Stereotypical NASCAR fan

In Sociology: A stereotype is a simplified and standardized conception or image invested with special meaning and held in common by members of a group: The cowboy and Indian are American stereotypes.

If you remember in one of my previous posts, I mentioned that I was accused of not being a typical NASCAR fan. I let it go at first but the more I thought about it, the more I realized how much I disagreed. What was surprising is this came from someone who has been in and around the sport for many, many years. If anyone should know who or what a typical NASCAR fan is, this person should.

So I asked him why I'm not a typical fan? His response to me was pretty much, you're just not. After talking about it a little more we discovered that his idea of a typical fan is one who wears the likeness or sponsor of their driver everywhere. Hats, shirts, jackets, etc. Me, here I was, in North Carolina on the hunt to meet my hero and I wasn't wearing anything that publically proclaimed my loyalty and support of Tony.


I asked him if that made me a classy fan, and he conceded that I was.

Interesting!

Do I look like what you would call a classy fan? The only thing I'm wearing is a Jeff Burton credential holder to show who I support.










Here are the four auction winners from last August. We each paid quite a large sum of money to ride around in a truck with a NASCAR driver. We travel to races and NASCAR events every chance we get. I would classify us as die-hard NASCAR fans.

So are we stereotypical NASCAR fans? Mind you, I'm the one in the black shirt and here I am, meeting my hero and I am wearing ONE item to show I'm a fan. Bet you can't even tell or guess what it is! It's a sterling silver chain with a #14 pendant.

That's it.

But according to the man in North Carolina, I'm not typical. Why? Because I'm not wearing an immodest tank top with Tony's face, sponsor and number plastered all over it? Because I have my teeth and don't have grits 5 times a day? Because I don't drink beer from morning until night on race days?





What about this person. Is he a typical NASCAR fan?
(Yes, I blacked out his face)

In this picture is a man who seriously dressed like this while waiting to see Tony Stewart on the Chevy stage at MIS this past June.I snapped this picture. He doesn't fit the redneck, hillbilly, blue jean wearing stereotype that I keep hearing reference to! He does have the beer thing going, but still, is he typical?

And next...

What about this guy here? I snapped a picture of him at MIS this past August. Side note - God help our society if the mullet becomes popular again!! Ugh.

Is he the typical NASCAR fan? Shirtless, blue jean shorts, beer in his right hand... as the cars passed in front of him he would raise his hand and proclaim loudly in a drunken slur that his driver needed to go faster or he would flip off Kyle Busch. Comical when you think about it.

I'm sure the drivers, going 200mph, can really see him! LOL


Not only did my independent study start me thinking down this path, my sister told me a funny story last night.

My sister Alisha went down to MIS with me on 8/19/2012. She told one of the lawyers that works in the firm she works for that she was going and what happened. She proceeded to tell him that now her and I (and my mom) are going to Chicago this weekend to see a concert at the Park West Theatre. The attorney looked flabergasted and asked if I was trashy or classy? How is that for stereotyping? I'm trashy as a NASCAR fan and classy if I attend a certain type of concert.

My bad... I didn't realize I was crossing some boundary line!

If you really start thinking about all the different stereotypes that I fall under, I must say that I'm having a bit of an identity crisis.

As a prelude to this blog, I asked a question on FB asking them to tell me what they thought was a stereotypical NASCAR fan. I was quite shocked that most had the same first thought of what a fan is: redneck, hillbilly, beer-drinking, males. MALES! I found that interesting even though some articles I had read hinted that at least 40% of the NASCAR fan base are women!

I leave you with this... are these stereotypes formed because it's the oddball, troublemakers that have a tendency to make the news? I compare it to our current problem with stereotyping Muslims. We distrust all Muslims because of what happened on 9/11 because we associate all the bad things with that day due to watching the news. Doesn't that work the same way for NASCAR fans? Are you going to see a picture of the CLASSY fan make the news or is it going to be the REDNECK HILLBILLY with no teeth, drinking beer with a mullet?

I bet you already know the answer to that one!