NASCAR has it all...

[mwb970]

I have noticed that a certain kind of male person gets a huge kick out of three things: (1) high speed; (2) loud noises; (3) destruction of property. For these people, NASCAR races are perfect! You have all these cars making loud roaring noises while moving in circles at top speed. Occasionally one explodes in a big fireball.

Full disclosure: I have never actually delved into racing, and I'm sure that for people who are genuinely "into" it there is a lot of complexity and subtlety to what they do. But, I do suspect that a fair number of NASCAR fans mostly like the speed, the noise, and the destruction.

[Mr Rabble]

1. Please don't lump all racing fans

in with the NASCAR bunch.

NASCAR fans are the equivalent of the flat earth society. This is a real red state sport.

Check out motorcycle road racing, or Formula 1.

[Clark2008]

17. *sigh*

I guess that's why it's so popular in Illinois - that red-state mentality and all. :eyes:

It's stupid to generalize, you know.

BTW, I'm in a red state and I don't watch NASCAR.

Again, please don't generalize.

[ultraist]

24. I live in NC and have never been to a NASCAR race

I don't know if the demographic stereotype about NASCAR dads is true or not. I do know that the KKK is recruiting at NASCAR races and it does seem to be a haven for rednecks.

But, just as with any generalization, just because someone likes certain activities generally associated with Rednecks, it does not mean they are conservative on all political issues.

BTW, I think the attraction is more of the thrill component of 'who is going to win,' just like horse races. That rush one gets from gambling (whether they actually lay out money or not) is a big adrenalin kick and very addictive.

I used to love to go to the horse races and I imagine it's the same dynamic at car races. Really, what is the fucking difference?

[Not_Giving_Up]

2. I'm a Democrat, a female, and a NASCAR fan

It's not about loud noises or destruction of property. Sure, it's about speed. It's also about river rivalries, car setups, pit strategies, and a lot more.

[Enquiringkitty]

3. The people sitting in the stands watching the race are the people who

wish they had the guts to drive that way .... it is the manly-man thing to do. They can sit in their Lazy-Boys and pretend that they aren't scared to death when a cop pulls up next to they even though they haven't done anything wrong. They won't contradict their bosses and feel guilty for knowing he was incorrect. They are frightened than someone is going to come along a take their Mobile home and satellite dish which took 20 years to pay off away from them. So they sit in their homes and offices and shut their mouths until race day when they,for a couple of short hours, can get an idea of what it must be like to feel the freedom of slicing through the wind with no one to arrest you or tell you to stop acting childish and act your age. It's a scared, desperate life so when Bush came along and talked all big and tuff like the red-neck he is, they made the misguided mistake of thinking it was strength.

[Lugnut]

6. Wow!

How enlightening. :eyes:

[ultraist]

31. I think that's total BS

I think it's more the "thrill seeker/risk taker" gene.

[tx_dem41]

33. You sure got me pegged. Just don't tell anybody, ok?

:eyes:

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Not_Giving_Up]

5. Thank you!!!!!!

Being a democrat and a NASCAR fan are NOT mutually exclusive!

[Blue_Tires]

7. NASCAR is not real racing unfortunately

IMHO...

even though it started out as something pure, marketing and fat TV contracts have morphed it into some sort of orchestrated spec racing series ('stock' cars, indeed)...

better racing action can be found in F1, ALMS, IRL, WRC, and elsewhere.

[frylock]

11. there's nothing more compelling than watching schumacher lead..

start to finish. I watch a lot of racing, including ALMS, F1, Champ Cars, Aussie V8s, Carrera Supercup, WRC, etc., and I'm here to tell you that NASCAR is indeed real racing.

[immoderate]

34. It started with bootleggers avoide "revenyuers"

--IMM

[Petrushka]

8. Did you ever wonder . . .

. . . if NASCAR's sponsors--those companies whose logos are plastered all over the NASCAR drivers' jumpsuits and racing cars, etc.--if they'll ever have a !Eureka!-moment and advertise their wares on such things as military uniforms and Humvees in Iraq, etc.?

