That Nascar has job fairs? So any minority just has to fill out an application? The drivers start out racing go karts when they are children and race all there lives to even have a shot at driving if they are good enough.
Talk about sad. Why no African American hockey players? Or ask Michael Phelps if he just decided to one day fill out and app to be and Olympic swimmer and if he did how many African American swimmers did he beat out to have a shot?

F1, Indy, WRC... How many minorities? Hamilton in F1. Who else? NASCAR is a big money operation. If you have the talent and sellable then you will get a chance. Sellable is the issue.

Not the only reason, but even at the level of dirt track round-n-rounds, one usually needs some serious capital investment; a garage, salvage yard, parts house. And with these come serious trade skills; welding, alignment, fabrication. All this before you get around to sponsorships from "Joe's Deli," and "Lou Ann's Nails."

That said, there was at least one African-American on, I believe, the stock car circuit in the 60s, bout the time women became involved.

He had almost nothing and went to race in NASCAR, back when a "run-what-you-brung" with very small budgets could make the races. Scott broke through victory lane once. Years later they made a movie about Wendell Scott. In the 1990's Indy Car driver Willy T Ribbs made some starts in NASCAR, possibly with help from Bill Cosby. I can't remember anyone else.

a radio broadcast (Daytona?). Maybe an African-American who wins a few will prime the pump much like Chrissy Evert did for modern womens' tennis (though she wasn't the first).

Now we're cookin'!

It's not like teams can go out there and just pick whoever they want to drive. These drivers are in gokarts about the time they start walking.

Racing is not something that can be diverse just for the sake of diversity, it takes talent and sponsor dollars, with an exception or two in NASCAR if you aren't at te top of the game you won't bring in the sponsorship (those exceptions being drivers like Paul Menard whose dad bought his ride and Danica Patrick who is the top series mainly for marketing, not driving talent yet).

One in the 60's, one in the 90's, one in the 2000's and now him.

There is also an Asian-American driving this year as well, Kyle Larson.

Both of these guys can drive as well, they've worked their way up through the ranks like it should be done.

They're going to be successful because of the way they have developed in the sport and it takes a long time. That's why we see Danica Patrick struggle, she doesn't have the experience to be successful in NASCAR yet, but was rushed into the top series way too fast for the $$$$$&&&

There are minorities employed by teams and by NASCAR itself. There is at least one current minority team owner. Already a couple Hispanic drivers and owners.
Its not easy to break into NASCAR. And it takes a while for new faces to work their way up through the ranks. This isn't just lip service. NASCAR is in this for the long haul...after all, they can read future demographics, they know where their future fans need to come from.

and get a job as a driver without first having to pay your dues. The reason there are not more black drivers in NASCAR is not due to racism. As Berserker states above, you need to have worked your up to it. Yes, there have been the rare exceptions but they didn't happen to be black.

On the other hand, the same isn't the case with NHRA. Indeed, one black man did follow the traditional course of making one's way to the top of motorsports fame: Antron Brown, the first african-american NHRA champion who took the 2013 top fuel championship just a few weeks ago.

http://espn.go.com/racing/nhra/story/_/id/8620468/antron-brown-becomes-first-african-american-driver-win-major-racing-title

Mr. Brown was featured in a Black History Month segment with Craig Melvin which aired on NBC's Today show and on MSNBC Live with Craig Melvin:

http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/50742720#50742720

In recent times NASCAR has come to celebrate any african-american even remotely involved in NASCAR including a brief encounter with Michael Jordan (more from the owners' angle, not driver), among a few others. Indeed, they want to see more black people become involved.

as half white? Just black?

But I guess like the President, this country prefers to adopt the One Drop rule..

It's the person.

I have students that I'd call "white" or "Latino" (in this case, Central American, not esp. Caribbean) but who self-identify black because of one parent. Sometimes that one parent him or herself has a white or Latino.

The President self-identified as a teenager. In seeking his own identity, he decided that he'd be type-cast so he did it himself before others could. He speaks AAVE and tends that way sometimes, depending on the audience. His early years and teen years were spent around no AAVE speakers. He learned it from tv and in college, if not later. Among strongly self-typed groups linguistic traits are potent group boundary indicators. AAVE is one of them. Self-identify as black (not just African-American) and don't have AAVE as an active register and you'll be mercilessly mocked and often treated as an outcast.

Even in the '60s and '70s--or before--much of the racism directed at those who were "historically African-American" didn't apply to those who were "new African-American."

What term would satisfy you? What wouldn't be offensive to you?

it's a double edged sword.

He lives as a black man. He cannot hide it and say he is white for a day. African American is a proper descriptor for that in todays society.

Fans will see him as a black man.

He gets no privilege that I personally receive because of his white father.

Many of the top dogs in Cup are second, third, or 4th generation racers. Being an Earnhardt in racing is like being a Ripken in baseball - there are 1000 mistakes that will never be made, because of what would seem like very casual knowledge to an outsider.
All the connections and opprutunities may not be enough, either - anybody seen Casey Atwood or Buckshot Jones lately ?

You have to start young and be extremely committed to be competitive.

Thinking a lot of NASCAR fans... And perhaps other drivers as well.

At one point baseball only had 1 black player. Would you have ripped baseball the first day Jackie Robinson took the field?

.... there have been minorities at all levels of the Nascar Megalopoly -- several women on the circuit now, a Lebanese gentleman (Paulie Harraka) in the Truck series last year, several Hispanics, 2 or 3 African Americans ...

Patronage system?

IF so that would explain a lot.

The so-called "legends" were all white men. None of them would race a female drivers.