Why Car and Driver’s April Fools’ prank about NASCAR backfired

By Mike Smith (contact)

Friday, April 3, 2009 | 7:40 p.m.

Car and Driver’s April Fools’ prank ended up being a serious misfire. The prank stated that President Barack Obama had made Chevrolet’s and Dodge’s departure from NASCAR mandatory if the companies wanted to receive further financial support. NASCAR fans blew their tops. People in the racing community were offended. Members of the media picked up on the story and treated it as if it were true. Even NASCAR wasn’t pleased.

My first impression was that everyone needed to lighten up. But after doing some research and spending a little time thinking the controversy over, I realized that the situation was a little more complicated.

A key component of writing or drawing humor is the use of exaggeration. That’s how you make a real situation funny and signal to the reader that what you’re saying is not to be taken literally.

But when it comes to an April Fools’ “joke” this rule doesn’t necessarily apply. April Fools’ jokes really aren’t jokes. They are more like a trick. Something is presented as reality, hoping to trick the victim into believing the false reality. If the prank were presented in a humorous fashion, no one would believe it to begin with, so it’s crucial to any April Fools’ prank that it has the air of credibility to trick a person into taking you at your word.

This is what Car and Driver was attempting to do. It’s a reputable publication and people trust what it has to say. This, in theory, would make the prank more effective since it would be more believable.

The real problem with the April Fools’ prank was that it touched on a subject that was too close to home for NASCAR, NASCAR fans and the racing community. NASCAR is concerned about it’s future in this economy. Teams depend on corporate America and what is now a debilitated auto industry for the financial backing to make their cars run. Fans are worried about NASCAR’s future, too. In addition, fans that often feel free to criticize the sport they love can be very protective of the sport when others criticize or make fun of it. So everyone is on edge as they fret about what the future will bring for them personally and for Sprint Cup racing.

What Car and Driver needed to ask itself was if this prank was worthwhile given the sensitive nature of the current state of the sport, the apprehension about people’s job security and the dire circumstances surrounding the auto industry.

If the prank had been a humorous attempt at examining the state of the sport, it may have worked. But given the way an April Fool’s prank must be executed, this ‘joke” was doomed to fall flat from the beginning.

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