[Marilynn]

I’ve been wondering why I see no black drivers in NASCAR and nobody who works as a broadcaster, or in the pit crew or anything in NASCAR. Is it a factor that the sport originated in the midwest and the Carolinas?

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Name : Marilynn, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 28, City : Tucson, State : AZ, Country : United States, Occupation : mom, Education level : High School Diploma, 

[C28625]

Marilyn, please dont forget Bill Lester (African American) is a driver in the Craftsman Truck Series, No 22 Toyota Tundra. And there are Nextel Cup , and Busch teams that have Black men as part of the pit crews . Remeber NASCAR is still in growth stages and the pipeline to become a driver for most of the current drivers is their fathers were success drivers (i.e. Petty, Earnhardt, Andretti, Jarett, Allisons) so the development pipeline is not there for an aspiring Black driver. Also remeber most of the Black population in th USA is concentrated in large urban areas where there simply is no place to race a stock car (legally). Same reason why there have been very few Black hockey players in the NHL

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Name : C28625, Gender : M, Race : Black/African American, Age : 38, City : Pontiac, State : MI, Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Jim]

There are many Black people in the Carolina’s and the Midwest so I dont think that is it. I think that Black folks cant relate to driving without getting pulled over every 5 minutes. (just joking) I am not attracted to Nascar because it takes too long to complete the race. The race is hard to follow because of bad camera angles. Lastly the crowd that have Nascar bumper stickers are not the most ethnic friendly folks. Ps. Black folks do watch and participate in drag racing.

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Name : Jim, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : African Methodist Episcopalian, Age : 32, City : jones, State : OH, Country : United States, Occupation : Tax accountant, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[mike]

Maybe it a sport that they really have no interest in. Money rule’s this sport and winning is EVERYTHING. The Carolina’s are much more intergrated than many part’s of the U.S. Take a look at motocross.A african-american is among the top’s in the world. Michael Jordan own’s a pro motorcycle race team. Be for real. If p-diddy’ or Snoop feilded a team they would be welcomed like everyone else. But, no pot smoking in the pits!!!!!!!!!!!! Nascar rule. Applies to everyone. Mike

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Name : mike, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 42, City : vegas, State : NV, Country : United States, Occupation : bartender, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

[CR]

Key reason. Most drivers, owners, and pit crew come from a line of progression of racing stock, sprints, midgets, and modifieds on the ‘Saturday Nite Dirt Oval’ in areas and the small towns in the South where Black population is not significant, most of the African American population is concentrated in major urbran centers. Also people of color these days have the tendancy to ‘self-segregate’ themselves and not realy involve themselves with cultral activities that are deemed as ‘for white people’ As NASCAR growns, the interest in it will also grow. NASCAR is excellent at marketing itself.

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Name : CR, Gender : M, Race : Black/African American, Age : 38, City : Pontiac, State : MI, Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Jessica28934]

Did you think to ask yourself that maybe blacks aren’t interseted in Nascar. It’s not because they are of a diffrent color than white that they are not driving or involved somehow. Women have just been getting into the racing world. They don’t always do as well as the men, but the poeple who do race have been in the business and grew up with it in thier families. My dad, his brothers, and my grandpa love to watch the races, they also grew up around workign on cars and motercycles. Just a thought.

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Name : Jessica28934, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 18, City : Cedar Rapids, State : IA, Country : United States, 

[MichaelC]

I think that some of it may be geographic, and some of it may be the origins of the sport. I think the biggest part is just a matter of choice. I don’t know all that many young black men who dream of driving a race car. It’s not an easy sport to get into. It’s not as though you can practice in your backyard. There are no colleges offering racing scholarships that I know of. NASCAR is currently trying to become more diverse. There are several up-and-coming minority drivers. The recent addition of a few open wheel racers has also begun to diversify the field.

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Name : MichaelC, Gender : Male, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 29, City : Cairo, State : GA, Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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