When it comes to diversity, Siegel says patience is key (cont'd)

"I think that diversity is an issue in our country, period," he said. "I don't think that NASCAR is any different."

Siegel points to our current presidential election as an example. For the first time in history, a nominee for president in the Democratic Party will either be a woman, Hillary Clinton, or a black man, Barack Obama -- two individuals who have heavy ties to the black community.

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Diversity takes time

Just because there are no black drivers in any of NASCAR's three national touring series doesn't mean progess is not being made, writes Bill Kimm.

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"I was watching a debate and people are trying to turn them against each other and [Clinton and Obama] are both saying this is ridiculous because we have been the beneficiary of people focusing on racial equality and now they are trying to pit us against each other, questioning each other's commitment," Siegel said.

For Siegel, the diversity issue really is a simple one to fix -- it starts with the fan base.

"It's interesting to me, from a fan's standpoint, this sport is addicting," Siegel said. "So you bring people who really don't know a lot about it, to the sport, and its appealing to people no matter where you come from, what you do, how much money you make and all that kind of other stuff."

Diversifying the fan base is one thing, but Siegel realizes in order to stop having diversity as a point of discussion, fans have to see drivers of similar race, gender and ethnicity behind the wheel. But getting to that point isn't a quick fix.

He says the first issue is money and sponsorship.

"I do believe that the focus and the desire from NASCAR to grow the sport and diversify is genuine and it's there," Siegel said. "I think that the challenge for the sport is that all the teams are independently owned so it's very difficult for the governing body to mandate that you do certain things.

"And in a tight economic climate, I don't care what color you are, you put someone into a car to develop them, it costs a lot of money and you have to finance it. If you look across the sport, you have teams that have champions in different series that have a hard time getting the financial support from a sponsor. Multiply that by getting someone new or diverse in the sport."

Time is another factor, as evidenced by the Drive for Diversity program, which is in its fifth year of existence (2008 Class). As of now, no driver who has participated in NASCAR's diversity program has made it to one of the sport's top three series -- a fact that doesn't surprise Siegel.

"All of us would like to see more progress, but I think one of the things that tends to happen when we have these discussions is there is thought to be a quick fix for it," Siegel said. "I learned pretty quickly, I don't care what kind of athlete you are, you can't jump behind the wheel of a Cup car and be competitive.

"So even if we decided today that there were tons of resources and we were going to do everything we possibly could, it's going to take you more than four to five years to develop a driver where they can be competitive from a talent standpoint at the Cup level. The quickest thing to undermine any initiative is an attempt to fabricate it."

Siegel points out that even when a black driver makes it in the Cup Series, that doesn't necessarily mean he is going to turn into a superstar. It's going to take more than the color of someone's skin to become a global sensation.

"Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, neither one of them had an impact because they were African-American, they just happened to be the best freaking athletes in their sport," Siegel said. "I'm proud to be African-American, but Michael Jordan impacts culture, from fashion apparel to the sport because he was the best basketball player on the planet.

"If you look at all the growth of minority participation in golf and tennis, with [Tiger] and Venus and Serena Williams, they are world-class athletes that happen to be African-American. I think that what we do -- promoting it, educating people about it -- is our responsibility as professionals and athletes."

Siegel said he doesn't feel any pressure to make DEI the most diverse company in NASCAR, or to ensure that there is a black driver in the national series within the next few years. That's not his role.

"I think to be candid and be really clear, my first goal is to be the best company and have the best people and talent as possible, regardless of color, race or anything else," Siegel said. "I think the only way to have true creditability with anybody is to have accomplishments and be genuine.

"I have my eyes wide open, whether its executive talent, driving talent, to bring the very best people into our talent pool irrespective of race. But as an African-American professional, I think that I have access to and have a little more insight into that community to where I can assist bringing talented people into the sport."

But Siegel does admit there's pressure on him others in the sport don't deal with.

"I want to make sure I take my job very seriously and whether I like it or not, I feel a personal responsibility to all the other professionals of color because I believe on a very superficial level -- it's not fair -- but many of them will be judged based on my success or failure in this position.

"For me, the first thing I want to do, I'm not going to come in here and say, 'I'm a black president or anything else.' I have to come in here and run a good company and then people discover it. The people who are sitting on the periphery, they are going to draw conclusions on other people based on my performance and whether I like it or not, I accept it."