I am still amazed by how much I’ve been caught by the NASCAR craze. Sports of any kind have never been my thing and cars don’t really interest me as a general rule. Truthfully, if my company didn’t have an interest in racing, I wouldn’t watch it at all. The facts are that my company does have an interest so because of that, I spend many Sundays (and sometimes Saturdays) watching the cars going around and around in circles. I can tell you who is who. I have my favorites and I not what it means when an announcer says a car is tight or loose coming around the third turn. It’s a little scary.

This year, Toyota has made its first appearance in the Nextel Cup series. What had traditionally been the territory of the U.S. auto makers is now international. Toyota has several teams vying for the coveted Nextel Cup.

What I think is fascinating is the general reaction. For the most part, I haven’t heard anything too bad from the fans. Though, there are always some hold outs, most of them come to see their favorite drivers and a good race. I’m amazed by the reasoning of some of the hold outs, but I’m not sure why. Racism has always been one of the most irrational problems out there. I’ve read reports where some people have stated that they welcome the competition while others spout of about the need to preserve an all-American sport.

Though it has been refreshingly rare, I have heard the term “Japs” used in reference to the Japanese and I just cringe. It’s said with such nonchalance, I know that half the people who are saying it don’t realize that it is often considered a negative term. My husband admits that he didn’t realize that some people find it offensive until I told him because he had grown up hearing his parents use it on a regular basis and I definitely do not consider my husband’s parents to be deliberately racist people.

Still, I’m wondering if the addition of Toyota to the Nextel Cup won’t be a good thing. Here is a sport that is still traditionally made up of white men. As they branch into a new era where some of the sponsors and fans they are trying to attract are not white, perhaps it will bring about changes in the way things are approached. After all NASCAR has an amazing fan base and they can certainly reach a lot of people in a very short period of time.

If you would like to comment, but not on this site, please e-mail me at adoptkoreablog@adoptionmail.com.