Man of the year: It's the NASCAR Dad

The Orange County Register
Published Saturday, December 27, 2003

SANTA ANA, Calif. -- He's got a number, in white, pasted somewhere on the back of his car, an homage to his favorite racer and a secret-handshake-style sign to others in the know.

His car, by the way, might actually be a car, not a truck or an SUV. It might even be a non-Detroit brand.

He's got a bit more money in his pocket than the average American, and his level of education is virtually average. Both characteristics outpace his old image.

He does not run moonshine.

He's younger than you might think. He's likely to be white - no surprise there - but it's no longer a given. He's still a he, but in at least one context even that's only a 60-40 proposition.

He is NASCAR Dad.

And, a year from now, he might be the political yang to Soccer Mom's yin.

He's not a person, of course; he's an idea, a huge swath of mythical male voters (about 45 million, by most estimates) who happen to be fans of NASCAR, one of the few TV sports more popular today than it was five years ago.

And, like the equally mythical Soccer Mom, who swung elections in the 1990s, modern NASCAR Dad is a huge player where auto racing is hot and voting is a big deal.

Academics don't take NASCAR Dad too seriously.

"It's one of those inevitably over-simplified titles," says Phil Gianos, a political science professor at Cal State Fullerton.

"You have to be careful with labels like that."

Maybe, but pundits don't seem afraid. They've been talking up ND a lot lately on TV and radio. In the past month, the phrase "NASCAR Dad" has crept into more than 40 newspaper and magazine stories.

There's reason for the interest. Celinda Lake, the Democratic strategist who is credited with helping to elect Bill Clinton, is widely reported to believe that the next president will need to win over about half of all NASCAR Dads next November.Others say the voting bloc -- generally viewed as heavily Republican -- needs only to be whittled into by Democrats in a few key states to trigger an electoral shift.

In any case, politicians of every stripe are courting NASCAR Dad in a big way.

Last summer, Florida Sen. Bob Graham, a Democrat, sponsored a "Graham for President" entry in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. He won a truck race (Kansas City), but gave up in the sprint to be president.

Meanwhile, President George W. Bush is already in mid-woo. Last month he had NASCAR champ Matt Kenseth and several other big-name drivers over to the White House. Photos were taken and distributed to news outlets.

But for all the interest and talk and even electoral lust, one thing about NASCAR Dad is increasingly clear.

Nobody knows who the heck he is.

"In political and social terms, a NASCAR Dad probably enjoys domestic-made, mass-produced beer, is evocatively proud to be an American ... has just slightly more than a high school education ... and probably has what we would generally call a blue-collar occupation," says Mark Petracca, a professor of political science at UC Irvine.

Petracca is quick to admit he's taking a guess an outdated one at describing NASCAR Dad.

"It's not a group I know much about ... I'm using stereotypes."

Two words: Red. Neck.

Two other words: Wrong. Wrong.

Or so say NASCAR marketers and followers.

"It's not like that. I'm not like that," says Richard Whitford, a longtime NASCAR fan from Placentia, Calif.

Whitford, a mechanical engineer and a project manager for a pollution-control company in Anaheim, is a prime example of the modern NASCAR Dad.

Yes, he has a truck (though his previous car was a Porsche Boxster). And, yes, he's got a tiny "3" on the rear window, in honor of the late Dale Earnhardt, the superstar of NASCAR who died two years ago in a crash on the last lapism, have come under fire recently, losing support even among some conservatives.

How millions of auto-racing fans view the Iraq war could, if pundits are to be believed, change history.

"What's interesting to me is the 'Dad' part of the label 'NASCAR Dad,' " says Cal State Fullerton's Gianos.

"Traditionally, you would assume that NASCAR Dads would be aggressive in foreign-policy issues. But the Dad factor might temper that."

What's more certain is that NASCAR Dad will vote.

"It's a diverse group, but the key characteristic is passion," says California Speedway's Miller.

"Race fans are the most passionate people I've ever met, not only about their sport, but about issues, the sponsors, relationships, their family."

Miller says it's too early to know who might advertise at the track next year. But he's not ruling out political ads, particularly now that NASCAR has switched its key sponsorship affiliation from cigarette maker Winston to communications giant Nextel.

"When you look at the infield, where the RVs are parked, you see the fans raise the American flag and the flag of their drivers about 90 percent of the time," Miller says.

"I don't know what that means politically, but I do know this: Our people are passionate about their beliefs."

Whatever they may be.