Henderson woman helping promote diversity in NASCAR

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Thursday, July 1, 2010 | 2:05 a.m.

Ever since attending her first race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, 20-year-old Carrington Gilbert of Henderson has been hooked on NASCAR.

Like other diehards who passionately follow the sport, she travels to different tracks for races, has a favorite driver and stays plugged into the auto racing news.

“There is nothing better (in sports) than the atmosphere at a race,” she said.

But while Gilbert might seem the prototypical fan, when it comes to NASCAR, minority fans, drivers and crew members can be few and far between in a predominantly white sport.

Gilbert, who is black, is doing her part this summer to change that.

A junior marketing major at Texas A&M, she is one of 22 people selected for NASCAR’s Diversity Internship in New York City. NASCAR received nearly 250 applications for the positions.

“The fans in NASCAR are so dedicated,” said Gilbert, whose favorite driver is Las Vegan Kyle Busch. “They come to races starting on Wednesday and stay through the weekend. People save up like they are taking their family to Disneyland just to afford to come.”

Part of her duties include working on the reality show “Changing Lanes,” a series expected to launch this fall on BET that will spotlight drivers in NASCAR’s “Drive for Diversity.”

Gilbert, whose father, O’Neill Gilbert, is an assistant football coach at Southern University, is no stranger to big-time sports. Her father coached the Tennessee Titans when they narrowly lost to the St. Louis Rams in the 2000 Super Bowl— a game she was in the stadium for.

Still, she said, nothing beats a race Sunday.

“A NASCAR race is like the Super Bowl every weekend,” said Gilbert, who has attended three Super Bowl games. “The one big difference is in NASCAR, fans have that interaction with the drivers before and after the race.”

Gilbert downplays the significance of being one of a few minorities involved in the racing league. She’s confident that number will continue to grow and points to a race she attended in Charlotte as an example of the progress.

“There were too many to count,” she said of the minority fans at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

That is music to the ears of NASCAR officials.

In addition to the diversity internship, NASCAR has programs such as tour stops at traditionally black colleges to reach more minorities.

"The NASCAR Diversity Internship Program has introduced hundreds of students from diverse backgrounds to professional opportunities in NASCAR," Marcus Jadotte, NASCAR's managing director of public affairs, who oversees the diversity department, said in a statement. "The program has played an important role in NASCAR's efforts to attract the best and brightest to our industry."

For Gilbert, that attraction was instant.