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BRANT JAMESThe goal of both is to create a safe, inviting place for minorities.
Shawn Griffith has challenged NASCAR to "write a happy ending" to his documentary on racism within the sport, to temper the controversial footage he has captured and posted on the National Association of Minority Race Fans' Web site.
But the timing of the film actually might allow NASCAR to highlight the progress it has made from a hell-raising spectacle to a legitimate league moving toward the mainstream.
NASCAR says it shares the association's stated goal of creating a safe, inviting place for minorities. But it is skeptical, according to NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston, that is the Las Vegas-based fans group's real goal.
NASCAR says it is concerned Griffith and his group are out to make money by exploiting NASCAR and prevailing stereotypes.
"I think they've also stated very plainly the documentary they are producing is a commercial venture," Poston said at a protest last week outside Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. "They want to play it in theaters, and they want to make money from it. There is nothing they have done or said that leads us to believe they are not motivated by profit."
Jirard Brown, a director of the fans group who never has attended a race, says NASCAR has been subversive in its attempts to sabotage the group, going as far as hacking into its Web site and thwarting its attempts to speak with NASCAR sponsors. Poston says the group is using attack techniques and aliases to bully sponsors.
The group's methods have raised questions. It had to import 18 protesters from Fort Worth, Texas, for its first demonstration last Saturday, but the group elicited a response likely to make the final cut of the documentary tentatively titled Dixie 500: The Revolution and scheduled for release Feb. 20, the same date as the Daytona 500.
Certainly, a walk through a campsite at a NASCAR event can be a surreal experience. Brown said he heard racist remarks directed toward him as he walked through a Charlotte parking area last fall. African-American police officers watching the rally said minorities are "no less safe than anybody else," at least at Lowe's.
Saturday's protest revealed the obvious: Given enough alcohol and the proper stimulation - be it political or pep rally - a segment of any 140,000-person group will display antisocial behavior.
One fan yelled the protesters should "go try basketball" because NASCAR "is a Southern sport."
Steve "Doc" Parker, a director of the group who runs a community outreach center in Fort Worth, said he never had been confronted at a race but received unfriendly looks two years ago at Texas Motor Speedway.
About a third of his pickets, members of his outreach program, wore NASCAR clothing, and he noted that Dale Earnhardt Jr. was "real popular in the 'hood because he likes hip-hop music."
Ironically, the only passers-by who responded to the protesters up to a half-hour before the race began wore Earnhardt gear.
That begs the question whether it is within NASCAR and track operators' ability to affect societal change in fans.
"No matter who you are or where you go, you're always going to see differences in opinions. Not everybody is going to like you - no matter who you are," Earnhardt said. "Many years ago there was probably a lot of (racism) around. I'm not going to sit up here and sugarcoat the fact that, yeah, there probably were 300 percent more rebel flags in the infield than there are today. I think the sport is changing. Its willingness to change should be noted and appreciated."
Though NASCAR has banned the use of Confederate flags by drivers and official vendors, one flew from a recreational vehicle near pit road last Saturday. While it continues to offend some, many African-Americans like Bill Lester ignore it.
"I know it's there, but as long as it's not being waved in my face, I don't have a problem," said the 43-year-old Californian who drives in the NASCAR Truck series. "It's a cultural thing for those who were brought up with it. I don't look at it as a symbol of oppression."
NASCAR defends its minority record by pointing to an ESPN poll that concluded that African-American fans increased by 17.8 percent from 1995 to 2001 and by referencing what it has done on the competition side.
Its case is given credibility by the African-Americans who have associated with the sport the past few years. In May, retired NBA star Magic Johnson was named co-chairman of the newly formed executive steering committee for diversity. Retired NFL star and civil rights activist Reggie White owns a minority development team in conjunction with Joe Gibbs Racing. NASCAR's minority driver program is growing. On Tuesday, Kentucky men's basketball coach Tubby Smith announced he will co-own a Busch series team in 2005.
"There are so many opportunities for people of color, and not just African-Americans, to be involved with NASCAR in some capacity," Smith said. "After I started investigating what NASCAR is about and the direction it's going and some of the people that are involved with NASCAR ... you really find out that there are a lot of great folks in NASCAR, just like there are in college basketball."