Racism in NASCAR, again
Image by Bristol Motor Speedway & Dragway via Flickr
It has been 62 years since Jackie Robinson broke the racial barrier in Major League Baseball. These days, African-American athletes from Tiger Woods to Serena and Venus Williams, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James dominate a sports landscape that has been integrated for decades.
And then there’s NASCAR, which remains almost exclusively a white man’s domain. Except for those few who dare to interrupt the status quo and find out how difficult and dangerous that can be.
Including drivers like Marc Davis.
Only 18 years old, Davis already has been subjected to years of racial taunts in his quest to compete in the upper levels of NASCAR. The latest incident came on June 6, when Davis was involved in a crash on pit road during a second-tier NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Nashville Superspeedway.
Crashes happen all of the time in NASCAR. It’s part of the sport. In reviewing the Davis accident involving driver Brendan Gaughan that night, NASCAR officials determined no one was at fault. Even the broadcasters of that race, including Rusty Wallace, owner of the racecar driven by Gaughan, declared it an unfortunate racing incident and an unlucky break.
It should have ended there. But it didn’t.
From his in-car radio, Gaughan issued this angry, inciting order to his crew chief, Bryan Berry: “Find me that dumb wanna-be college graduate. Do not let him leave this racetrack at all. I’m talking about the kid. He’s not leaving this track until he sees me.”
Gaughan had no authority to make that demand. He’s not the police and he’s not NASCAR. But when Gaughan did, using a voice that could be described as threatening, Berry acted. Witnesses told NASCAR he went to the garage and confronted Davis with a profanity-laced tirade that included a racial slur. Although Berry denied making the remark, the witnesses were credible enough for NASCAR to suspend Berry indefinitely.
“It’s unacceptable,” NASCAR CEO Brian France said. “We’re not going to let one incident no matter how it is one way or the other affect where the sport is going.”
Still, there was no punishment for Gaughan for inciting the confrontation or later making a disparaging remark about historically African-American Howard University, which has a radio station that sponsors Davis. Gaughan was somehow able to convince NASCAR the Howard comment was not intended to be racist, both sides apparently oblivious to the reality that it could and would be perceived as such.
Through it all, Marc Davis hasn’t uttered a word publicly. He probably wouldn’t dare, given what can happen when an African-American speaks out in NASCAR.
The last time a minority dared to challenge the sport publicly was 2006, when the father of a driver participating in the NASCAR-supported Drive for Diversity initiative criticized the program. Drive for Diversity had begun in 2004 as an attempt to aid development of minority and female drivers. In five years of operation, it has been a public relations success for NASCAR. But it has failed to produce a single driver competing regularly in top three levels of the sport. Not one.
“It’s a sham,” Joe Henderson Jr. told The New York Times in 2006 of the diversity program. “They claim that it’s a pipeline. Well, nobody came out the pipe.”
After that, Joe Henderson III, a driver once touted as one of the top prospects in the diversity program, was effectively finished. He has been unable to secure another promising ride.
As for Davis, he was near tears in 2006 when a number of race fans charged the fence after a crash at a small track in Hickory, N.C., and yelled racial slurs at him. Over the years, he has heard it again and again and again.
Meanwhile, NASCAR’s problems with racism resurfaced last year, when a former employee of the sanctioning body filed a $225 million lawsuit claiming racial and sexual harassment. Mauricia Grant said she was even frightened by one official who made reference to the Ku Klux Klan.
NASCAR, replete with incidents of racism throughout its history despite France’s remarks, very quickly settled the suit out of court in December, 2008. One month later, NASCAR proudly paraded its latest class of Drive for Diversity drivers before a media gathering in Concord, N.C., hoping to generate even more positive publicity for its efforts.
Davis had participated in the program earlier in his career and showed enough promise to earn a development contract with prestigious Joe Gibbs Racing. But the team dropped Davis this year because of a lack of corporate sponsorship.
And that’s one of the most significant reasons the number of African-Americans who have competed in NASCAR’s highest division in 60 years can be counted on one hand: Economic reality. Corporations that spend millions in NASCAR traditionally have not supported diversity in a sport with a predominantly white audience including a strong Southern fan base, aside from Target’s sponsorship of the already well established Colombian driver Juan Pablo Montoya.
It’s the same reason minority-run or minority-focused companies don’t buy into NASCAR, either. Not enough fans for it to make economic sense. The Confederate flags that are a common sight at many races no doubt keep some away.
Davis, racing under his own Marc Davis Motorsports, has struggled to cobble together financial support. He is hoping to make his debut in the premier Sprint Cup series on June 28 at New Hampshire. If Davis is able to qualify on speed, he will become only the second African-American driver since the 1980s to actually race in a Cup event.
