At Jellybeans, politics not big deal with NASCAR Dads

Racing fans at the bar were interested primarily in racing.
By TIM BLANGGER
THE MORNING CALL (ALLENTOWN, PA.)
ALLENTOWN, Pa. -- Revving engines roared in lifelike stereo from the industrial-grade sound system inside Jellybeans South Side Jam, a local bar. It was race day, and not just any race day, but the Daytona 500, the first and biggest NASCAR event of the season.
A bartender rang the bar's silver "happy hour" bell twice. The race would begin in a few minutes.
Well before the bell, NASCAR fans, many wearing hats, jackets and T-shirts supporting their chosen driving heroes, claimed prime spots at the bar, or rearranged tables in a large room nearby. Televisions vied for wall space with beer-sponsor posters, and there was no shortage of either.
On the surface, Jellybeans seemed the ideal spot to survey one of the potentially important and sought-after voting blocs for the upcoming presidential election -- NASCAR Dads.
Politics
Political pundits claim these voters, who tend to be white, middle-class males with a conservative political bent -- but, significantly, no strong affiliations to one political party -- will sway the upcoming presidential election in much the same way mini-van-driving Soccer Moms likely swayed past elections.
But in the moments before the race began at Jellybeans, the NASCAR Dad phenomenon had less cachet than it seems to have among the talking heads on political talk shows. Here, NASCAR fans had a very different idea of what a NASCAR Dad might be. For those willing to venture a guess, it was a reference to the way some sons (or nephews) of famous NASCAR drivers eventually take up the sport.
Politics didn't enter the picture.
"You're kidding," said Joe Kuzman, 50, who couldn't hide his dismay at the notion of politicians courting NASCAR votes. Kuzman follows the news faithfully, but doesn't vote regularly and may not in the fall presidential election, he said.
"What's going to hurt Bush in this election is the economy. The economy and jobs," said Kuzman.
NASCAR Grandad
In the larger room adjacent to the bar, Dave Moll, 57, was celebrating a birthday with his family. Moll counts as a NASCAR Grandad. His son, Scott, 27, is also here, with his two sons and several other extended family members and friends.
"I don't really follow politics, although I know I should," said Moll. He keeps tabs on the news, but just finds racing more interesting. Moll plans his family vacation around NASCAR races, with a trip to the North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham each fall a highlight.
Scott Moll plans to vote. A registered Democrat, he usually votes straight ticket. "I just push one button," he said, adding that the economy and "all the jobs going overseas" are the most important issues in the upcoming election.
If the NASCAR Dad phenomenon barely registers a ripple at Jellybeans South Side Jam on race day, it did raise a few hackles elsewhere, especially among NASCAR officials, who find themselves presiding over a sport that started as a Southern regional specialty, but now is followed by people across the country and beyond. NASCAR numbers its fans at about 75 million.
When the political NASCAR Dad notion first emerged late last year, the suggestion that NASCAR was a white male's preserve didn't sit well with NASCAR's chief operating officer, George Pyne, who wrote an op-ed column published in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Outlines fan base
In the column, Pyne outlined the sport's fan base. It has roughly as many female fans as male fans, a remarkable statistic among professional U.S. sports fans. Everyone may not be able to identify with the gazelles who catch 70-yard touchdown passes or the 6-foot-8 beanpoles who sink baseline jump-shots, but just about everyone drives. And with NASCAR's engine restriction rules, there are times when races actually seem like workday rush-hour traffic, with packs of cars running three abreast, transforming the banked tracks into commuter highways.
The fan base is also evenly spread among Democrats and Republicans -- roughly 40 percent each -- with the rest independents. And roughly 20 percent of the fan base is among "people of color," representing the sport's fastest-growing market, according to Pyne.
Celinda Lake, a Democratic pollster based in Washington, first spotted the trend among swing voters two years ago. She claims the Democratic party would have to secure the votes of at least half of the NASCAR Dads if the party were to regain the White House in November.
But since her research was released, the notion has taken on a life of its own. Others have added to the theory of what, exactly, constitutes a NASCAR Dad. Other pundits have claimed that NASCAR Dads are predominantly Republican, get speeding tickets emulating their heroes on the highways, drink lots of beer and pop lots of Viagra, which, incidentally, is also a major NASCAR sponsor.
However the notion is used, NASCAR fans have clearly become important players in this year's election. President Bush made a formal visit to Daytona this year, and voiced the famous phrase, "Gentlemen, start your engines," which set the race in motion.