Racing for sponsorship.

LET ME COMMEND YOU ON YOUR ARTICLE ON BILL LESTER, NASCAR, and the trials and tribulations of other minority racers ["The New Face of NASCAR," April 2004]. Your article truly characterizes NASCAR's attempts to diversify the sport from our prospective. I applaud NASCAR's efforts to improve diversity in the sport, but I believe much more can be done. As the owner of an African American professional motorcycle road racing team, I relate to the issues at hand.

My company and team, One Shot Racing L.L.C. (www.oneshotracing.com), is one of few, if not the only, professional African American-owned and -staffed teams in our sport. We compete in the NASCAR series equivalent for motorcycles--the AMA race series (American Motorcyclist Association). Our struggles are consistent with other minority teams and NASCAR racers. We have little funding from sponsors, a limited pool of African American racers, few racing facilities near urban areas, and inadequate support by the AMA to increase diversity in the sport--despite an increasing African American fan base. Similar to other minority race teams, our goal is to provide awareness of the sport to our culture, teach the importance of motorcycle safety, and harness the economic power African Americans provide. The two major differences between our sport and NASCAR are that it is less expensive to purchase a motorcycle to start racing and that African Americans make up a large portion of motorcycle sales and related products in the U.S. These differences provide a mechanism for sponsors to market directly to African Americans, more so than NASCAR.

Regardless of the type of racing, I hope this article provides further awareness of the opportunities minorities have within motor sports. Although there are currently some barriers to entry, we can hurdle these barriers through our collective voice--socially and economically. I commend pioneers such as Wendell Scott, Willy T. Ribbs, Bill Lester, William "Storyteller" Johnson, Adrian "Buzzoman" Jones, and many other notable athletes who are paving the way for participants and fans in the future. These guys are genuine heroes and should be celebrated for their participation in a sport where the odds are stacked against them from the start. I can only hope that NASCAR, other sanctioning bodies, and the public will realize the marketing power behind a strong diversity initiative.

Jeffrey A. Coles

President and CEO 

One Shot Racing L.L.C.

Bowie, MD

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