These days, it’s easier for an African-American to become President of the United States than to become a racecar driver in NASCAR.
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I am not sure you make your case. I am not a fan of NASCAR but Gaughan was punished and drivers getting overemotional and saying stupid things is common in any sport. Perhaps Gaughan is racist but saying that today the entire sport is racist is a bit of a stretch. Anecdotal evidence only suggests that some are racist or at least fall back to the cultural backdrop they were raised in. People are trying, cut them some slack. The truth is that is it difficult for any new driver to get sponsorship. I find it remarkable that he is racing under his own flag at eighteen. If he wins and keeps winning he’ll have plenty of fans. In the Brooklyn of my youth Robinson was a god and he could have been from Mars as long as he kept stealing those bases and making us jump with excitement.
Actually, Gaughan was not punished by NASCAR.
Don’t put words in my mouth. I did not say the entire sport is racist. I said racism exists within the sport, it has for years, and here’s the latest incident.
The bottom line is Marc Davis is 18 years old and he has been subjected to racist remarks for years. Could you imagine LeBron James hearing that on a basketball court? Repeatedly? No athlete should have to accept that treatment in order to compete in his sport.
In response to another comment. See in context »Yes, I apologize it was Bryan Berry who was suspended for his racist comments. I also did not mean to put words in you mouth but your concluding paragraph, “These days, it’s easier for an African-American to become President of the United States than to become a race car driver in NASCAR.” may be accurate but fairly damning conclusion to the sport.
In response to another comment. See in context »Racism in NASCAR? Yes!
However, name me something that isn’t imbued with racism and prejudice to some
degree. While deplorable, it’s a fact of reality. It comes in the form of intolerance for
one lifestyle over another, one geographic area of the country over another, one religion,
or lack thereof, over another, one ethnic group over another. The list could go on and on.
Human nature is such that we are heavily influenced by how we were raised and the prevailing attitudes and sentiments present during that time. NASCAR is no different. It was born primarily in the red dirt of the South and along the rural paved roads of Appalachia. Racism wasn’t born in that time and locale, but was certainly very common and prevalent then. And having been conceived and born in that environment, NASCAR was, and still is, heavily influenced by that mindset. Should we take that to mean it shouldn’t change? Absolutely not!! To suggest otherwise would be ludicrous. NASCAR as a governing body can, and should, take the lead in setting an example of what’s acceptable and what’s not. But to suddenly wake up one day and expect to find that it’s participants and fans have undergone a sudden cathartic change to a lifetime of influences and it’s accompanying actions and interactions is unrealistic.
Sure NASCAR has some idiosyncrasies that need modification or change and racism certainly comes at, or very near, the top of that list. But care needs to be taken to temper that drive for change with a bit of careful consideration. NASCAR all cleaned up and polished will have lost a significant part of what has made it what it is today. It never was meant to be, nor do I believe it should be, a sanitized, politically correct form of recreation. Polished NASCAR would be somewhat like Churchill Downs on Derby day,. Suits, dresses, hats, gloves, and mint juleps are not NASCAR. Caps, T-shirts, chicken, and beer are. Buff the sharp edges and major tarnish, but be careful how hard you rub. The end result may not be something you don’t recognize.
I understand NASCAR is a cultural phenomenon. But it’s also a business. NASCAR officials have made a point of expanding nationally and seeking diversity to increase the fan base. In order to succeed, it’s going to have to change its historic image to attract a wider audience. If there is institutional racism, as was charged by Mauricia Grant, then it needs to change from within. If there is overt racism in the garage, it needs to be expelled.
This isn’t about buffing the sharp edges. It’s about ridding the sport of one of its main drawbacks to growth, and making it fan friendly for everyone.
Because the one thing NASCAR has going for it is its product: Racing. But too many people are never going to find that out because they won’t give the sport a chance.
Interesting read. While I lived it, I am not here to express my views on “Racism in NASCAR”. I conveyed those while I competed in NASCAR from 1999 through 2007. I did, however, want to correct an error in the story. Viv wrote that “If Davis is able to qualify on speed, he will become only the second African-American driver since the 1980s to actually race in a Cup event.” This is incorrect. The fact is, I followed the 3 Cup starts by Willy T. Ribbs in 1986 with 2 of my own in 2006.
Regards,
Bill Lester
Mr. Lester,
Yes, I know. As I wrote, if Marc Davis qualifies for the race, he will be the second since the 1980s to compete in a Cup race. You, of course, were the first. I apologize for not mentioning you by name. Although Wendell Scott, Willy T. Ribbs and you are the most well known African-American drivers to compete at the top level, there are reports that two more competed in the 1950s. So I believe Marc would be the sixth overall in 60 years.
