Losing the diversity race.HATS OFF TO BLACK ENTERPRISE FOR the long overdue ink on Bill Lester Bill Lester (born February 6, 1961) is the driver of the #15 Chevrolet Silverado in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. He is the only African-American presently competing full-time in a NASCAR circuit. , a brother who's been out there trying to do the right thing for a long time ["The New Face of NASCAR NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing), organization that sanctions American stock-car races, est. 1948. It held its first race in Daytona Beach, Fla. ," April 2004]. It may interest your audience to know that the problem is far broader than just penetrating NASCAR. There are any number of capable black racers out here trying to break in or survive at all levels of the sport. In our typically solitary battles, we face the exact same problem Bill Lester does: lack of sponsorship money. Racing is an incredibly expensive pursuit; a season competing in even the lower professional ranks easily costs several hundred thousand dollars or more. For the big leagues, like the Indy Racing League The Indy Racing League, better known as IRL, is the sanctioning body of a predominantly American based open-wheel racing series. The League consists of two series, the premiere IndyCar Series (IRL 1. (jargon, chat) IRL - In real life. Generally synonymous with f2f. 2. (language, robotics) IRL - Industrial Robot Language. ), Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), or NASCAR, drivers need to bring several million dollars to the table just to get in a car. They must also be able to attract sponsors that will contribute much, much more. Hence, many talented and capable black drivers are forced to watch from the sidelines Sidelines Hypothetical position referring to noninvolvement in a stock; merely watching. , or simply give up altogether. George Mack This article is about the American racing driver, for the Australian ornithologist, see George Mack (ornithologist). George Mack (born July 21, 1971 in Hollywood, California) is a former Indy Racing League driver. He was the second African-American after Willy T. , the second black driver to race at Indianapolis, has been unable to compete in the IRL for the past two years. The distinguished Willy T. Ribbs William "Willy" Theodore Ribbs, Jr. (born January 3, 1955 in San Jose, California) is an African-American racecar driver who competed in many forms of auto racing. After retiring, he became a sport shooter in the National Sporting Clays Association. walked away from the sport, fed up with 25 years of the sponsorship shell game that black drivers are forced to endure. Although this is not a problem of our own making, it is a problem we can fix. Collectively, there are easily enough black corporate dollars to support those drivers who can hack it. It is up to the holders of those dollars to step up and help the racers fix the problem. We cannot casually sit back and wait for the major racing leagues to open their arms and embrace us because it is the right thing to do. That's never going to happen. Racing does not respect issues pertaining per·tain intr.v. per·tained, per·tain·ing, per·tains 1. To have reference; relate: evidence that pertains to the accident. 2. to culture, ethnicity, or diversity, but rather only the money it can generate. It is an industry fueled not by gasoline, but by huge amounts of capital. Perhaps the saddest part of the black racing [story] is that every significant, black corporate organization in this country has been approached by black drivers seeking sponsorship, only to [respond with] a rejection rate that is as high or higher than white corporations. The net is that black corporate America has simply ignored, if not outright snubbed, the black driver. For all of us, the bottom line is loss of lucrative racing-related business opportunities that organizations like NASCAR have reaped since day one. Weyman Watson Black Racing Alliance South Orange, NJ Weyman.Watson@boc.com |
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