Journal Article Analysis A-1-3

The article I chose to analyze is Lawrence and Barbara Hugenberg’s “If It Ain’t Rubbin’, It Ain’t Racin’: NASCAR, American Values and Fandom” from The Journal of Popular Culture.
Lawrence Hugenberg received his PhD from The Ohio State University and is currently a Professor of Communication Studies at Kent State University. He has published numerous articles reporting his research on NASCAR and NASCAR fans. Barbara Hugenberg earned her PhD at Bowling Green State University and she’s currently an Assistant Professor and the Basic Communication Course Director in the School of Communication Studies at Kent State University. Her research interests include gendered fandom and gendered sports media.

The purpose of the article written by the Hugenberg’s is to explore reasons for the growth in popularity of NASCAR, discuss some of the various stereotypes associated with NASCAR, and recognize that NASCAR is American value based. NASCAR is at the heart of American pop culture.

It’s indisputable that NASCAR’s popularity grows exponentially year after year. While second in televised professional sports popularity only to professional football, NASCAR racing attracts seventeen of the top twenty live sporting event audiences each year. In fact, NASCAR’s Sprint Cup series is consistently able to fill those venues by averaging 180,000 spectators per race. So, just who are those NASCAR fans? The article by the Hugenberg’s explores the possible answers to that question.

To a non-racing fan, NASCAR is a source of multiple stereotypes. Its reputation as a regional sport from the south and southeast, lends itself to the stereotype that NASCAR fans are southern good-ol’ boys who drive trucks with their favorite driver’s number stuck to the rear window, bumper, or door. Fans are considered beer-drinking, cigarette-smoking, rednecks that would jump at the chance to defend the honor of their favorite driver.

The reality is that NASCAR’s fan base is much more than that. A sport that used to be enjoyed primarily by men now sees just as many female fans thanks to the marketing efforts of NASCAR to establish their drivers as sex symbols. Allstate insurance has made multiple commercials with the Allstate girls and Kasey Kahne, and Gillette’s Young Guns campaign features young, handsome, NASCAR drivers in print ads and commercials.

NASCAR has also expanded geographically beyond their original borders. A racing schedule that began years ago in the south and southeast has expanded to races in the west and north. In an effort to add new venues, the downside has been that some races are moved from venues popular with the fans. NASCAR works to create a balance that will draw in new fans, but not alienate their existing ones. NASCAR’s fan base now includes urbanites, college educated, middle-class professionals.

Another stereotype that NASCAR faces is the idea that it’s a white person’s sport. Through various diversity programs NASCAR is working to attract people of color as fans by having more people of color as drivers, engineers, and pit crew members. They sponsor a Drive for Diversity program by holding tryouts for people of color for the positions of drivers and crewmembers. It is NASCAR’s hope that this will dispel the myth of being a white person’s sport and diversify their fan base even more.

Regardless of the make-up of the NASCAR fan, it’s well established that NASCAR’s fans are some of the most loyal of any sport. They buy products their driver endorses from the beer they drink to the vehicles they drive. They crowd their favorite drivers’ semi-trailers at the race waiting to purchase driver apparel from hats to belt buckles. And when they attend the NASCAR races, they come early and stay late. When’s the last time you saw fields of RV’s parked at a football game?

NASCAR is America’s sport. NASCAR even has a requirement that their stock cars and trucks be manufactured in the United States. When Toyota first came onto the NASCAR scene, fans resisted. They wanted the American made Chevys, Fords, and Dodges, not a Japanese car maker in their sport. Although the Toyota vehicles were being manufactured in the United States, fans were still hesitant to throw their support behind a ‘foreign’ car in a purely American sport.

NASCAR is also seen as a battle between good and evil. Some drivers are perceived to be good and some perceived to be evil. That perception is in the eye of the NASCAR fan, but NASCAR, the race teams, and the drivers have the ability to manipulate that perception at will. Drivers who conduct themselves with composure on the track, and class off the track are considered to be good. Some examples are Bill Elliott, Mark Martin, Dale Jarrett, and Kyle Petty. Antics on and off the track however have earned some drivers the moniker of being evil. Those include Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, and Jeff Gordon.

Regardless of their persona, each driver and team recognizes the value of cooperation to the sport. Teams cooperate with each other by drafting during the race, pit crews cooperate with each other by sharing information and on occasion equipment. Drivers and crew chiefs cooperate with each other to determine what needs to be done to the car to ensure that it operates at its optimum level of performance. And finally, the driver and the spotter cooperate with each other to ensure that the driver is able to maneuver around accidents on the track safely.

In conclusion, the article by the Hugenberg’s was well written and easy to read. They pointed out their observations from attending the races and their research regarding the typical NASCAR fan. Their research also included numerous citations of research conducted by others close to the sport. My takeaway from the article is that NASCAR embodies diversity. They welcome fans of all ages and backgrounds. While the typical fan in the 80’s may have been that southern redneck, today’s fan may be the corporate tax attorney from a Chicago high-rise. There’s something for everyone in NASCAR, and if you don’t believe it, just Google it. There are over 49,000,000 hits for NASCAR.

References
Hugenberg, L. W., & Hugenberg, S. (2008). If It Ain't Rubbin', It Ain't Racin': NASCAR, American Values, and Fandom. The Journal of Popular Culture, 41(4), 635-657. Retrieved January 10, 2009, DOI: 10.1111/jpcu.2008.41.issue-4

Images
Jimmie Johnson (2008, November 14) Nascar.com http://www.nascar.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/2008/cup/0811/gallery.phoenix.cup.race2/