THE RACE TRACK IS NO PLACE FOR AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

I guess it was only a matter of time.

Bobby Norfleet is accusing NASCAR of racism because
they wouldn’t let him qualify for last weekend’s truck race at Pike’s Peak. NASCAR’s
reason? Lack of experience on a superspeedway. But Norfleet’s black, and NASCAR’s too easy
a target.

Norfleet failed to qualify at Martinsville on April
8. He was dead last with a lap time almost 3 seconds slower than the pole. That’s 11 miles
per hour slower than the fast qualifier. He did make the Portland road course race, where
he started last with a speed 5 seconds slower than the driver in front of him, and over 15
seconds slower than the pole speed. Interestingly enough, they only started 33 trucks in
that race, which isn’t a full field.

So, what do we do when we’re
"discriminated" against? We protest! A dozen people picketed Daytona
International Speedway on Monday and they’re threatening other protests against NASCAR.

I’ve never heard of Norfleet before, but apparently
he’s raced motorcycles and dragsters before. As Steve Kinser found out, just because
you’re good in one form of racing doesn’t mean you’ll be good in another.

It’s not like this is the first person (notice the
lack of racial adjective before "person") who was ever prohibited from racing on
a track because NASCAR felt they didn’t have enough experience. Andy Kirby wasn’t
permitted to race in the Daytona Busch race last year because of his lack of experience on
superspeedways. Joe Buford wasn’t permitted to race at a superspeedway for the same
reason. These two guys represent a total of five track championships at Nashville
Speedway, so it’s not like they came out of nowhere.

Norfleet says he wants to meet with NASCAR to
discuss the situation to see if the decision to send him home was racially motivated. Who
knows what will happen if he isn’t satisfied with NASCAR’s explanation? I guess we’ll see
Bryant Gumbal doing another hit piece on NASCAR because of this, and now with
"proof" that there’s racism at the upper levels of NASCAR.

When a driver has a helmet and a firesuit on, you can’t tell the color of his skin (or even "his" sex for that matter). All you can tell is how fast they run the car. Minorities have been screaming for years for equality. This is the ultimate in equality.

Mark Darlington, Norfleet’s PR flack, said "Our
sights are set high and we want to work with NASCAR to achieve them. But if we sit down
with people and get the impression that there’s a smoke screen going up, then our protest
is just beginning." Doesn’t sound much to me like they want to work with NASCAR.

After all is said and done, I can see NASCAR
capitulating, just to keep from getting the bad press. Imagine this scenario: "NASCAR
today announced that effective immediately, the rules regarding provisionals have been
modified. In all NASCAR sanctioned races, from the Weekly Racing Series up to the Winston
Cup Series, a provisional will be given to any minority who does not otherwise make the
field. We can’t be concerned with the skills of minorities or their safety or the safety
of their competitors. This policy is strictly based on the color of one’s skin. If a
minority shows up and wants to race, we won’t stop him (or her). If they need a car, we’ll
instruct one of our current team owners to put him in an existing car for the race."

Do we really want to put drivers out there who don’t
have enough experience on big tracks? Do we really want to put everyone on the track at
risk because someone thinks that their skin color should outweigh their skills? NASCAR has
already caved on this race issue as far as I’m concerned by hiring the minority
consultant. How far are they supposed to go?