HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. -- While Barack Obama is campaigning to become the first black president of the United States, a young black man worlds apart from the political scene is campaigning for change himself.

The change will put blacks not on the political map, but on the motorsports map.

Marc Davis is lobbying for a Nationwide or even Cup ride by 2009. His campaign is collecting steam with national exposure and his coffers are growing with new sponsorships; Howard University and Slim Jim have come aboard this season.

It's Cup Series or bust for the 17-year-old Davis, who has patiently climbed the rungs of NASCAR's developmental ladder under the watchful eye and guidance of Joe Gibbs Racing.

This year he will graduate from high school; an anti-climactic, though notable, achievement to scratch from his to-do list before starting another full season in NASCAR's Camping World East Series.

Davis, for the most part a typical teenager from Mitchellville, Md., ran for Gibbs in the Limited Late Model division at Hickory Motor Speedway in 2006. He amassed six wins during his rookie season and in doing so became just the second black driver to win a stock-car race at Hickory since former Gibbs development driver Chris Bristol won at the short track in 2004. In 2007, he ran in the Camping World (former Busch) East Series where he finished ninth in points with six top-10 finishes.

Last season, he also ran his first ARCA/ReMax event, at Toledo Speedway, and captured a top-five finish. This season, team leaders will add four additional ARCA races to his full schedule.

A progression into the sport's big leagues is expected as soon as Davis turns 18, the legal age a driver can compete in the Nationwide or Cup series. That is, if NASCAR doesn't up the legal age to 21, a proposal under advisement by top decision makers in the sport. (read more)

Regardless, Davis characterizes his path to the sport's national level as a slow and steady process.

"I feel like it is going to way it needs to be, I saw a lot of progression in myself just by watching the races. We had better runs as the year went on and I will work this season to get approved for bigger tracks," he said. "It's NASCAR's decision on what they want to do about the age limit. They have a program set up right now that is progressing drivers step by step, so if they change it we will have to deal with it."

To successfully create change, Davis won't look to win the popular vote within an arena long dominated by Southern roots and white males. He will, however, make change on the track through determination and speed.

And he's tired of answering questions about the color of his skin, so much so that after nearly 12 years of racing it has become an afterthought for him and those competing against Davis on the tracks.

"I don't think about it much more," he said. "It's a nice opportunity to keep the door open for other minorities but I'm just a racecar driver."

But with exceptional qualities comes responsibility.

His role as a leader in the black motorsports community has afforded him national exposure, most recently the opportunity to ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange next month. Typically, the Sprint Cup Series champion rings the closing bell on the Exchange, but Davis will do it to kick off Black History Month. (read more)

"I can't believe I get to do this, hopefully the stocks won't be down," Davis laughed.

Stocks may very well be down, but Davis' continues to rise.