I wish you would talk about some of the issues you faced when you were competing. I think it would help people realize that racism in NASCAR isn’t relegated to its past. It’s there, and needs to be addressed.
In response to another comment. See in context »Thank you for this article Viv, as I am emailing all journalists who have written about this. This needs to be talked about & watched closely because I believe Nascar’s idea is to let this die down & every1 will forget about it & nothing will be done, then back to the same ole, same ole. Part of the problem is that alot of ppl don’t want to talk about this, so that way, it’s never resolved & will keep happening over & over again.
I’m a 36 yr old African American female who’s been a Nascar fan for 3 yrs. This Sunday’s road race will be the last Nascar race I’ll be watching. I use to think that Nascar was committed to change, diversity, etc. but this Gaughan/Berry/Davis incident has shown otherwise.
I saw the comments Gaughan made in his postrace interview on 6/6/09 at the Nashville Nationwide race. Among other things, Gaughan called Marc stupid, & insulted him, his father, & Howard University, Marc’s sponsor. Said Georgetown(which he attended) was the better school/students were better educated there & that Marc couldn’t even spell ‘asinine’. His whole tirade ticked me off & I felt right there that it was tinged w/racism. I was so mad, I emailed Gaughan that night & told him how offended I was at his comments. I also emailed Rusty Wallace Racing, the team he races for.
Gaughan wrote back saying (of course) that he wasn’t racist, that he was actually a spokesperson for the Urban Youth Racing School & that he himself had hired blacks when he had his own raceteam. He said his dig at Howard was based on an old school rivalry he had w/them while he was at Georgetown. I wrote back & told him that he should have known better than to talk like that then.
I posted about this on a popular racing blog site the day after this race. While most ppl wanted to condemn Kyle Busch for smashing a guitar that he won, no one talked about how offensive Gaughan’s comments were & I posted this. The editor of the site, while polite, dismissed my concerns saying if I was looking for racism in Gaughan’s comments, that I would find nothing. Anyway, I contacted Marc’s dad & told him that I supported them & told Marc there are those of us who have his back & to keep his head up.
Well come the following Thursday, it was learned that Bryan Berry, Gaughan’s crew chief had been suspended for making racial slurs. So my & other ppl’s initial offense to Gaughan’s statements proved not to be unfounded, but true. Gaughan’s shouting over the radio ‘Do not let that kid leave until I’ve talked to him’, obviously empowered Berry to attack Marc like he did.
The Nationwide practice came on tv Friday, the next day, & to hear how Rusty Wallace & Brad Daugherty, a black team owner & former basketball star address the situation with basically spin & lies INCENSED me. Rusty said he backs his employee because the allegations were based on hearsay. Also, said that Marc’s father apologized to HIM & didn’t want to see Berry suspended…WHAT? After they played a taped explanation by Gaughan about his comments against Howard claiming it wasn’t meant as racist, Daugherty basically said the whole Howard thing was blown out of proportion.
I’ve emailed both Rusty Wallace again & Daugherty & told them exactly what I thought of them. As far as I’m concerned, they are dispicable liars & who in the hell could condone an 18 yr old kid being accosted w/profanity, slurs before he could even get out of his racecar? Daugherty, as a fellow black man in the sport, should be especially furious seeing this done to a young black male & should be ashamed of himself. We don’t need apologists. Marc did not deserve any of this, & the problem w/Nascar is that you actually got some stupid, twisted ppl who’ll somehow try to blame Marc for all this.
Nascar is not serious about ending racism in the sport because you have ppl at the top who upholds this kind of stuff. While publicly CEO Brain France is saying they have a “zero tolerance” policy, Rusty Wallace even said himself President Mike Helton told him they’ll see what they can do to bring Berry back ASAP from suspension. That right there tell me that Nascar is not serious. Berry should be fired.
IMO, 2 main culprits are Joe Balash, who’s over the Nationwide series & was 1 of the ppl named in Maurcia Grant’s lawsuit, & Mike Helton. They seem to want to keep the good ole boy network going on. In 1999, Helton promised a black hauler driver, David Scott that he could return to Nascar after they made him leave “for his own safety” after 2 white drivers approached him w/sheets over their heads, Klan style. So IMO, there’s a history w/these 2 here.
