Democratic NASCAR drivers.... are there any?

[liberalitch]

I need to know before I write the sport off as a whole.

[flyingfysh]

1. don't forget Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

He took his whole crew to see Fahrenheit 9/11, and said all Americans should see it.

I don't know if he is an actual Democrat.

[liberalitch]

3. cool.... i DID NOT know that....

I'm sure he is a minority....

[bryant69]

2. Hmmmmmm

What exactly happens if you write off the sport?

Just out of curiousity.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[liberalitch]

5. Who me personally?

Well, I just don't watch it.... encourage folks who do to enjoy formula one or some other speed related sport.

[RT Atlanta]

4. I used to be a fan, but....

Frankly, as I have matured, I personally see it as nothing more than Pro Rasslin' on Wheels.

[liberalitch]

7. I've enjoyed it but....

seeing so many blue collar folks selling themselves down the river.... It's like watching a horrible car accident.... NOT MY THING

[Pirate Smile]

6. I saw an SUV with a Kerry/Edwards bumper sticker and a Nascar bumper

sticker yesterday. Don't write anyone off.

[liberalitch]

9. Oh, I know they're out there I just wish that more NASCAR..

drivers (who may not support the chimp) spoke to their fans about the realities of this election.... you know like they actually cared about them.
If I was a NASCAR driver I would be trying to convince my fans to do what is best for them...

[auburngrad82]

11. I got harassed at Bristol over my Kerry sticker

I posted this a while back. The parking lot attendants told me I couldn't leave unless I took the Kerry sticker off my truck. I said no and drove around them. When I got home I put two more anti-bush stickers on my truck and sent letters to BMS, Bristol Chamber of Commerce, the owner of the lot and Food City, the sponsor of the race. Last NASCAR race I will ever go to. Too bad because I have enjoyed NASCAR since the 70s and am really disappointed that they have politicized things so much of late.

[LSK]

17. i saw a pickup in indiana with a NHRA and Kerry sticker

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

22. Both my dad and my brother love watching NASCAR races.

My dad bought directv just so he could see the races on TV. They go almost every weekend to some local racing event. They've been doing this for the past 10 years. My brother even competed in go-kart races when he was a kid and at 15 started driving a stock car (he had to sell it a few years ago to afford college tuition). My dad has always been a democrat. He's never voted for a republican. My brother is also a democrat. They both will be voting for Kerry this fall.

I agree that you can't assume anything about the fans. Since I'm not into NASCAR, I don't know anything about the drivers.

[TSIAS]

8. Not that I know of

Looking through NASCAR drivers, their contributions are mainly to 2 men. One is Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona. NASCAR actively campaigned for him and got a lot of drivers to give him money. The other is Kevin Tripplett, a former NASCAR employee (and Republican) running for Congress in Virginia.

Honestly, I can't think of one liberal or Democratic driver. They might exist, but they haven't gone public.

[Butterflies]

18. I just saw a commercial last night about Triplett

and I wondered which party he was in because it wasn't mentioned in the commercial. Here in Virginia they aren't embarrassed about being Republican (though some Dems seem embarrassed, unfortunately) so I assumed he was a Democrat. There usually aren't professional commercials here like the Triplett one I just saw, so I guess that's NASCAR money at work.

[Jivenwail]

10. I am a NASCAR fan

I may be in the minority here, but I do enjoy it and have been to several races over the course of the past 10 years. I've experienced it in CA and here in VA - there is a VAST difference in the level of maturity between fans of this sport, I can assure you. And I do have many Dem friends who are also NASCAR fans.

Please remember that this sport grew its' roots in the deep south, and it's always been a "southern" sport - thus the repug mentality. However when Nextel took over, they wanted to reach a different demographic and to shake those roots that the sport wallowed in both southern strategy and support. There are plenty of races outside the south that include Chicago, Kansas City, Pennsylvania, Delaware, NY and CA. They have also dropped races at the Rock (Rockingham, NC) one of the Darlington races, etc. And they've dropped the C&W music at the races - only rock is played now. So there are many diverse groups of people, around the country, that both watch and support NASCAR.

As for the drivers themselves, the majority are republican. But I have seen interviews where at least one has said he is an "independent". I certainly would not tell you what to do, but to arbitrarily write off the entire sport because the drivers are repugs may not be entirely fair to those of us who do enjoy the sport. There are many of us who don't agree with people's politics, I can assure you there are many here where I work. But I won't write them off as friends or colleagues because I disagree with their choice of politics.

Good luck to you! And I hope I've helped some of you to understand a little more about NASCAR.

[PsN2Wind]

12. They must all be Democrats

Otherwise many would have volunteered to drive fuel trucks in Iraq to show their support for Dubya and his war.

[Lugnut]

13. I'm a NASCAR fan

And am a lifeling Democrat.

