NASCAR race at L.A. Memorial Coliseum reflects a sport embracing change
LOS ANGELES – The audacity.
First, NASCAR built a quarter-mile short track over the football field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Then, with the track still untested before the Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum set to run Sunday, the great grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. climbed behind the wheel of a pace car.
The engine revved and the tires screeched as Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s Senior Vice President of Strategy and Innovation and a former driver, tore around the track as bemused NASCAR employees watched.
“Smells like rubber,’’ he said upon climbing out of the car.
And looks like NASCAR is embracing change.
Michael Jordan and Pitbull are among NASCAR’s newer team owners.
Pitbull will give a 45-minute concert before the race, and Ice Cube will perform at the midpoint of the event. (Not your typical entertainment at Bristol Motor Speedway, Darlington Raceway or any other of the famous racetracks.)
On top of that, the Next Gen cars will make their racing debut where the USC football team plays its home games, and Kennedy said he thinks his great grandfather and others who built stock-car racing into the sport it is today would approve of the non-traditional NASCAR event.
“They really built this sport on innovation and by thinking differently through the decades,’’ Kennedy said, “and I think it’s cool that we get to carry that on.’’
In recent years, significant moves for NASCAR also have taken place off the track.
In June 2020, a week after George Floyd was murdered by a white police officer, NASCAR, long associated with its Southern roots, issued a statement taking a stand against racism.
“While our sport has made progress over the years, there remains much work to be done and we fully embrace our responsibility to help bridge the racial divide that continues to exist in our country,’’ the statement read, in part. “We must do better and our commitment to promoting equality and inclusion continues and will never waver.’’
Less than two weeks later, NASCAR banned Confederate flags from all of its racetracks.
NASCAR's resolve in dealing with racial issues has been tested.
In April 2020, driver Kyle Larson was caught using a racial slur during a microphone check during an iRacing event, held on a virtual platform. NASCAR suspended him for more than six months and mandated that he attend sensitivity training, and Larson was fired by Chip Ganassi Racing, the NASCAR team for which he drove. He was hired by Hendrick Motorsports in October 2020 and won last year's championship.
In late June 2020, a noose was found in driver Bubba Wallace's No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports garage stall at Talladega Superspeedway. Following an investigation, the FBI concluded the noose was not a federal crime and it had been left the previous year when nobody could have known Wallace would be assigned the garage. Still, NASCAR issued a statement that read, in part, “We remain steadfast in our commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all who love racing.”
On NASCAR’s Cup Series entering the 2022 season, with up to 40 cars competing in every race, there are four minority drivers – Wallace, who is Black; Daniel Suarez, who is Mexican; Aric Almirola, who is Cuban American; and Larson, who is half Japanese -- believed to be the most at any time.
Last month, NASCAR and a North Carolina-based LGBTQ+ organization announced a partnership to promote diversity, equity and inclusion training.
“We want our events to be a much more inclusive atmosphere and I think we’re getting to that,’’ Kennedy said. “It’s an incredibly important part of our culture. It’s an incredibly important part of where we’re going.’’
Other changes are taking place -- such as exploring markets in the Northwest and Midwest -- reflected by the experiment at the Coliseum that drew on the use of newer technology.
Using iRacing, William Byron and a handful of other drivers tested the track design before the construction began.
“It’s cool the way iRacing has progressed and the way they can design tracks and really give us an insight into the way that things are going to look,’’ said Byron, the 2019 Daytona 500 pole winner. “We (recommended) a few modifications here and there with the banking. But overall, it turned out nice.
“You only have so much real estate you can work with inside the Coliseum, so I think they did a good job, working with what they had and building something that I think will be good.’’
Larson voiced enthusiasm not only about the track – it looks “legit,’’ he said – but also the two rappers who will perform on race day.
“I think that’s going to help attract a different crowd than we’re all accustomed to at our races,’’ he said. “I think that’s great news and a great opportunity for us to put on a great show.’’
Follow Josh Peter on Twitter @joshlpeter11