Minorities Receive Assistence Through NASCAR Affiliation
Diversity and the inclusion of minorites in auto racing has been a subject with a long history in all its forms. NASCAR’s recent efforts have included signing a women (the third to compete in an entire season) to compete in the Busch Series and the Series moving a race date to Mexico City. Along with that move they enticed Mexican natives Adrian Fernandez and Michel Jourdain Jr to join the Series. (note the local press hasn’t been very kind with their native sons.) NASCAR took alot of heat when reacting to pressure from a conservative legal watchdog group and racing fans when it decided to cut its funding of Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. At the time NASCAR President Mike Helton said the organization “supported the Rainbow Coalition’s work on diversity issues, we do not endorse many of Rev. Jackson’s political views or any other political views.” As it should be unless your Max Mosley or Bernie Ecclestone, lord and masters of Formula One, who seam too delight in the political side of racing “Eurostyle.”
All of which brings me to today’s “good news” minority story. Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius with the Kansas African-American Affairs Commission has awarded Kansas Speedway with its Distinguished Service Award.
“I’m proud that Kansas Speedway continues to be a corporate model for other companies to follow,” speedway President Jeff Boerger said. “We’ll continue to work hard to increase our participation with minority-owned businesses throughout Kansas because we are committed to equal economic opportunities for everyone.”Over the past four years, Kansas Speedway has steered more than $6 million to minority businesses in the Kansas City area. During the construction phase alone, Kansas Speedway paid out more than $44 million to local minority-owned businesses involved in the construction of the track.
The speedway has also been recognized by the Minority Supplier Council and was recently named Corporation of the Year. All very impressive for a bunch of supposedly, red-necked, beer-swilling, racist, pot-bellied baffoons wearing “I love NASCAR T-shirts.”
