincere about earlier,鈥� Mr.聽Lester said.
Still, Mr.聽Wallace is one of just a handful of non-white drivers. Daniel Suarez is Mexican and Aric Almirola is of Cuban descent. Kyle Larson, who is half Asian, was fired in April for using a racial slur.
NASCAR met this month with the Rev. Greg Drumwright, who organized members of his ministry to make the trip to Talladega to support聽Mr.聽Wallace. Mr. Drumwright said he and his group planned to attend other races, too, and he posted聽a series of encouraging interactions聽on his Twitter feed from the All-Star race at Bristol on Wednesday.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 want window dressing,鈥� Mr.聽Drumwright said. 鈥淭his is a national dialogue.鈥�
Toni Addison, her husband and three children of Newark, Delaware, have never attended a NASCAR race. They drive by Dover International Speedway on race weekends and catch a glimpse of the carnival-type atmosphere at the track and wondered if they鈥檇 feel welcomed.
鈥淚t sounds like something we鈥檇 be interested in,鈥� Ms. Addison said. 鈥淏ut guess I couldn鈥檛 wear my Black Live Matter shirt or my Barack Obama shirt to that. I鈥檓 a [Dallas] Cowboys fan. It鈥檚 kind of like a Cowboys fan doesn鈥檛 go into the Eagles stadium, at least not with all the Cowboys gear on.鈥�
She鈥檚 become one of Mr. Wallace鈥檚 newest fans (鈥淚 didn鈥檛 even know there was a Black NASCAR driver鈥�) and watched him slap hands with fans at Talladega, but acknowledged 鈥渇ear may keep me away from that.鈥�
鈥淢y impression of it is they鈥檙e mostly Trump supporters, Confederate flag supporters,鈥� Ms. Addison said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how comfortable I would feel fitting in.鈥�
She could talk to fans like Mr.聽Johnson who, while hurt by the slurs, generally have a great time on race day and want all fans to draw the same enjoyment from the sport he has for more than 40 years.
One memory rises about the rest: Mr.聽Johnson and his wife, Julie, attended a meet-and-greet at Atlanta Motor Speedway with Hall of Fame driver Tony Stewart in the mid-2000s. The couple were fervent supporters of Smoke, who asked a group of fans in a suite if they had any questions for him.
Julie stepped up from the back and told Mr.聽Stewart, 鈥淎s probably your only Black female fan, I really don鈥檛 have a question, I just want a hug.鈥�
Mr.聽Stewart smiled and her invited her up for a big hug and later sent over several autographed photos.
It鈥檚 the kind of moment that can make a fan forever 鈥� from any walk of life.
This story was reported by The Associated Press.聽
Editor鈥檚 note: As a public service, the Monitor has removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage. It鈥檚 free.
