The fans of the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) are a very monolithic breed. Unlike other sports that have made a very concerted effort to reach out to fanbases and ethnic groups of all kinds, NASCAR seems to be content with its very monolithic White, Southern fanbase that largely resides in the American Bible Belt of the South (Newman and Giardina; Todd) because of its fierce loyalty and ability to carry the brand throughout its travels to various oval racetracks throughout the country. One aspect of NASCAR that also differs from the progression of other top-tier American sports leagues is its unapologetic loyalty to fundamental Christian values and the belief that God has an interest or stake in any athletic contest that occurs on earth. This paper will explore this aspect of NASCAR Nation’s culture in a deeper fashion and examine how the violence that takes place during the races by way of crashes and physical confrontation between drivers is somehow justified by Christianity’s canon and culture within the American south.
NASCAR Nation, the term that is used to label NASCAR’s casual and hardcore fanbase (Todd 2), has a very solid fundemental Christian presence that involves asking the Lord for protection during races and using the cultural traits and stereotypes that are associated with the White Southern brand of Christianity to influence the behavior of fans, drivers, special guests, and any other stakeholders that are a part of the NASCAR sanctioned races and competitions. Newman’s sentiments about NASCAR’s expression of Christianity are metaphorical yet still practical, as they write about the win or lose nature that can be found in stock car racing’s culture and Christianity’s views about salvation and if there is any grey area around it. In Newman’s paper, they write that Christians are either saved or they or not and, if they or not, they only have hell waiting for them. Many of the fans in NASCAR have taken this same sentiment with them to the track, as they shun top-5 or -10 finishes instead of embracing the fact that their favorite drivers had to compete and jostle on the same oval as 30 to 39 other competitors.
However, the metaphors are not the only way that the White Southern brand of the Christian faith presents itself, as many NASCAR races begin with the Lord’s prayer or some other type of invocation that sets the mood and the belief that God has been called to watch over a race and ensure that no drivers meet their untimely demises during competition (Newman). Now, praying before a game is not something that is that uncommon at sporting events in the Southern United States, but many other sports follow or precede the official prayer with the playing of a patriotic song that goes in addition to the “Star-Spangled Banner.” Instead, in NASCAR’s case, the racing association often has songs like “God Bless America” being performed instead of sport specific classic like Baseball’s “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” (Newman).
While songs like “God Bless America” are patriotic and fit with the overall conservative politics and culture of NASCAR Nation, it shows that the racing association is willing to pander to this audience a great deal and be just as unapologetic about its Christian faith and heritage as the fans who support the association’s product and have made it become the fastest growing sports league (in terms of popularity and viewership) in the United States (Newman and Giardina 482). This leads the discussion into something that is immediately present when one turns on a NASCAR race and that is that the event is a pure, athletic representation of what like and culture in the Southern United States is for poor, small town White people.
Many of the White people who enjoy NASCAR are raised up in the same generational stereotypes as the ones before them. This includes men being able to handle themselves in hand-to-hand combat and be able to own and drive a pickup truck as if it is their birthright and the right thing to do. Likewise, this also means that White Southern women are conservative fundamental Christians that focus on the family and making sure that their children and husbands are happy and well taken care of (Hirschman, Ruvio, and Belk 330). When looking at how the drivers are willing to bump cars with each other and willingly confront the people who bumped them after a race, it can be seen that the Southern rules of manhood and culture have been imbedded in the drivers and their crews as well.
It may seem contradictory that Christians are so easy to confront each other with anger but this is why it is important to realize that the Christianity practiced in White Southern households is different than the various other brands of Christianity that may been seen in the rest of the United States or throughout the rest of the entire world. Knowing this, the expression of the Christian faith seen in NASCAR is extremely authentic and it bleeds into some of the broader topics and viewpoints that can also be seen within the NASCAR Nation and the drivers, pit crews, and broadcasters that participate in and cover the sport. Some may not be able to see the practicing of their faith through the explicit conservative values and patriotism that goes on during the pregame rituals of NASCAR races, but one has to realize that many of the political and cultural views that NASCAR fans have is rooted in their Christian beliefs and the faith that A) God will look over all the drivers and B) God will help their drivers win the race and, in turn, their oh so beloved bragging rights.
- Hirschman, Elizabeth, Ayalla Rubio, and Russell W. Belk. “Appalachian Mountain Men-of-Action: Nascar at Bristol.” Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 40, 2012, pp. 327-333.
- Newman, Joshua I. “Full-Throttle Jesus: Toward a Critical Pedagogy of Stockcar Racing in Theocratic America.” Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies, vol. 32, no. 3, 2010, pp. 263–294., doi:10.1080/10714413.2010.495254.
- Newman, Joshua I. and Michael D. Giardina. “NASCAR and the ‘Southernization’ of America: Spectatorship, Subjectivity, and the Confederation of Identity.” Cultural Studies ↔ Critical Methodologies, vol. 8, no. 4, 2008, pp. 479–506., doi:10.1177/1532708608321578.
- Todd, James E. The Anatomy of a Race: Labor, Salvation and the Intimacy of Spectacle in NASCAR® Nation. 2011. ProQuest.