[DianeG5385]

9. I'm a proud liberal and NASCAR fan

Just because alot of conservatives like it doesn't mean I can't like it too. You guys freak all the time about how ideologically rigid conservatives are. Sometimes we liberals can be annoyingly rigid and elitist as well. I think it is stupid from a political point of view to look down your nose at a sport which was born in the south (note, I live in Sonoma County Ca) but which is becoming increasingly popular. Get a clue. Don't you want to win these mostly working class folks over???. NASCAR is not Iraq, not Social Security not Health care. It's a really cool competitive sport from my perspective. I plan on watching tomorrow's race at California Speedway and root for Junior. I also plan on fighting as hard as I can to defeat and repudiate the current administration. In the meantime, "Gentlemen, Start your engines!"

[Oldtimeralso]

10. I too am a proud liberal Nascar fan

The thrill of competition on a level playing field, courage, teamwork, strategy and cooperation! These are things that I admire in Nascar, too bad I cannot admire them in American politics.

[DianeG5385]

13. If only the Democratic party had those kind of guts

It takes alot of courage to compete in NASCAR. In some respects, it's a microcosm of life and personally I unapolagetically, love it!!! I love the sprints too and miss Thursday and Saturday Night Thunder!!!

[newyawker99]

16. Hi Oldtimeralso!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[QC]

12. "Don't you want to win these mostly working class folks over???"

I honestly think a lot of us here don't. Working-class people are icky. They dress funny and live in trailers and are responsible for all the racism, sexism, homophobia and oppression in the world. They don't know who Noam Chomsky is, and they actually think that Maxwell House is good coffee!

One must be top drawer to be a good liberal these days, so those working stiffs are just not our kind of people. Sorry, but that's how it is, and besides, all that stuff about the haves and have-nots is passé anyway. It's, like, boring.

[DianeG5385]

14. I'm right there with you. It's not about moving to the right

It's about understanding your potential constituency. By the way, and apologies to Noam, I've never read anything by him!!!

[Petrushka]

15. "The new NASCAR elite" ? ?

While trolling at a Freeper site, I noticed an article from The Washington Times that you might find ((-cough-)) enlightening:

The new NASCAR elite

By Dave Fay
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published February 27,2005
------------------------

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - At the Bistro on the infield, patrons drink martinis and dine on jumbo lump blue-crab cakes and artichoke dip.

Seven floors up in nearby Nextel Tower, stock car fans watch races -- either by looking out the window or at large flat-screen televisions -- in luxury suites that sell for up to $200,000.

The prices and amenities at Daytona International Speedway make it as plain as the Viagra sponsorship logos on Mark Martin's Ford: NASCAR isn't all about Bubba, beer and barbecue anymore.

The days in which fans watched races while sitting on wooden slats straight from the sawmill are long gone at the tracks of the National Association for Stock Car Racing.

More and more these days, luxury rules:

<snip>

http://www.washingtontimes.com/specialreport/20050227-122934-2408r.htm

B-)

[tx_dem41]

19. QC...don't forget that they smell funny too...

you know all that sweat from an "honest day's work" and all. :eyes:

[QC]

29. Yes, sweat is so déclassée!

How could anyone do such a thing?

[tx_dem41]

35. I guess they're just "suckers".

That's what I've read at least.

[QC]

37. Well, they're too dumb to be just like us in every way,

so yeah, they're suckers. Why, one time I went into one of their so-called "coffee shops" and asked the waittress for a double-decaf-mocha-latte-frappucino and she had no idea what I was talking about! The mind reels!

[tx_dem41]

38. Thank goodness you didn't ask for that "skinny". n/t

[ellenfl]

44. the mind reels!

"Why, one time I went into one of their so-called "coffee shops" and asked the waittress for a double-decaf-mocha-latte-frappucino and she had no idea what I was talking about!"

lol, qc, i don't either!

ellen fl

[ultraist]

48. LOL! Sweat has a lot of phenomes...natural aphrodisiac!

[ultraist]

23. I think there is a lot of truth to what you are saying

There is a lot of classist stereotyping that goes on. We really should be mindful of the FACT that the MAJORITY of lower income people voted DEMOCRAT.

Lower income folk are oftentimes racist and homophobic but so are the upper income folk! The truth is, it is the POWER HOLDERS that are the MOST OPPRESSIVE.

Sure, lower income people can sling racial slurs and with the exception of Hate crime group members (like the KKK people) it's the business owners who don't hire Gays and Blacks who do more damage.

Further up, at the top echelon, the policy makers who reinforce institutionalized racism, to secure health care, educational, and income disparities are the ones who do the most severe damage.

