A Redneck Cracker Sport

Fan Commentary by Grandstand Bob

"A redneck cracker sport" is how Rainbow Sports director Charles Farrell describes NASCAR racing, as he and his organization continue to solicit money from the sport’s sanctioning body.

Like me, you might have missed this, because there was no immediate uproar from the media. White people, particularly white male race fans from the South, don't get a lot of support from the media when someone takes a shot at them, but Grandstand Bob isn't like most media.

Imagine if the Sons of the Confederacy described the NBA as a punk-ass colored man's sport. It's roughly the equivalent of Farrell's comments. Neither statement is fair, and both deserve equal disdain, but don't look for apologies from the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.

Jesse Jackson's group smells blood, or in this case money, and they're going for the kill. So what does NASCAR do? Allegedly, they’re giving them more money. I say allegedly, because NASCAR gets really shy when questions arise regarding its dealings with Jesse Jackson. No one has a dollar figure on what the France family has tucked in Jesse’s wallet, but it’s rumored to be in the $250,000 range since 2001.

Yet, the sport and its fans continue to be assailed and accused of being affiliated with hate groups. One of Jesse’s board members recently said that NASCAR is “the last bastion of white supremacy.” Come on, how many Klan members and skinheads do you see in the stands on Sunday? Simply being a race fan doesn’t mean that you associate with dangerous hate groups.

It distresses me that NASCAR doesn’t stand up to these accusations and defend its fans. We definitely have demographics that show that most of us are not the ignorant back-country folk that many people use to stereotype race fans. Yes, the Confederate flag is at races, but no, it doesn’t mean that hate groups are too. I know many people who proudly display the flag as a symbol of their heritage, not hate.

I applaud NASCAR for trying to bring more minorities into the sport, but I think that Jesse Jackson’s efforts are a poor choice for doing it. Jackson’s group, with its race-baiting and extreme left-wing views, stands in blatant contrast to the feelings of most NASCAR fans, who are fiercely patriotic and proud to live in a country where hard work has promise. There’s no better proof than the above statements attributed to leaders in the group that the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition is a bad fit for NASCAR.