NASCAR looking to expand into the hip-hop lifestyle

The odds of seeing a NASCAR driver "Pop Lock and Drop It" on pit road are doubtful, but the sport and its personalities are making considerable cross-overs into the hip-hop culture.

Within the last five years, several hip-hop and R&B talents have emerged in a sport deeply rooted and still primarily represented by country music and southern rock.

• Send Raygan your thoughts

On the pop charts, rap and hip-hop stars shout out NASCAR drivers like Jeff Gordon in their lyrics, they attend races and sing the national anthem. Others have gone as far as to buy into a team as rapper Nelly did in 2003 with the Craftsman Truck Series.

Even NASCAR fashion has fallen into favor with urban youth who choose to rock NASCAR jackets produced by Motorsports Authentics because of their bright and vivid colors.

The most recent high-profile collaboration came during the Pepsi 400 in Daytona when Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced his partnership with adidas; a major brand entrenched in hip-hop tradition dating back to the days of the culture's pioneer group Run-D.M.C., who rapped about shell-toed adidas with fat laces.

Fast forward about two decades, where today Earnhardt Jr. plans to show NASCAR fans how to Walk This Way when adidas releases his own line of signature shoes and apparel next season.

"Always in this sport we try to find ways to link ourselves with the mainstream and pop culture," Earnhardt Jr. said. "Characters in the sport continue to raise the level and you're starting to see similarities and things we have in common. Adidas is a small chip on that stone."

Mark Clinard, business director for the adidas motorsports division, said NASCAR fans can expect Earnhardt Jr. to be a significant part of adidas commercials and its advertising campaign in 2008, along with NFL endorsee Reggie Bush. The plan, he said, will present a cross-pollination of sorts between the urban communities and NASCAR markets.

As for the messages and products in development specifically, Earnhardt said they will be dope because adidas "always keeps it clean."

While Earnhardt Jr. is enjoying his new street cred with adidas, Clint Bowyer is scoring his own props with hip-hop and pop star Justin Timberlake. On July 18, JT opened a new restaurant in Manhattan, Southern Hospitality, where the likes of rap mogul Jay-Z and Teresa Earnhardt were chatting in the same social circles.

Perhaps the two conversed about the new decor of Southern Hospitality: Jack Daniel's and NASCAR.

Behind his bar, Timberlake wanted to hang a piece of NASCAR memorabilia and was promptly delivered a No. 7 Jack Daniel's Chevy hood from Bowyer as well as a pair of autographed Goodyears.

And trust, if NASCAR is doing something "cool" the oh-so trendy Team Red Bull is usually nearby.

During the recent race weekend in Chicago, rapper and Chi-Town native Twista rolled to the club in a Red Bull painted NASCAR street ride to promote his new album Adrenaline Rush Oh-Seven which touts a NASCAR tie-in.

Top: Kelly Rowland sings at Indy. Bottom: Ludacris and Dale Jr.

"The car was crazy because it was an actual NASCAR [car] and it had no doors. I didn't know if I was going to be able to get in and out of that little window," said Twista on his latest fan blog. "They had a driver who drove the car down Ashland a block to Bassment [Records] and he did a few donuts in front ..."

Team Red Bull driver Brian Vickers, who has made appearances on MTV's TRL, tried to do his thang with Bow Wow and throw up a paint scheme to promote the rapper's music, however, nothing panned out but the two are said to be buds and Bow Wow has since been to a few NASCAR races.

Over the years, the sport's crossover into the urban demographic has been hit and miss, but today one could say it's "On and Poppin'."

But in order to land hip-hop fans in the stands, NASCAR will have to do more than put Earnhardt Jr. in a Chevy commercial with T.I. or a video with Jay-Z.

The sport is on the right track though, actively seeking reputable talent to appear at races. Sources say Rihanna could be the next hip-hop standout to make an appearance in the pits.

Known for keeping his finger on the sport's pop culture pulse, NASCAR's Andrew Giangola said it helps that drivers are transcending the sport to become celebrities in their own right. They are increasingly recognizable outside of their racecars, he added.

"Drivers don't have to be in fire suits spraying Coca-Cola in Victory Lane to be recognized by Joe Six-pack [who in 2007 probably needs to be renamed Jenny iPod]," he said. "For younger drivers, there's certainly an opportunity to cross-over into brands that have hip-hop and other youthful connections."

Those brands -- Sprint, adidas, Sony, DirecTV, etc. -- are a key element helping to fuel NASCAR's mainstream appeal and in turn, those brands cash in on the sport's brand-loyal fan base.

"The fan base continues to grow, and increasingly includes youth, people of color, and women," Giangola said. "If Sprint can sell millions of phones in NASCAR, naturally a brand like adidas will want to market shoes and apparel to the most brand-loyal fans in sports."

Like P. Diddy said, "It's all about the Benjamin's baby."