Personally, I indulge in more of what is considered "liberal elite" cultural activities, but it's ethnocentric to trash someone's cultural activities. As long as they are not promoting hate, we really should back off of the judgmental attitude.

We need not be ethnocentric and xenophobic like the Repukes!

[QC]

26. Thanks! And you're very right about the scapegoating.

It's the people with actual power who can do the most damage, not the poor people we love to pile on. The head of the bank that denies loans to minority applicants is doing far more damage than some guy in a trailer park, but around we we spend vastly more time fretting over trailer park dwellers than racist CEOs.

That hurts us two ways. One, it diverts attention from the real villains, and two, it validates the GOP propaganda point about "elitist liberals" one of the most effective ones they have.

[ultraist]

43. I agree

Good points.

The fact is, all people don't have the same access to opportunity and to insult someone because they either didn't have the opportunity or because they chose not to go the same route as superficial social constructs say they "should" is misguided.

And really, what is so honorable about making money just to spend it on oneself anyway? I have a lot of respect for people who don't wrap themselves up in materialism and consumerism.

It's really pretty sickening when you think about the fact that one luxury vehicle that someone owns, could purchase 3 or 4 homes for someone in a developing country and house several families for generations.

[tx_dem41]

46. You two are agreeing waaaayyyy too much today!

It's quite troubling. :crazy:

[ultraist]

52. ME? LOL!

WHAT ON EARTH are you talking about?

I am a bleeding heart liberal. Materialism, greed, and superficiality feeds the oppression machine. I admit to my personal sins of loving art and a good stiff espresso, but there is a lot of gluttony that goes along with that culture. Much of it is very shallow.

[tx_dem41]

54. Just funnin' with you and QC, Ultraist.

Have a great day. :-)

[Blue Wally]

41. Yeah

Who wants to associate with knuckle draggers?? We are the only ones whose opinions matter. We are smart enough to drive Volvos instead of those crappy Detroit cars (screw you, unionized auto worker). Read James Webb's "Born Fighting" sometime. You may not agree with everything he says, but you might understand things better.

[tx_dem41]

18. "I have never actually delved into racing"

So in other words, you just pulled this out of...thin air...in an attempt to create a divisive post. Nice.

[Cooley Hurd]

20. I agree... this post is only flamebait.

Why knock someone for their interests? It's their ACTIONS that are fair game (can ya believe we agree on something, tx_dem? ;))

[tx_dem41]

21. LOL....I was thinking the exact same about agreeing with you.

Glad to see miracles can happen!

Have a great day. :-)

[pdxmom]

22. Liberal and NASCAR are definitely not mutually exclusive

I've been a fan of racing for 30 years and love going to the track, especially the feeder events. Maybe delving into the history of NASCAR and going to some races would give you a better idea of what racing is all about. You couldn't beat the excitement of the last 10 laps of last week's Daytona race! I was glued to my TV watching it.

That said, I don't like the "pro-wrestling" turn the sport is taking. I don't want to hear about those rivalries and see all that personal drama, that I think is just a bunch of hype. They need to stick to pure racing.

[Walt Starr]

25. NASCAR is the last "white" sport

and it drips of racism.

[tx_dem41]

27. I hadn't realized that hockey had such an influx of non-whites.

Thanks for clarifying that, Walt. :eyes:

[Walt Starr]

32. Hockey? What's "hockey".

:eyes:

[tx_dem41]

36. I thought all you blue-staters were hockey fans....

...shows what I know. :silly:

[Walt Starr]

42. Hockey is the last Canadian sport

;)

[ultraist]

55. How is it more racist than any other sport like POLO?

[Walt Starr]

56. Polo is the lasst rich man's sport

And doesn't get coverage on television.

Although NASCAR is not anywhere close to having a fan base that is majority racist, it does attract that element based upon its history and demographic.

[tx_dem41]

58. Ummmm....how about curling...

Oh...its Canadian...nevermind. ;)

[ultraist]

60. Polo is totally racist! It is the wealthy that are the most oppressive.

Aside from the violent hate crime groups, wealthy whites, the ruling class, are the worst oppressors in our society. It takes a "certain" system to create billionares.

[Walt Starr]

61. From my experience, color matters a lot to the rich

of course, the colors are green, silver, and gold that matter to them. The more you have, the more clout you have.

[ultraist]

63. LOL! You forgot BLUE as in blueblood.

Old money is still more "worthy" than new money. But that is fading.

