KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ A cynical person might write off NASCAR's diversity efforts as a response to declining attendance and sagging ratings, a desperate attempt to tap into new demographics that could shore up the sport's financials.
Of course, that ignores the fact that NASCAR's Drive for Diversity program is rooted in an initiative started by Joe Gibbs, a four-time Monster Energy Cup Series championship owner and three-time Super Bowl winning coach, more than 15 years ago.
With input from late NFL Hall of Famer Reggie White and former NBA star Brad Daugherty, a Cup Series team co-owner himself, Joe Gibbs Racing announced the driver development program in 2003 and NASCAR took the reins a year later.
Those early years produced a limited impact, but there's been a renewed and expanded effort in recent years. Not only has NASCAR sought to develop minority drivers, which it's finally managed to do at the Cup level, but there's been a push to diversify support staff as well.
There are Drive for Diversity graduates competing at NASCAR's highest level. Darrell "Bubba" Wallace Jr. is the first African-American Cup driver since Wendell Scott, whose last season was 1973. Daniel Suarez is the first full-time Mexican driver in Cup series history. Kyle Larson's mother is Japanese-American. Aric Almirola is of Cuban descent, and was a member of the original Joe Gibbs Racing initiative.
"For me to dabble in a sport where it's a predominantly white sport and be somewhat successful is huge. You're getting a lot more eyes, and new fans that are coming out to support me, and they'll say that. It's powerful when they say that," Wallace said. "At the same time it's like, 'You could've came a lot earlier. It's a great sport to be a part of.' "
These days, NASCAR not only has diversity initiatives for drivers, but it also sponsors programs and advocates for increased diversity among pit crew members and through support staff internships.
"It's really all about sharing opportunities," said Jusan Hamilton, NASCAR's Senior Manager of Racing Operations and Event Management. "With a lot of folks, when I go to schools and we're working with the pit-crew program talking to graduating college athletes, especially those from a minority background, a lot of them don't even know about the opportunity in NASCAR to work _ whether it's on pit road as an athlete or on the professional and business side, like what I do."
"The program is doing exactly what it's supposed to do," Hamilton said. "Not everyone is going to follow that path, but it's great to let people know it's there and give people the opportunity."
