The Worst-Kept Secret
A Nascar race at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia. America's top racing franchise, with more than $380 million in revenue and a combined live and TV fan base of about 75 million, has a problem with race.
Fast Lane
Marc Davis, who Nascar hopes will become its Tiger Woods. Davis is accustomed to being asked this question: Why would a black kid from Maryland focus on Nascar, some of whose fans wave Confederate flags from R.V.'s in the infield on race day and become infuriated at the sight of Toyotas and even white foreign-born drivers participating?
Showing the Flag
As this scene from the Talladega 500 in April 2004 shows, Nascar's fan base remains largely white. C.E.O. Brian France is convinced that Nascar can continue to grow only if it broadens its minority fan base, which sits stalled at about 18 percent of its audience and is divided equally between blacks and Hispanics.
Pioneer
Wendell Scott is the only black driver ever to win a Nascar Cup race—a victory in 1963 at Jacksonville Speedway Park, in Florida. In the 60 years since Big Bill France founded Nascar in Daytona Beach, Florida, only three black drivers have ever competed in a top-tier race.
Sidelined
Bill Lester raced for years in the Craftsman Truck Series and, in 2006, made his Nextel Cup debut. He was the first black driver to reach Nascar's highest rung in 20 years, but a lack of sponsors ended his Nascar career.
Speed Thrills
Marc Davis has always loved racing. As a seven-year-old, Davis was the East Coast BMX racing champion in his age group.
Daredevil
Davis, at age eight, wins his first car race, in a quarter-midget racing machine.
Dreamer
Brian France has tried to diversify the sport by moving races to urban areas and creating opportunities for minority drivers. But diversifying while maintaining Nascar's hardcore Southern fan base has proved tricky.
Future Role Model?
Joe Gibbs, who recruited Davis when he was a 15-year-old racer with promise, hands him a million-dollar I.O.U., representing the teen's Nascar potential.
Back to: Nascar's Race Problem
