Conversation: Magic Johnson

CONCORD, N.C. -- Los Angeles Lakers Hall of Fame point guard Magic Johnson is the driving force behind NASCAR's new diversity initiative, the foundation on which the sanctioning body will build its dream of a more diverse garage area.

With assistance from NASCAR's Tish Sheets, Johnson plans to use his celebrity and business savvy to help make that dream a reality.

Johnson owns businesses in 65 cities across the nation. He owns TGI Friday's restaurants, movie theaters and Starbucks coffee shops. He is the only individual outside of Starbucks Corporate that owns a franchise.

Now, he turns his focus to NASCAR and an initiative he says means so much to him he won't take a salary. Last month, Johnson held court at the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, N.C., taking time to sit down with a small group of reporters and discuss his goals and concerns about the new mission.

Q: Did you say you went to NASCAR races as a kid?

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Magic Johnson: My Dad took me to the track one time. He's a big NASCAR and drag racing fan, and if you asked him he'd know all the drivers and everything. When we came down South -- I can't recall the track -- but I went with him, and he has remained being a big fan of both sports.

And I'll tell you what, we'll be sitting there, even now, and he'll watch. He used to like to drive fast, so that made me like to drive fast. That's a big reason why I'm a big fan, not only of NASCAR but of drag racing, as well.

Q: Why is it so many minorities seem to prefer drag racing over stock car racing?

Johnson: You know what happens is that we just didn't know if we could be a part of it. I think now as you look, and you watch it evolve, it was the same thing with golf. I've never seen so many minorities play golf. I mean, everywhere! All the ball players play golf now. So once you get somebody involved in the sport, you say, "Man, I didn't know it was this great."

We've never actually come to the track because anything you want to be involved with, you've got to see it live. You've got to feel it, feel when those engines start revving up; see "vrooooooom!" go past you.

It's like me. When I went, and (experienced) the "vrooooooom," I went, "Whoa! That was exciting!" You get excited about it then, and you say, "Man, I'm going to start going more. I'm going to start watching it more. I maybe even want to be involved in this sport."

I don't think a lot of minorities know that you've got a lot of minorities -- not in the big show -- but you've got a lot under that. They don't know that, so I've got to get them out into the schools to share their story, get them out to say "Hey, we've got some participation here in the crews."

I didn't know that. The only reason I came aboard was, first off because I'm a fan, but second because of all the diversity programs (NASCAR) has, because I'm all about that.

	Credit: Sherryl Creekmore/NASCAR

Those scholarships, internship programs, the Urban Youth Drag Racing School in Philadelphia. See, that helps me to say their heart is into it. They're trying to do that right thing. And with that being said, I want to be part of taking it to the next level.

Now, I do want to say this: We can't get caught up in saying it's only going to be successful if a driver makes it. Uh, uh. If we get more vendors, more suppliers, and money is touching minorities' hands, it's been a success.

If people say, "Wow, the drivers go into schools in urban America," and kids say, "Wow!" And maybe we can get a car for kids to see. Most of the kids haven't seen a car live. That would get their juices flowing. We have to remember that. So I took that into consideration when I took this job.

Q: The reason golf took off was that Tiger Woods was playing at the highest level. And the reason that a lot of (NASCAR's) initiatives are good are because you're at the highest level. Isn't it still going to take someone being very successful at the Nextel Cup level to invigorate the whole crowd?

Johnson: I think you can look at it like that. But I don't look at it like that, because, see, I'm a businessman. That's number one. So what I'm looking at is how many people NASCAR is touching, both business-wise, scholarship-wise, job-wise.

That's what I'm looking at. So for you or me to say it's only going to be great if somebody makes it to the big show and wins the whole points system, no. That's not true, because then we may wait for a long time. So I might as well not be sitting here. If that was the case, I wouldn't be sitting here.

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First of all, I know how difficult that's going to be. That's why I made that statement that we can't make this based on somebody winning the points system, being one of the top five drivers. That can't be our bar of success, because that's not true.

If there's more vendors, more suppliers that were not here before, and they can now take care of their families; if there's one or two more people selling t-shirts, hats, stuff like that, now they can take care of their family. Or somebody's selling barbecue at the track. That's beautiful.

You know how much money that is, when you're talking about 100,000 people, 200,000 people? That guy or that woman is making a lot of money sitting there. So I think it's wrong for us to sit here and say that the only way this is going to be successful is for a minority to be the points leader or one of the best.

With time, that may happen. But I'm not looking for that happen no time soon. Okay? This is a sport that you need a lot of money. Okay? So right now we don't have anybody in place that has that type of sponsorship. I think that will come with time, but I don't think that'll happen right now.

Q: So will you have to get in an educational process with the owners? Because they're the ones who are going to be hiring the drivers.

Johnson: Well, of course. Everything takes time. Just like Tiger, everything took time for him. Just like the hockey players that now play. It took owners a while to say, "Wow, he can skate. He's good. I can win with him." Everything's going to take time, but hey, we got time. The sport's not going anywhere.

Q: Isn't that something that gets lost in this, that they've tried diversity programs in the past and it all just seems like they're trying to do African Americans and Hispanics a favor by bringing them into the sport. And might it be true that the next Jeff Gordon might be black, and might help a team? That gets lost, I think.

Johnson: Exactly. And I don't want no favors here, because that doesn't help minorities. Trust me. What we want is somebody who's qualified, somebody who can do the job. If it's selling hats, they have quality hats. If it's t-shirts, quality t-shirts. If it's selling meat at the track, it's quality meat. If it's internship programs, they must meet the criteria. If it's getting a scholarship, same.

