Earth Stands Still! NASCAR Signs Deal with EPA to Promote Green Products
I'm not a huge NASCAR fan (though I follow it enough to know who the major drivers are and who's doing well). I've always thought that NASCAR and its fans were generally conservative, family values kinds of people who live mainly in red states.
Now we have this report from the Washington Examiner:
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, NASCAR will encourage fans to buy “sustainable concessions” at races, expand the use of “safer chemical products,” conserve water, reduce waste, promote recycling, push products approved by the EPA that have a small enviro footprint and encourage suppliers to get an “E3 tuneup” aimed at promoting sustainable manufacturing.
The only good news is that there will be no gas mileage requirements on the cars.
Can someone explain to me why NASCAR would do such a transparently dumb thing? Where's the advantage? Sometimes I feel that the world has passed me by because I don't get this one. (h/t: Drudge)
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Nov '11
Re: Earth Stands Still! NASCAR Signs Deal with EPA to Promote Green Products
Who knew you could jump a shark in a stock car?
Jul '11
Re: Earth Stands Still! NASCAR Signs Deal with EPA to Promote Green Products
Phew, I thought this was another drug legalization post. This one falls in the what are they thinking category.
Mar '11
Re: Earth Stands Still! NASCAR Signs Deal with EPA to Promote Green Products
Because, increasingly, southern institutions... the Southern Baptist Convention, college football programs, and now NASCAR... are increasingly out of touch with their own base audience. It absolutely baffles me why, but they're beginning to show the same kind of arrogance as non-southern institutions.
Apr '11
Re: Earth Stands Still! NASCAR Signs Deal with EPA to Promote Green Products
like all the upper echelons of entertainment they are probably run by people who on average are liberal. Don't forget all the sponsors are corporations and corporations love to push the idea of how Green and Progressive they are.
Sep '11
Re: Earth Stands Still! NASCAR Signs Deal with EPA to Promote Green Products
I suspect the answer is instead good ol'-fashioned corporate blackmail.
Remember when Al Sharpton started making a lot of noise about how few blacks were head coaches in the NFL? Protests, congressional "show trials," the works? The NFL hastily put in place what are, in fact, affirmative action rules. But it made some sense--a large number of blacks play in the NFL, so why do so few make it to the top in coaching?
Ever wonder how the National Hockey League managed to avoid that problem?
It's because the NHL "retained" Sharpton's National Action Network to "advise them" on racial diversity. Which is why all those black hockey players from Finland and Sweden are now playing in the NHL.
Back in the 1970s, when the first oil price scare happened, environmentalists started complaining about how much gas was wasted at the Indy 500. The Indy cars switched to ethanol in order to "be green."
Now it's NASCAR's turn. Somebody is whispering "fuel mileage" at them, and they're enacting this program.
Think of it is as political danegeld.
Jun '10
Re: Earth Stands Still! NASCAR Signs Deal with EPA to Promote Green Products
Danegeld and liberals at the top. Both plausible explanations.
Jun '10
Re: Earth Stands Still! NASCAR Signs Deal with EPA to Promote Green Products
John Murdoch: Ever wonder how the National Hockey League managed to avoid that problem?
It's because the NHL "retained" Sharpton's National Action Network to "advise them" on racial diversity. Which is why all those black hockey players from Finland and Sweden are now playing in the NHL.
I thought it was because even Sharpton was smart enough to know that few American (inner or outer city) high schools have hockey teams.
May '11
Re: Earth Stands Still! NASCAR Signs Deal with EPA to Promote Green Products
If you ever stood in the concession lines at a NASCAR event, you knew they were ahead of the curve in the "slow food" movement.
Edited on May 24, 2012 at 5:10amDec '11
Re: Earth Stands Still! NASCAR Signs Deal with EPA to Promote Green Products
Green friendly racing? It can mean only one thing: Ben Hur fans, rejoice! The chariot races will return.
Feb '11
Re: Earth Stands Still! NASCAR Signs Deal with EPA to Promote Green Products
What are sustainable concessions?
Reasons EPA would want to do this is that lots of EPA people are NASCAR fans, especially researchers. (Free tickets and chance to work at the various tracks!) EPA has lots of research efforts in the areas outlined in article and may gear them towards NASCAR.
NASCAR would do this because EPA might bring research funds to work on something benefiting NASCAR. Just speculation on my part.
Dec '10
Re: Earth Stands Still! NASCAR Signs Deal with EPA to Promote Green Products
It is, in my estimation at least, from the influence of various "hipness" advisors that NASCAR has retained in an attempt to lure young people away from smart phones for four hours at a time.
This is the same reason they switched to fuel injection this season, because they felt that youngsters couldn't relate to carburetors as well.
I'm sure there's a bit of preemptive capitulation involved as well.