I think Mark Martin is a Dem although as far as I know the subject has never come up in his interviews. His father used to fly Bill Clinton to and from events in Arkansas when he was governor.

[One_Life_To_Give]

14. They are Buisiness People

They are Buisiness People and probably know that publicly declaring themselves one way or the other could piss off some fans and/or sponsors. They all know that their number one job is to sell the sponsors products.

[skygazer]

15. Probably about as many as there are women

Or people of color. You see a lot of both in those cars, don't you?

[grace0418]

16. To each his own but

frankly I don't understand the appeal. I mean, I can understand how it would be fun to DRIVE one of the cars really fast. But watching on TV, or worse yet, having to sit in the stench and smoke and watch it live doesn't interest me much. But I'm sure many of the things I like to do would bore others to tears.

I do have to say that I am turned off by the right-wing factor that seems to be present, as well as the lack of women and minorities in the sport.

[dubyaD40web]

19. Nascar

Being a NASCAR liberal myself, I can tell you that there are many drivers who are Democrats, as far as being Liberals I am sure there are a few. Dale Earnhardt Jr. comes to mind right off because of his support of Fahrenheit 9/11 and because he forced his crew to go see it. But there are now several drivers that do not come from the south. NASCAR is the fastest growing sport in America and it is now being accepted across the country instead of just south of the Manson/Nixon line. I wrote about it in my first column at www.dubyaD40.com and I invite you to come to our website and check out all of our features. The link to my “NASCAR Liberal” column is http://www.dubyad40.com/html/clyde/clyde051704.html

Clyde

[yardwork]

20. Mr. Yardwork is a NASCAR fan and a life-long liberal Democrat

I think being a NASCAR fan has more to do with being a car enthusiast than with political leanings.

[pnb]

21. What do their politics, if any, have to do with the sport?

You either like racing or you don't. Does EVERYTHING in world revolve around political affiliation???

[Heyo]

23. bingo..

NASCAR is not politics.. it's not ABOUT politics... it has nothing to do with politics.

No driver would declare himself as one way or another, that would be stupid.

Heyo

[Ron Green]

24. It's not directly about politics, but it's about culture...

and culture is about politics in some ways. NASCAR fans tend to be from the South, or have Southern roots, going back to moonshine running days. Very anti-government, just as today's car enthusiast doesn't approve of CAFE standards or other restrictions on horsepower. The simple fact is that, on balance, cars are not good for society in many ways. Our 100-year affair with private automobiles has run a storied course, but it's time for its demise, or at least phasing out. Whether watching 1000-horsepower machines encourages fans to do the same, or satisfies their fancy in a less wasteful way, is not clear to me. But as one who outgrew his own hotrodding youth, I hope our country can start to do the same.

[Heyo]

25. I disagree

One transaltic flight uses more fuel than NASCAR's entire season.

It's so negligible in the grand shceme of things.

I am a fan, and if people want to race cars, and watch cars race, more power to them. It being the single most watched sport says alot. That's what I love about this country, you are basically free to do what makes you happy as long as you're not hurting anyone.

1,000 horespower? That would rock! :toast:

(the Nextel Cup cars are actually runing close to 800 lately I think) :)

Heyo

[Ron Green]

26. I'm not saying that NASCAR's fleet uses lots of fuel...

but I think about the fans on the way home after experiencing that speed. Many thousands of cars and trucks, and not too many of 'em are hybrids!

[pnb]

29. I don't know...

...I get the distinct feeling you wouldn't have these concerns if teh subject were Indy car racing.

[Elwood P Dowd]

27. The sad truth

NASCAR has been hijacked by rich corporate CEOs along with Fox and NBC.
Now who in hell do you think these folks support? It can cost up to 20 million dollars a year to sponsor a single team. NASCAR and the drivers are under the thumb of corporate America.

I've been attending NASCAR races since the 1960s. I remember when the only televised races were on ABC's Wild World Of Sports about three times a year. Now, all the races are on television. The drivers and fans are being bombarded with propaganda from the right. The days of the free spirits (no pun intended) are over.

Today's NASCAR fan, driver, and employee really believes we're in Iraq fighting the people who attacked us on 9-11. Earnhardt Jr caught a lot of flack about the 9-11 statement from Budweiser and NASCAR. He, and many of the other drivers, probably know better, but they can't speak their mind for fear of reprisal. The same thing happens to my friends and relatives. Speak out against the war in Iraq, and you're labeled as anti-American. Middle America is no better today than Nazi Germany in the 1930s. They're totally out of the loop and haven't a clue what is about to hit them.

I should also add; Most of these drivers spend 60-70 hours a week driving, testing, and making corporate personal appearances. I doubt they even have the time to really research anything related to politics. Most of what they say is fed to them by the corporate crowd.
IRL, CART, and F1 drivers are no different.

[atre]

28. Jeff Gordon appeared with Easely (D-NC) in an apolitical ad

I'm not sure if that means anything, though.