A former NFL agent looks to bring diversity to NASCAR

In addition to reaching the minds of new fans by educating them about racing, Rick Clark hopes to reach their pocketbooks with an eye-catching brand of clothing. Courtesy of Rick Clark and Wayne Clapp

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For NASCAR, diversity is an age-old question that has yet to find an answer. A sport that's become as integral to the fabric of this country as the NFL, the NBA or Major League Baseball continues to be haunted by a Southern past that makes it seem about as well-rounded as a square peg in a round hole. Every weekend, 42 of the 43 drivers that suit up every Sunday in Nextel Cup are white Americans; Colombian-born Juan Pablo Montoya continues to be the only full-time minority who breaks that mold in NASCAR's top series.

During a time when the sport has appeared to hit a wall -- TV ratings and viewership are down almost 15 percent this year -- it would seem the next step for growth is focusing attention toward segments of the U.S. population that are underrepresented each Sunday: African-Americans, Latinos and women. That's easier said than done in a sport lacking a Tiger Woods-type personality currently on the horizon.

That's where Rick Clark steps in, a man with a simple vision ... to get those not normally watching to see a race however he can.

"I think anybody I've ever met that's never been to a race, and you take them for the first time, most of the time they're pumped up [when they leave]," explains Clark, so excited about his initiatives you can't help but leave the conversation with him feeling it's all so easy.

"NASCAR's family oriented, it's very interactive, it's very accessible, which is different than almost every sport, and that would appeal to just about anybody ... but you've got to get them there first."

A 2004 survey released by NASCAR Consumer and Brand Marketing puts the combined African-American and Latino fan base at just 17.5 percent, more more than 10 points below their total percentage within the U.S. population. Clearly, NASCAR continues to lag behind other facets of society in this category.

But Clark's got a plan to change that. One of the NFL's top agents in the 1990s, his clients included a list of high pro football draft picks -- Bryan Still and Sherman Williams in the NFL and Eric Carter in the Canadian Football League. Now that eye for picking developing talent is turning itself NASCAR's way after being turned onto the sport through a friendship with ESPN play-by-play announcer Jerry Punch. Clark soon became hooked and attended several races through the years; with investors and sponsorship pending, he's ready to become a car owner now, as his RCM Racing team plans a debut full-time in NASCAR's Busch Series next season. A limited Cup schedule is also planned.

However, Clark's team isn't like any other; the more he learned about the sport, the more he understood the need to come up with a program that would diversify NASCAR's roots.

"The story isn't really being told to the right audience," he said when responding to claims for expanding diversity, a mission NASCAR CEO Brian France recently insisted upon expanding in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. "NASCAR got up on the podium and said we want diversity and then when [minorities] look at that, and they look around and the TV cameras spin around, what they don't see is very many people that look like themselves."

Clark has worked with France in the past on several diversity initiatives and remains supportive of the plan's overall goals. His plan, he claims, hopes to bridge the gap between thoughts and action.

"I think Brian's got it headed in the right direction," said Clark. "What was missing was making this a grassroots initiative. [Diversity] really needs to take place away from the track and not on the track. If we could educate people about the sport, then it would make much more sense to them."

"These [Nextel Cup] race car drivers started very young.-- 4, 5, 6, 7, 8-years-old," adds Kymberly Brantigan, public relations representative for Jeff Gordon and a consultant for Clark. "If minority groups aren't starting at that age, then you have to go back to that age group and get them started."

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