Joe Gibbs, who has won Winston Cup championships with Bobby Labonte and Tony Stewart, hopes to change that. Gibbs and Reggie White, future NFL Hall of Fame member, are planning a stock-car farm team to identify and encourage minority drivers at local tracks. They want to work with several Late Model division teams beginning next year to help drivers who otherwise might not get an opportunity to showcase their talent.
"We are going to scour the country looking for minority drivers who we think have some talent," Gibbs says. "Minorities aren't being exposed to these types of corporations and are having a tough time gaining exposure in NASCAR," White adds. "My hope is to possibly find a Tiger Woods for racing." He also hopes to soon have his own team in NASCAR.
There have been successful minority racers. Morty Buckles drove a Late Model car on the East Coast a couple years ago, with sponsorship from Dr. Pepper soft drink. Californian Willy T. Ribbs competed in sports cars and the Craftsman Truck series, and in 1991 was the first black driver to qualify for the Indy 500, opening the door for George Mack to follow nearly a decade later. Last year, 16-year-old James "Bubba" Stewart became the first African-American to win a national racing title, taking the 125cc championship in AMA motocross.
The most famous minority stock car driver is Wendell Scott, the first African-American to win a major NASCAR race. He took the victory after a 100-mile race on a half-mile oval at Jacksonville, Florida, on December 1, 1963. But racial tensions were so high at the time that the flagman let Scott pass under the starter's stand and gave the checker to Buck Baker instead. Scott protested the results, and a month later he received a check for the winnings and a wooden trophy. In spite of the snub, Scott continued to race until he was seriously injured in a 1973 wreck at Talladega. He died in 1990 and was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1999.
Diversity ControversyWhile there's never been a "Whites Only" sign over the entrance to speedways, minorities have felt unwelcome-or at least conspicuous-at most stock car races. That is slowly changing. In the past decade, the number of Confederate flags flying over the infield at NASCAR races has decreased dramatically as old prejudices give way and new fans fill the grandstands.
"I think people are becoming more aware of how others may interpret what they do," NASCAR's Taylor notes. While the Confederate flag may mean "Southern pride" to some fans, it can mean something entirely different to others. "As fans become more aware of those issues, they are less likely to offend someone," she says.The past five years have seen Hispanic, Japanese, and African-American drivers race in NASCAR's top three series. In the late '90s, its Winston West series held NASCAR's first points-paying race ever outside the United States, at the Twin Ring Motegi oval in Japan. Next year it expects to see a surge in the number of fans with the addition of Toyota to the Truck series.
There also have been minority investors in stock car teams. Julius Erving, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and Ribbs are among those who have put money into NASCAR racing, albeit with limited success. Last spring, rapper Nelly became part owner of a Truck team, using it to help promote his clothing line. Felix Sabates is the first Latino to own a Winston Cup team, and says the series will be more appealing to Hispanics if there are Latin drivers-such as Brazilian Christian Fittipaldi-competing on a regular basis.
The recent diversity efforts at NASCAR haven't been without controversy. Reportedly, NASCAR donated in recent years as much as $250,000 to Jesse Jack-son's Rainbow/PUSH Coalition to help fund a conference to get more black athletes into traditionally white-dominated sports. At least part of the donation was made shortly after Jackson condemned America's war effort in Iraq, which lit the fuse under many race fans.