Obama not doing NASCAR sponsorship

JOLIET, Ill. — NASCAR's BAM Racing team has presented Barack Obama's presidential campaign with a potential sponsorship deal in the Sprint Cup series later this year, but it doesn't look like an Obama car will be burning rubber on the track anytime soon.

BAM team spokesman Rhett Vandiver told The Associated Press on Friday that the team made a sponsorship proposal to the Democratic presidential hopeful's campaign, and has made similar proposals to the campaign of Republican John McCain and at least one third-party candidate.

Late Friday, the Obama campaign said there would be no sponsorship.

"The Obama campaign will not be sponsoring a car in the Sprint Cup series, though we will continue to look for ways to reach out to voters and convey Senator Obama's message of change." said Bill Burton, an Obama campaign spokesman

Sports Illustrated first reported the proposal on its Web site, saying Obama's campaign is in talks with BAM, a part-time operation that hasn't raced in recent weeks, to sponsor its No. 49 car in the Aug. 3 race at Pocono.

"The Obama campaign will not be sponsoring a car in the Sprint Cup series, though we will continue to look for ways to reach out to voters and convey Senator Obama's message of change." Bill Burton, Obama Campaign Spokesman

It would have been a fairly bold move within a sport whose competitors spend all year turning left on the track but tend to lean to the right politically.

BAM's choice of drivers and car brands might have been a little too sticky politically for the Obama camp.

The car, a Toyota _ the only foreign automaker racing in NASCAR _ would be driven by veteran Ken Schrader.

According to the Federal Election Commission's Web site, Schrader gave $1,000 to the campaign of North Carolina Republican congressman Robin Hayes in June 2004, and a total of $2,500 in 2003 and 2004 to the failed Virginia congressional campaign of Republican Kevin Triplett, a former NASCAR official.

Also according to the FEC, Mrs. Ann Schrader of Concord, N.C. and Ken Schrader Racing donated a total of $2,000 to President Bush's campaign in May 2004 and $900 to the North Carolina Republican Executive Committee in August 2004.

NASCAR has been playing an increasing role in politics, as so-called "NASCAR dads" were considered a key constituency in recent elections.

A Cup series car carried a George W. Bush logo in 2004 but wasn't officially associated with the campaign. And Democratic presidential hopeful Bob Graham sponsored a truck in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2003.

Comments

[spiderbucket]

NOOOOOOOOO­OOOOOOOOOO­OOO> WTF ??????

[joeyp404]

Hey, if it worked for George Bush in 2004, why not Barack in 2008? Although, I'd be more impressed if he also raced the car.

[atila]

i'm not sure if this is a good idea,in the middle of this oil and global warming crisis,doesn't look good...

[poco767b]

I have to agree, it is a great piece of PR but it sends a very mixed message.

[Busterdawg]

It's a horrible piece of PR, it's not just the gas thing, it's the obvious pandering to the right of center NASCAR crowd for votes, more of his breathtaking run to the right.

You gotta understand, Obama's campaign is run by ham-handed Chicago political hack, Axelrod. Here in Chicago politics isn't subtle, it's a blood sport. We are used to it. Axelrod dosen't understand that a national campaign requires a bit more deftness in the handling of the candidate and his message.

[feminancy]

This just can't be true.

It would be the equivalent of John Kerry dressing up that duck hunting costume for a photo-op during the '04 campaign. A desperate ploy that made him look more ridiculous than Daffy Duck himself.

And, it goes against what Obama says he stands for. I hope the Obama campaign will squelch this rumor fast.

If it's true, this will be one very disappointed Obama supporter.

[fivecard]

Obama's making (nearly) all the right moves. He's going to lap McCain if this keeps up....

[johnnyjust]

Pander-monium.

[Knowbetter]

election-winnering.

[Alfannell]

I rather for Obama to sponsor a car in the Indy Car Series or the American LeMans Series!

[loax]

Misleading Headline, Huffington psot. The key word is may be sponsoring­.... I thought you guys were better than this.

[Charmed]

I don't anything about race cars, so is this a good thing?

[Charmed]

oops that should be "I don't know anything"

[Knowbetter]

It's not a bad thing. NASCAR is probably the "whitest" sport there is, and this small gesture could reach some people.

[Charmed]

I'll tune in to see what it's about. Rockingham, NC has a big race track but the only thing I know about it is "when they are in town you can't go to Rockingham because of the traffic"..­...

[nclayla]

Here in NC, and other parts of the south, NASCAR is the King of Sports to many. Its not my cup of tea, but the potential audience would be huge.

[JayHorus]

That is the one problem I see in our society today. If something isn't what one person likes then does it matter? You said: "I don't anything about race cars, so is this a good thing?" Of course it is a good thing. I hate baseball, I don't like Nascar, I think water polo is boring, but it's an Olympic event so there are people that like it. Barack Obama is trying to get his message out to all American's not just the "progressive" base. When watching TV if you don't like a show you change the channel or turn it off. If you don't watch "race cars" then this shouldn't matter to you at all lol...but it will matter to some people and that is a good thing.

[liberalsrheros]

well, i watch nascar., dad used to but quit cause of the right wing/nascar dad bs. at anyrate there are dems and independents that enjoy racing.

this is similar to the faith aspect of O message. there are a lot of commenters here who belittle people of faith as they do nascar fans, but only a fool would think you could change things with out at least some of the votes and the support of those people. reaching out to them is smart.

[FiveFortyOne]

Here, here.

[barackobama4prez]

Would this really help get out the vote? i'm not into racing...

[CtJean]

Let's say it is one more area that has a lot of fans, and therefore probable voters. Nascar has been right-wing territory for the last few years, but lefties enjoy it also. As I said in my other post, politics is serious business, but it can be fun also. I would love to be in on the meetings where these vote-making ideas are thrown around. What a hoot!

Go O! 08! Gotta love it ...

[4wehttam]

Yeah, I never watch the sport. But he's not reaching out to people like us, he's branching out in his campaign's genius way. Almost like getting the FIXED Noise audience, without actually GOING on FIXED. Very smart move.

[robiform]

I agree--remember the "NASCAR Dads" from the 2004 election? I think this is a very clever move on Obama's part--as you say, it's reaching out to new people and not preaching to the choir, so to speak!

[Crake]

At first I thought this was satire, but could this be a stroke of genius? I mean, who isn't for cars racing fast on an oval track, that's something every American can believe in =D

[CtJean]

Wow! This man (and his team) have all the bases covered. I would send $100.00 to have my name on this car if it didn't race even one lap. Polictics, though serious business, is becoming fun also.

Go O!

[1099]

Oh yeah, we definitely need more fun in politics. Let's just call this what it is; shameless pandering to white voters. This is just one more step backwards for O-bag and co.