March 18, 2007

Hey! Sum Idjit Gasum Ol' Dang Hip-Hip In My NASCAR

Yes, the title of this post is true, as it seems NASCAR is now promoting itself rampantly and trying to firmly insert itself into all demographics. And boy-howdy, is it scary. It appeared to start with the Nelly and Tim McGraw duet. Then it was Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Jay-Z in a Budweiser ad. Then we see former NBA All-Star and well-known black man, Brad Daugherty, doing frequent ESPN NASCAR commentary. I saw a Chevrolet commercial today where rapper T.I. borrows Earnhardt, Jr's stock car, enters a race, and then drives all slow.. you know, like black people do in urban areas? That's not at all stereotypical, is it? Junior, meanwhile, has T.I.'s Chevy Impala and is just tearing through the streets of wherever T.I. is from (Google tells me it's Atlanta). You see, NASCAR, you could learn something from this commercial: even though the cars may change, you can never change your culture. The hard fact is that despite all of NASCAR's effort to integrate the sport [Editor's note: It's not really a sport], there have only been 3 African-American (no Asians or Latinos either) NASCAR drivers since NASCAR's inception in 1947. The first one, Wendell Scott, won a race and couldn't even go to the winner's circle until after the crowd had dispersed. That's the Old South for you. And probably the New one, for that matter.
I understand there's such a thing as money and economic well-being but NASCAR, please. You're confusing your fans with all of the non-white people and the hip-hop (NASCAR fans are already prone to confusion due to all of the high-octane fumes and exhaust they inhale at races). Or even worse, it's creating an entirely new form of racism. Just like {insert promiscuous female Celeb name here}'s legs, some things aren't supposed to go together..

3 comments:

Marie Debris said...

There haven't been any Asians because of their lack of driving skills. We build 'em, you drive da shit outta dem.

Mike said...

Just like Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg's legs, some things aren't supposed to go together.

Hey-Oh!!!!

Scrap Heap Pete said...

Yeah, she is pretty slutty.. even for a Supreme Court Justice