Having seen what the EPA has been up to vis a vis CAFE standards and basically stepping on anyone's neck that they feel like, NASCAR tried to get out in front of it with a little premature boot licking.
Never forget, NASCAR is a political animal. They do not advocate, but rather, they pander to garner favor and/or survive.
Now, understand, IMO this stuff is mostly fluff to placate some little Hitler off in EPA land (prostrations demonstrate allegiance, etc) , and will quickly fall by the wayside when things change politically.
May '11
Re: Earth Stands Still! NASCAR Signs Deal with EPA to Promote Green Products
Another point. NASCAR tracks only turn in one direction.... left.
Dec '10
Re: Earth Stands Still! NASCAR Signs Deal with EPA to Promote Green Products
Also, just to digress for a moment, I've thought NASCAR should have gone EFI about ten years ago.
But, being that NASCAR is NASCAR, they had to be in control of literally every aspect of the system, which meant a "new from scratch' development arm that was different from every high performance EFI system that existed previously.
After many years of work, they produced . . . wait for it . . . the NASCAR version of Throttle Body Injection (the very same TBI that Ford and Chevy perfected 25 or 30 years ago).
Essentially an electronically controlled carburetor, very slightly more efficient than a vacuum operated analog carb, much more complex, and about five times as expensive. Also nearly entirely proprietary (which is why it's so damned expensive).
THAT is how NASCAR thinks, and THAT is why they keep doing idiotic things for seemingly no reason.
Just like Obama, they (the France family that runs/owns NASCAR) live inside a bubble that no one is able to pierce.
They have become so insular that they simply cannot relate to their target customer OR the competitors anymore.
They only reason they haven't toppled already is that they have no meaningful competition.
Edited on May 24, 2012 at 12:34amDec '10
Re: Earth Stands Still! NASCAR Signs Deal with EPA to Promote Green Products
I know this is sarcasm (or rather, I hope it is), but that's really just down to which direction puts most of the race car between the driver and the outside retaining wall.
In Australia and the UK, oval races run in the other direction, because their cars are right hand drive.
Aug '10
Re: Earth Stands Still! NASCAR Signs Deal with EPA to Promote Green Products
The House Appropriations Committee recently voted to remove $80 million in sports funding that largely went to NASCAR. The Weekly Standard recently featured a report discussing how the sport as a whole is going through a tremendous rough patch during this recession.
NASCAR is an advertising vehicle. It's like Facebook but louder and more fun. It needs advertising revenue wherever it can get it. It also wants to appeal to more fans. If it can rent seek while increasing awareness in California -- which believe it or not is NASCAR country as much as Talladega which I say knowing that my aunt in Alpine will send me angry stares from the Cotton State -- and get money for encouraging the kinds of behavior Tea Party protesters already practice I'm okay with that.
Jun '10
Re: Earth Stands Still! NASCAR Signs Deal with EPA to Promote Green Products
I could going one step further than blackmail.
I could see the EPA coming to NASCAR and saying "Nice little sport you got here. It'd be a real shame if you had to be shut down completely.
Now we're going to go out and talk to these fine reporters about the...uh...initial concessions you're gonna make. Capisce?!"
Aug '10
Re: Earth Stands Still! NASCAR Signs Deal with EPA to Promote Green Products
"Southern Pessimist: Another point. NASCAR tracks only turn in one direction.... left"
As you can see by looking here NASCAR drivers have road courses too. It's hard to win at Montreal, Infineon, or Watkins Glen just turning left. It's even more difficult at Road America.
May '11
Re: Earth Stands Still! NASCAR Signs Deal with EPA to Promote Green Products
WOW! Those EPA crucifixions seem to be working.
Jun '10
Re: Earth Stands Still! NASCAR Signs Deal with EPA to Promote Green Products
Nathaniel Wright: The House Appropriations Committee recently voted to remove $80 million in sports funding that largely went to NASCAR. The Weekly Standard recently featured a report discussing how the sport as a whole is going through a tremendous rough patch during this recession.
NASCAR is an advertising vehicle. It's like Facebook but louder and more fun. It needs advertising revenue wherever it can get it. It also wants to appeal to more fans. If it can rent seek while increasing awareness in California -- which believe it or not is NASCAR country as much as Talladega which I say knowing that my aunt in Alpine will send me angry stares from the Cotton State -- and get money for encouraging the kinds of behavior Tea Party protesters already practice I'm okay with that. · 49 minutes ago
I knew there had to be a back story because this alliance makes no sense on its face (at least to me).
Now that you mention it, I think I knew that California was NASCAR country. Don't they race at the Ontario track?
Dec '10
Re: Earth Stands Still! NASCAR Signs Deal with EPA to Promote Green Products
The main reason: fear. Fear of regulation. Fear of congressional investigations. Fear of of progressive government reprisal on a sport that thrives on risk taking.