[Walt Starr]

64. It's fading fast!

Nouveau Riche is still Riche. And most new money is bigger than the old money, too.

[ScreamingMeemie]

28. Stereotype much? Happy Northern Nascar Fan here, who has never

destroyed property, never gotten a ticket and oh...I've got a vagina.

Thanks

[tx_dem41]

30. Shocking!

:wow: :)

[mtnsnake]

39. So Nascar's for anyone, Dem or Repuke. AFAIC it's the most useless

sport on the face of the planet, no matter what your political affiliation happens to be. How anyone can waste hours watching cars go round and round in circles over and over again is beyond human comprehension!

It doesn't even measure up to professional wrestling, which at least can be entertaining and funny, as phoney as pro wrestling is. At least pro wrestlers are gifted athletes, unlike NASCAR drivers, who are just rich basicly. Oh sure, give it to me now how it takes such athleticism to drive those cars and how sweaty the drivers get doing it. LOL!!

[tx_dem41]

45. Let me get this right....you denigrate NASCAR and defend wrestling...

(pro), in the same post?!? :wtf:

[mtnsnake]

51. I didn't defend wrestling; I implied by comparison to NASCAR that

pro wrestling at least has some merit in terms of entertainment and humor....as phoney a sport as Pro Wrestling is.

[tx_dem41]

53. Funny, I don't see the entertainment and humor in wrestling...

glorification of violence? definitely....sexism? ...no doubt...Entertainment and humor...errr...no.

[mtnsnake]

57. and I don't fault you for that. We all see things differently

To me NASCAR is a huge waste of time and devoid of interest. To you it's not, so we differ.

As far as wrestling, I rarely watch it. The only parts that I do watch are either the interviews or the hype before that matches, which can be really hillarious.

BTW, those very points you bring up, glorification, sexism, and violence that you attribute to pro wrestling, can be applied to NASCAR any day of the week and twice on Sunday....along with a few other ones.

[tx_dem41]

59. Actually, I'm not a personal fan....

of either.

[ScreamingMeemie]

50. Your. opinion.

Some of us just like it.

[ellenfl]

40. 'squeeze' me but i am also a female, left-wing nascar fan.

i started going with my boyfriend and have grown to love it. there is so much to know about the drivers and the mechanics (of the car, not the pit guys) that make this a fun sport. the excitement for me is seeing the skill of the drivers as they trade places and paint. you can keep the wrecks, however.

i think your generalization is fast losing ground as more women come on board and as the cost of attending a nascar race is getting more prohibitive. i attend the bristol race every year and it costs about $2000 for me and my boyfriend for the weekend . . . and that does NOT include the price of tickets. the car rental agencies and hotels/motels jack their prices way up for nascar weekends.

that said, the drivers, crew, owners, etc. are currently (and mostly) very far to the right politically. that will change with the sport becoming more national and moving away from the dirt tracks of the deep south . . . but that will take a while since nascar is very dynastic.

ellen fl

[Blue Wally]

47. Hey, Ellen

Not sure if there are any around you, but the "dirt tracks" still exist with cars put together by the guys in "Sam's Garage" and coming out to the track any Saturday night they can afford the money to buy enough tires to get through the race. The lighting sucks, the stands are like a high school football field, and you get pelted with mud on the turns, no TV, but it is still racing.

When I grew up in Detroit, we used to go to the old Motor City Speedway on 8 Mile Road to watch the midget cars (minature versions of Indy cars). Fifty cents to get in, a quarter for a program, and another quarter for a coke and fries.

[ScreamingMeemie]

49. No! No! That's not allowed. We cannot enjoy something if it's part of a

pigheaded holier than thou stereotype!!! /sarcasm off ;)

[Vinca]

62. NASCAR has always been a mystery to me.

Why would anyone pay good money to breath exhaust, listen to engines and watch cars go around and around? The only entertainment is the occasional crash. As for watching it on television, it's right up there with watching golf, tennis and curling. Wait . . . curling is more exciting.

[LoneDriver]

65. Sad to say the use the excitement to recruit for the military

Friday at the mall here, there is a race in So. Cal this weekend, was a NASCAR car and driver in front with military recruiters to scam the kids brought in by the toy. I told them all what they were doing was shameful and they should get more honest sponsorship. Damn, after all they made them stop carrying tobacco and liquor advertising but recruiting mercenaries for Kill, Burn and Loot is OK???