KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Democratic presidential candidate Bob
Graham hopes his sponsorship of a NASCAR Craftsman Truck will help
him connect with rural and small-town voters.
His first challenge may be the driver of that NASCAR truck.
Jon Wood, the 21-year-old who steered the "Bob Graham for
President Ford F-150'' to a career-first win at Kansas Speedway
this past weekend, isn't certain about his political affiliation,
nor does he really care.
"I don't know anything about politics -- nothing,'' said Wood,
of Stuart, Va.
When Wood got a voter registration card, he asked his father,
Winston Cup team owner Eddie Wood, for guidance. "He said, 'I'm a
Democrat,' so I said, 'I guess I'll have to be a Republican,'''
Wood said. "I still don't know what I am.''
The task for Graham, who got a late start in the Democratic
primary race, is winning over the estimated 75 million NASCAR fans,
primarily in the South and Midwest.
One target are the "NASCAR Dads'' -- white, working-class men
inclined to support Republicans but capable of backing a Democrat
if they agree on the issues. The group emerged as a key
constituency in the 2000 presidential campaign.
"The strategy is that NASCAR is the fastest growing sport in
America, that it has a very loyal fan base, and that loyalty has a
lot of transfer to businesses and other groups that sponsor NASCAR
vehicles,'' Graham, a Florida senator, said during a recent
telephone interview.
But if NASCAR dads are loyal to racing, they may not be
committed to political parties or voting. Larry Sabato, director of
the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, said the
fans, while not necessarily Republican, are certainly not Democrat.
"Most of them are going to be no-shows,'' he argued.
Bruce Oppenheimer, a Vanderbilt University political science
professor, said Graham will see more of a benefit from the
publicity surrounding his deal than from fans who watched the race
live or on TV.
The deal between Graham and Roush Racing, terms of which were
not released, ends with Saturday's race at Kentucky Speedway in
Sparta. John Miller, director of business development for Roush
Racing, said Graham and his campaign "realized that NASCAR was a
terrific venue to reach voters.''