I wrote all this to try to give those who don’t follow Nascar some background as to what happened & as to what’s going on. No, the whole sport isn’t racist, but too many ppl who work in the sport are. Grant was right when she said that too many ppl there give their unqualified, uneducated relatives the hook-up in Nascar. That’s part of the problem. By Helton, Wallace, etc. taking the stance they have in this latest incident shows me they have learned nothing from the Grant lawsuit.
So now I’ll be contacting sponsors, advertisers, etc. & ask them to rethink their support of Nascar. I still support my favorite drivers, the good guys who are not racists in their other non-Nascar endeavors. Until Nascar is serious about change, I can’t continue to support them in good consciousness. Them doing this to an 18 yr old kid & his dad who’s just trying to race is disgusting, dispicable, & for me, the last straw.
Thank you for your comments. I’m not sure NASCAR realizes the damage these incidents do to its credibility beyond its insular world.
You might be interested in my Lampoon of the Week column as well: http://www.examiner.com/x-7930-Charlotte-NASCAR-Examiner~y2009m6d16-Lampoon-of-the-Week-Rusty-Wallace
God knows why, but recently I was reading a old Garry Wills profile of George Wallace, written just before Wallace was shot on the campaign trail in 1972. The article quotes Bill France, who was a key Wallace supporter (Florida state chairman for his ‘72 campaign, if I recall correctly). Wallace made appearances at lots of NASCAR events. And the love was reciprocated: as Governor of Alabama Wallace was instrumental in getting the track built at Talladega.
That was news to me, but might be no surprise at all to people more familiar than I am with racing and its history. To a large extent, racism-in-NASCAR is a dog-bites-man story. The takeaway of Viv’s post, to me, is that NASCAR wants to *appear* to support women and minorities in the sport, but won’t do a thing that risks offending its white male conservative fan base. Marc Davis has got a brutal uphill battle, and there is no equivalent of Branch Rickey in the front office who has his back.
Your Lampoon column was on point & you’re right, Nascar doesn’t realize the damage to it’s reputation & from how they’ve acted, I don’t think they care. I now see why other racing series fans rip/mock/disrespect the hell out of Nascar & rightly so!
I’ve been on various sites reading reactions to all this & I’m glad to say, to me it seems most of it is 50/50-some see Gaughan/Berry/Rusty’s wrong doing & other’s do not. Some have been beyond ridiculous in their negativity & stupidity & some of it is infuriating. But what I’ve thought to do is take the most offensive, stupid posts & save them, document it. It serves as proof as to why things need to finally change.
Alot of ppl question if Berry said this, I believe he did. As you know, Nascar has camera, mics, etc. everywhere & everything is monitored, seen in the control room & such. It’s my understanding that not only Marc’s sponsors heard what Berry said, but actual Nascar officials. Like I’ve said, if Rusty was serious about finding out the truth, why not ask for any footage there might be from the race & ask to speak w/the witnesses? His failure to take a stand to help diversity may end up affecting him personally; this isn’t just about Marc, but other diverse drivers & other drivers period. His niece Chrissy drives & I wonder how he’d feel if she had a run in on the track, & members of the other team called her out of her name. If & when this happens, Rusty better not say jack. I already feel he’s a liar, but he’d be the biggest hypocrite which he probably already is.
They’re hyping Danica coming to Nascar; I don’t care for her & she’d be an idiot to go. Nascar has shown that they don’t believe in ending stuff like this once & for all & she’d be in for the same kind of disrepect. $$$ isn’t everything.
Berry himself has showed how he feels by his own actions; not wanting to go to sensitivity training, & why isn’t he on tv or at least, released a statement proclaiming his innocence? Gaughan proved to be nothing but a liar as well, just like his crew chief & boss. In recent interviews, he was even quoted as saying he doesn’t care if Berry said what he said or not. So he feels it’s ok to use racial slurs, especially on an 18 yr old.
Anyway, keep shining the spotlight on these ppl, no matter how much some ppl may want you to stop. I know I am, it’s the 21st century for goodness sakes!
For those who are interested, please check out the book “Hard Driving-The Wendell Scott Story: An American Odyssey of Nascar’s First Black Driver” by Brian Donovan. If they were to write Marc Davis’ story, his track experience & Scott’s track experience would share alot of similarities which is unacceptable in 2009. Practically 50 yrs later & the same old problem. Pathetic.
[...] neanderthal complex appears deeply rooted in the graffiti filled bathroom as mental state known as auto racing from America’s confederate heartland. Last year’s $225 million lawsuit against Nascar [...]
That the Gaughan/Berry/Davis incident occurred,though
shameful,should not be shocking,given NASCAR’s erasing
the achievements of its sole African-American full-time
driver,Wendell Scott,who won the Turkey D
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