This past week I had the pleasure to present at the Consortium of Colleges and Universities Media Center conference (CCUMC) in Greensboro, North Carolina. One of the keynote speakers was Janie Brown, retired prof. of the Physical Education Department of Elon University. Her expertise is the economics of sports, and in particular the history of NASCAR, so she presented on the economics and history of NASCAR which I found fascinating. Having some friends who appreciate the sport - while not entirely understanding it myself - I thought it would be interesting to take a glimpse into the social experience of the average NASCAR fan.
NASCAR has been widely cited as the fastest growing sport in the United States and second most popular, behind the NFL. According to Prof. Brown's presentation, the sport has its roots in the south, where the sport likely traces its roots originally to bootlegging moonshine. Would be outlaws took "stock cars", modified them with souped-up custom parts and outran police in chases to avoid arrest or later, taxation. This area in Wilkes county, particularly around the Appalachian which has long since been skeptical of government intervention, made celebrities out of these drivers. Over time, stock car racing became popular around the southeastern area and starting in the 30's as a racer and later promoter, William France, Sr. in the 40's incorporated NASCAR and began to enforce admission to watch races in Daytona, Florida. NASCAR expanded, and tracks were created elsewhere including Talladega speedway (AL), Charlotte Speedway (NC), Daytona (FL) and moving north to Indianapolis. Tracks can now be found across the country, but the base is widely cited as the south and midwest. As a result of these beginnings, and as one who was just in North Carolina during the Lowes Charlotte, NASCAR is very much embedded into the culture of the southeast. But, to be the second largest growing sport something else must be at work. I mention some possible rationale below during my observation.
So who is a NASCAR fan? According to a
2004 ESPN survey of adults, there are 75 million NASCAR fans (1/3 of all adults), the average fan is male though just barely (60/40), it is a sport with younger fans (54% are between 18-44), and are middle class (46% earn 30-70k; 41% earn 50K+). According to a
Scarborough research report the race is overwhelming white (up to 86%), and 60% have some post-secondary education, according to
Suite 101.
Perhaps, nothing is as telling about the appeal of NASCAR as its orientation as a family sport. 60% of viewers are married, and 37% have children under 18 (compared to 34% of the general population) according to the ESPN survey.
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I observed my friends (a close friend and his wife) and interviewed them watching the NASCAR Sprint race.
Observation and Interview:Discuss the specific social viewing/game participation practices that you observed:My friend often switched back and forth through out the afternoon. It seems that NASCAR is more like a sport that is watched off and on Sunday afternoon. In addition, the event is not necessarily as much about a particular race but the standings over an entire racing season. His wife stopped in for a bit, then a son was watching, channels were flipping, people were relaxing even sleeping.
I suspect that the passive viewing experience is partially responsible for its popularity (tv on and spending Sunday afternoon with the kids (they have 2), as mentioned in the family demographics above). I heard their older son exclaim "the M&M car!" the car of Kyle Busch, their favorite driver.
In contrast, earlier my friend and I were watching football and were actively engaged, passionately yelling at the T.V. over each play. NASCAR does not appear to incite the same passion (perhaps, because it's hard to sustain over 500 laps!)
What was their shared social agendas?I observed a loyalty to paying attention to a specific driver: Kyle Busch. This is something that was mentioned in Brown's presentation that often also translates into driver sponsor brand loyalty (e.g., Kyle Busch - M&M's).
My friend and his wife also mentioned that they became interested in Kyle Busch in part because her sister likes Busch, and they started following him. This commitment by association for fandom is fascinating, as other sports generally gather a following due to geography.
How were their social purposes for responding shaping their responses?Their interest was shaped by their internal and extended family. It appears to be one of the few shared recreational experiences they share as husband and wife. In addition, there appears to be shared experience with extended family through being fans of Kyle Busch.
What were the shared stances?They both like Kyle Busch. My male friend is also a fan of Tony Stewart.
What was the relationship between their own stances and the stance invited by the text or context (T.V.)?The race correspondents generally appear agnostic to particular drivers. They report what is happening and try to explain strategy. The reporting of the race itself did not appear to incite a reaction.
How do these shared stances reflect their attitudes or certain discourses?That said, there is a ticker at the top of the screen and my friends were commenting that certain drivers did not deserve to be at the top. For example, Kyle Busch was farther back, and they were shocked another driver was near the top. Having both appreciate the same drivers provided this framework.
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While the presentation, research, and observation still leave me challenged to fully explain the appeal of NASCAR racing, for the home viewer (people who attend the events live are a different discussion), I believe that significant appeal relate to:
1) social acceptance derived from shared dedication to one or few drivers
2) the relaxed weekend viewing experience with family
3) cultural identity (particularly in the south and midwest)
4) some appreciation for motor sport (these cars move fast!) and strategy
5) drama, including crashes and driver's personas (e.g., Kyle Busch is a bad guy).
Please note: I did not want this piece to be about repudiating or confirming the stereotype of a NASCAR "redneck"(generally portrayed as a white, southern male, with Christian social conservative values (old southern democrat), racist, poor hygiene, uneducated, and lower class).
While some of these aspects may be visible in some of the base, stereotypes of course, do not ascribe themselves well to empirical study (i.e., what is considered uneducated? Low class? "Redneck" (other then nominal Irish descent)?) So I wanted this to be a study of what I researched and observed. For the record, one of the two friends are well educated (he is an engineer and has a UofM degree in Aeronautical Engineering, she has no post-secondary experience), they live in the midwest - Michigan, could be considered a Christian values conservative Republican, is likely solidly middle-class, white, married, racially tolerant, and lives in a suburban home. They fit the demographic reported by NASCAR, but not necessarily the one that I began my study with.