I'm not here to say anybody can come in. That's not going to happen with me. The reason I have businesses in 65 cities, the reason I'm the only person outside Starbucks who owns Starbucks is because I can do a job, and I was qualified to do that job. All of my Starbucks' are making money. That's what I'm trying to relate to your point.

Now, they had a situation where they tried out these crewmembers. I think six of them made it. That's wonderful. We got a start already. That's how you do it, get a start and build a little bit more and a little bit more. And one day there will be a driver, but nobody can say when that's going to happen. And I'm not going to sit here and say it'll be five years. Whenever it happens, it'll be great.

Q: You said African Americans know NASCAR, but don't go to the track. Why don't they go to the track? Is it because they don't feel comfortable?

Johnson: Well, they don't feel comfortable because enough of us haven't been going. So now if we can get enough going -- whether we start with 20 or 30 or 100, whatever -- then more and more will come support it. That's all you want. Then, they don't know that it's a lot of fun.

Q: Do they need to get rid of the Confederate flags?

Johnson: I can't control what happens with flags. You can't control what people want to put on their cars and so on. Only thing I can control is making sure these programs are run in the correct manner, make sure minorities are touched in the right way. I hope they will feel it's not offensive to them. And if it is, they won't be a part of it. I can't control that. There's some things that have been going on in NASCAR for years. I can't change that. I'm not here to change the sport of NASCAR, trust me. I'm just here to try to bring more minorities to be involved in the sport of NASCAR.

Q: But do you say part of your job is to convince the existing, predominantly white audience, that diversity is good for them?

Johnson: You know what, at the end of the day we're at a stage today in sports, that I think whites know that diversity is good. I think that when they turn on golf and see Tiger sitting there, and it's tight ... and Tiger's making a mad push -- why do you think every time Tiger's in the hunt there's more people watching?

So I don't think Caucasians mind that Tiger is a part of their sport, the sport they've been dominating for years. I don't think they mind it. I think they enjoy that. I think it's the same thing with hockey, the same thing with tennis. I think they love to see it. It reminds me of Larry Bird vs. Magic.

What happened was whites said, "Wow, Magic can play." Blacks said "Whoa, Larry Bird is good!" We're at a stage now where it's not as big a issue as it was 10 years ago. And it's not just in NASCAR. If they have a way of thinking, you can't change that.

There are minorities like that, too. Let's be frank about that. I bet you they never knew Jeff Gordon and Kasey (Kahne) were coming up now. They're used to the other guys. That's just part of change. Nobody likes change, but they will embrace change. So if it's good for the sport, they'll embrace it. It may take some time.

Q: There have been a number of athletes, such as Julius Irving and Joe Washington, who have tried to come into this sport as owners and really struggled. Since you've been very successful in business, are there other minority businessmen out there that you think would make good owners, or that you would like to get into the sport as owners?

Johnson: Once I get my arms around the diversity program -- one day when they're off, I want to talk to Jeff Gordon and some other drivers about the sport, what it is they like. (I want to) Talk to some of the owners -- how much money, what is it, because I've got to know everything it takes to be an owner.

How much money does it take to be in this sport. Those things I don't know. Then I can better say, whether it's myself or other guys. There's a lot of minorities who have money. So now I can say to them, it'll cost you this amount to get in, and this much to maintain it for a whole season. That's what happened to me as being an owner of the Lakers. See, I didn't know. So I educated on it.

So when Dr. (Jerry) Buss said, "I need X amount of money," I knew already what I had to bring in, so I was ready to give it to him. It's just like any other sport. But I'll tell you what, I'll definitely going research this, and want to be an owner one day. But first, I can't do that until I do my job first. I have to learn the ins and outs of NASCAR. A lot of guys come in and -- I don't know if they did this or not -- they don't know the ins and outs. You got to.

So with that being said, I think have to take a crash course on NASCAR. Every business I've ever gotten into -- I went to Starbucks school, I went to TGI Friday's school. I went to the kitchen, learned every meal and what it takes. I learned the prices, learned the trends of customers. All those things go into you being successful in business.

So I've got to go to NASCAR college. I never go into anything being blindsided. You can remember that about me. That's why my businesses have been successful -- because I take my ego out of it. You can't come in here as Magic Johnson. Just because you threw a few no-look passes and made some baskets, and think you're going to come into a sport you know nothing about and be successful.

All those guys probably came into this sport thinking their notoriety is going to get them into a sport and be successful. That just doesn't happen. That's why I think when you look at me, first of all I have businesses in 65 cities, so you know I know what I'm doing. I do this every single day. So that's the difference between me and the rest of the guys. Plus, I love this sport. I want to be a part of it, but it doesn't mean I have to be an owner.

That's why I'm giving my time. I want to see more minorities in this sport, let them know it's great. So whether I'm an owner or not, if I can touch lives and make sure minorities can come up in this sport somehow, I've done what I wanted to do.

Do I know it's going to take a lot of hard work? Yes. Do I know it's going to take some time? Yes. But I'm patient. I'm here for the long haul, not the short term. When you've got your heart in it, that's different from getting money. My heart is into it. That's why I accepted this job. I think some great things can happen here. You'll see me around. I'll be at the races, because I have to get to know it.

Q: What kind of time commitment is this? It doesn't seem like you're simply lending your name to the sport.

Johnson: Because I own my own businesses, I decide what, when, how. So it makes it easy. Plus I've got great people working for me. It makes my business go. Right now, I know the guys are really busy and their time is tight. So I'll meet with them when it's convenient for them.

See, the good thing, I have business everywhere so I can take care of two things at one time. That's what I normally do. So if the race is in North Carolina, I got business. If it's in Georgia, I got businesses in Atlanta. On and on and on, I have business around those places, so I can shoot in, take care of business and the NASCAR business.