Political pundits say that people who are fans of NASCAR are a good demographic for presidential candidates to seek. So if you were a candidate for president and a NASCAR driver offered you a sponsorship deal for one major race, would you take it?
Apparently not.
The BAM Racing Team has offered a sponsorship deal to both John McCain and Barack Obama. The latter, after some consideration, turned it down.
Pundits were besides themselves. Why did the presumptive Democratic nominee and possibly first African-American president of the U.S. take a pass at the All-American sport? Well, apparently, the racing team is owned by Ken Schrader. Oh, and the sponsoring car would be a Toyota, which is currently the only foreign car manufacturer racing in NASCAR.
Is that why Obama turned it down?
Most likely not. Schrader appears to be a Republican supporter. According to the Federal Election Commission, he donated $1,000 to the campaign of North Carolina Republican Congressman Robin Hayes, and $2,500 to the Republican congressional campaign of Kevin Triplett. Schrader also gave money to the presidential campaign of George W. Bush.
Our take? Obama dissing NASCAR because of Toyota? Not. Dig a little deeper, pundits. And stop emulating the tabloids.