NASCAR dads.....useful demographic?

[buycitgo]

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The idiocy came from Jimmy Spencer's lips a few weeks ago in Texas when the driver was asked about NASCAR opening its doors for the first time to a foreign-headquartered manufacturer and allowing Toyota to compete in the Craftsman Truck Series. Dumbly, Spencer responded to reporters that the Japanese "bombed Pearl Harbor, don't forget.

....."One of most disappointing things is the number of negative e-mails I've gotten from people who can't believe I'm working on a `foreign' car," said renowned NASCAR crew chief Larry McReynolds, who's in charge of Toyota's top truck team. "I guarantee you the same fans booing Toyota at the track will go home and turn on their Mitsubishi TV sets."

Mike Skinner, a Toyota truck driver, added: "There are a lot of idiots raising Cain out there . . . . Some of these people need to get a life."

Actually, they need to get a clue. You say "Camry driver," and these dopes hear "kamikaze pilot."

"I can't tell you how many times I've been called a traitor," said Travis Kvapil, the defending Craftsman champion who'll be driving one of the seven Toyota Tundras on the truck circuit.

Do these people realize Toyota is responsible for about 175,000 jobs in the U.S. and has made more than 10 million cars in its nine manufacturing plants in North America?

In fact, an argument could be made that Toyota is just as American as Dodge, the company Spencer drove for last season. Dodge is owned by Chrysler, which recently merged with Daimler, a German automaker. That company's international headquarters is in Stuttgart, Germany.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/printedition/chi-0402120430feb12,...

gee, I don't know what to think about this

is it worth spending the money and effort going after this demographic?

I respectfully elicit thought on this apparently controversial topic

BTW, I/m a HUGE racing fan

[jayfish]

1. I Think That What We Need To Spend Our Time & Money...

on is education. After that the demographic will come on it's own.

Jay

[buycitgo]

3. agreed.....to a point

I work in a school, and money's not the complete story.

it's a combination of how it's allocated, where the money comes from, who controls the spending (which is how the fascists in power intend to DESTROY what's left of public education), local vs. state/fed control of programs

for example, under the NCLB scam, our junior high is most likely to be taken over by the state next year (we're in a NW Chicago suburb, one of the largest districts in the state), because of the high percentage of declining test scores over the last two years.

don't get me started on THIS subject, as it could theoretically result in almost EVERY fricing school in the country being taken over, if the fed rules are followed to the letter.

it's a huge, cynical joke, designed to privatize public education.

check it out, if you think I'm exaggerating

meant to post this, before I saw the above.

good luck getting this demo

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=1118265

[Jesus H. Christ]

2. Bush is going after them.

He's apparently taking a lap around the track next week.

I'm sure he's pandering to the white racist vote.

I'm also sure a good portion of the NASCAR fans are there looking for the great white hope. NASCAR itself has been accused of racism before.

That said, I wouldn't have a problem with the Dem nominee taking a spin around the track after Bush. If just for spite if nothing else.

And on the topic of spite, jesus fucking christ is NASCAR boring. Driving fast and turning left, yeah that's fucking talented. Is the only reason NASCAR is the haven for xenophobic americans because they couldn't stand losing to furriners in real car races? Probably.

[buycitgo]

4. couldn't agree more

so I started this thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=1118188&mesg_id=1118188

much more genteel here, right?

sort of like watching something go round and round in a circle

[Bridget Burke]

5. Yes.

Some of them are racist a**holes but you're stupid if you think all of them are.

To summarize my post on your earlier thread, many of them are interested in issues that ought to be on the Democratic agenda. Jobs, education & health care come to mind.

Many southerners have a tradition of military service. What do they think about fighting in a war based on lies? Lies told by a spoiled frat-rat AWOL Yankee?

(NASCAR does not interest me, but I find all televised racing quite boring, as well.)

[xxqqqzme]

6. has anyone ever seen

numbers on this demographic? I don't know one single male N2 racing so I'm curious 2 know where this demographic is. Like the other poster, I don't 'get' nascar or any racing - wasting resources to drive around ovals in loud cars????

[buycitgo]

8. it's a huge sport.....maybe number one (at least number 2) on TV!

huge crowds, in the hundreds of thousands, at some of the bigger venues

but don't get me started

as far as any demographic being useful

come on

think about that

what sorts of inroads are to be made in the bible belt of Southwest Indiana, for example?

ever been there? know anything about it?

resources being strained the way they'll be, it's incumbent, I think, to get votes from the MILLIONS and MILLIONS of unregistered single female voters.

Stan Greenberg thinks so.

who's he?

check into it

[buycitgo]

9. computer probs.....dupe post

[buycitgo]

11. see number 8 post

huge demo, but I think it's largely impenetrable

could be wrong, but I think resources are better applied elsewhere

[Rich Hunt]

7. any demographic is useful

...but I think the burden is on other NASCAR dads to speak to that demographic, because those types don't listen to me - my opinion is not valued.

I give up.

[Redneck Socialist]

10. Yes

<Sigh> OK, before this turns into a "nascar sucks and people who like it are idiots" flame fest, here are a few thoughts.

Admittedly this demographic is the flavor of the month right now, the new soccer moms if you will, but it is a large demographic with a lot of potential votes. In general it tends to skew a little more conservative socially (pro gun etc,) but economically it should be the Democratic party's bread and butter. By and large these should be Democratic voters and with a little work and the right message I think they can be.

The perception out there is that the Democratic party is the party of urban and suburban residents and the intellectual elite and this hurts us. Dean tried to reach out to these folks with his rebel flag and gun racks comment. The execution was rather clumsy but the idea is sound. We can get these guys by being more sensitive to rural concerns and stressing economic and labor issues. We can do it and we should.