NASCAR and Politics: Why It's Not a Good Idea

On any given Sunday, 43 stock cars are turned into 180 mph billboards, advertisements from The Home Depot to Budweiser and Cheerios. Even major league baseball teams and rock bands have had their names and logos plastered on hoods and quarter panels.

But recently NASCAR has mixed two very unlikely things: racing and politics, and not racing politics. The only politics that NASCAR is used to is what tough decisions to make such as who gets penalized, who doesn't, and what new rules to implement.

And for the longest time it was keeping the red states of Junior Nation and the blue states of Jeff Gordon faithful and happy.

It all began as something simple, with logos telling Americans to get out and vote, such as Martin Truex, Jr.'s car did at Daytona with a beautifully painted red, white, and blue car. However, that's all neutral—there's no campaigning going on.

We've seen NASCAR drivers visit the White House and even park their race cars on the front lawn and its become tradition that the Sprint Cup champion visits personally with the President and presents him with a signed helmet.

Political figures have even started to attend more races, some as a platform for their campaign. Then-President Ronald Reagan was on hand for Richard Petty's 200th career win, and President George W. Bush attended half of the 2004 Daytona 500 and later called winner Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in victory lane to offer his congratulations.

Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani attended last year's Pepsi 400.

Now with the Sprint Cup Series visiting the Auto Club Speedway twice a year, it's become common to see Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in the pits.

In 2003 Bob Graham, who was hoping to run for president as the democratic nominee, sponsored a truck in the Craftsman Truck Series. We've also seen drivers and announcers endorse and carry logos in support of their nominee.

The danger that could come if the political arena begins to come to NASCAR more and more, is having the fans attend a campaign rally, filled with speeches and lobbying, then be treated to a race afterward.

Do we really want to tune in to watch all that, then a three hour pre-race show, and then finally be able to view the race which will start by 8:00, eastern standard time, on a Sunday night?

And you better hope by this time your cable or dish network TV doesn't cut out. Or do you want to attend the race and sit in the scalding hot sun while the nominees make their points? A lot of fans come for the racing and nothing more—the focus needs to stay on the auto race.

I don't want my favorite sport(s), which I tune in to escape the stress and hardships of the day, mixed with who will run my country. Let's save that for a work day. Sunday is for racing.

However, this is a brilliant move on the part of John McCain and Barack Obama, if it turns out to be true.

Think about it: they need to get their name and message out to many people of many different races. NASCAR programming is generated in millions of homes across almost every state and many countries (even if they can't vote in the election). It's a big business with a lot of money on the line and the nominees' message will be heard.

Except Senator Barack Obama's.

"The Obama campaign will be not sponsoring a car in the Sprint Cup Series, though we will continue to look for ways to reach out to voters and convey Senator Obama's message of change," said an Obama campaign spokesman.

So it looks like my wish of not mixing politics and racing will stay safe—at least until the next election.