I'm Mad As Hell And I'm Not Gonna Take It Is it Possible that NASCAR is Sexist? By Sandra Kinsler, Editor-in-Chief, and Co Publisher and Brian Leshon, Co Publisher, NewCarBuyingGuide.com

How dumb is it for NASCAR to refuse to send NewCarBuyingGuide.com press Releases, or give us access to their media website? Now really we only need that stuff so we can provide editorial coverage of their racing series. Why in the good lord's name would any business refuse to help a magazine give them exposure, free-of-charge, to an audience of 2.5 million? Explain this to me. Please.

Today, February 25, 2004, Brian Leshon, NewCarBuyingGuide.com's co publisher and Motorsports Editor (who is by the way, world renown for his motorsports photography) spoke to Mr. Herb Branham, Communications Manager, NASCAR Nextel Cup and Busch Series in NASCAR's office in Daytona Beach, Florida. All Leshon asked for was to be put on the emailing list -- along with every other automotive publication in the US. But nooo they could not fulfill our simple request -- which by the way we've been politely asking them to do for 3 years. Instead, Mr. Branham, who is also the guy who controls the media list and the distribution of the press releases, told us "NewCarBuyingGuide.com is not a legitimate media outlet. It does not meet our criteria to receive press releases, or have access to our media site."

Leshon, of course, then asked Mr. Branham, what constituted a legitimate media outlet? He said, "one that covers NASCAR regularly, and only motorsports, and has original coverage."

Leshon said, "so the past 9 years of original NASCAR coverage that we have produced, and you [Branham], complimented us on in 2002, is not regular coverage? And what about Road and Track? They don't just cover motorsports, they cover all sorts of automotive subjects. Just like Car and Driver, AutoWeek and Motortrend. And newspapers, they cover other subjects. Is it because NewCarBuyingGuide.com is a woman's publication that you won't give us access?"

Mr. Branham said, "that's inappropriate. We are working with several Women's publications."

"What publications are those?" said Leshon.

Branham didn't respond. (Gee so what's new when a reporter asks a PR person for an answer, and they refuse. De riguer. )

"And do those women's publications only cover motorsports?" asked Leshon.

"No. They cover other subjects," said Branham in a low voice. He was clearly taken aback by that question. He had dug himself a hole.

Instead, he said, "NewCarBuyingGuide.com doesn't meet our criteria."

"And what criteria would we have to meet in order to be considered a legitimate motorsports media outlet?" asked Brian Leshon.

Gee what a surprise, Branham refused to answer. Instead he asked, "are you only internet. Do you have a print publication?"

To which Leshon replied, "Yes, we have been in print, and we will do more. But I am sure that there are other publications that are internet only that you give access to. Am I right?"

Branham refused to answer. Again.

"Look. This isn't the 90s when companies had no idea of what to do with the internet and couldn't figure out what a real publication was online. We've been here for nearly a decade. I don't have this problem with CART, IRL, American Le Mans. And I don't even have this problem with Formula One," explained Leshon. "And they are REALLY hard to deal with. "

"Moreover" exclaimed Leshon,"the two places people get most of their NASCAR information is watching the races on TV and reading articles on the internet. The NASCAR site is huge. What could possibly be your problem with the internet?"

Branham did not respond. This is a pattern with him, we suppose.

"Has anyone from your publication ever attended NASCAR events?" asked Branham.

"Yes of course, we have had two journalists in addition to myself at races, and another who covered the Busch Series. You know this. But what does that have to do with getting releases now, or getting us access to the NASCAR media website? When we attend the races, we don't need the press releases. It's when we don't, that we do need the information," Leshon explained gently to the indignant Branham.

At that point Branham said he would talk to one of his "superiors."

Now I, Sandra Kinsler, Editor-in-Chief of NewCarBuyingGuide.com, have been listening to this discourse for about 5 minutes, knowing full well that NASCAR has played games with us about our request for media access in the past. And I'm very impatient with these types of people because they have been playing these kinds of games with us for so many years. So I grabbed the phone from Brian Leshon and started to shout at Herb Branham.

"Listen here." I said impatiently, and loudly. "This isn't a big request. We're asking, as we have done for the past 3 years, to be put on NASCAR's emailing list for press releases. What possibly could be the problem with that?"

No answer, of course.

"And moreover, I'm really sick of this garbage. Put us on the list now, or we'll write an article for our readers explaining how little respect NASCAR has for NewCarBuyingGuide.com and it's 2.5 million readers, and apparently women in general. Brian give this guy your email address please. Put us on the list. You don't need to check with anyone."

Brian Leshon took the phone back. "So what's it gonna be?"

Branham response was, "that was ill advised." Hmm. Did he mean allowing the Editor-In-Chief of NewCarBuyingGuide.com to speak? Or was he referring to the writing of an article about how NewCarBuyingGuide.com was treated by NASCAR?

"She has every right to be angry," Leshon said. "You've been jerking us around on this for years.

"I have to speak to one of my superiors," said Branham. He hung up.

2 minutes later we get a call back from Jim Hunter, Vice President of NASCAR. Hunter emphatically says, "We are not going to put you on our email press release list, and we are not going to give you access to our media site. We have criteria by which we approve publications for this. And you do not meet the criteria."

Leshon asked him, "what is that criteria?"

Just as with Branham, Jim Hunter refused to respond.

"We've covered NASCAR for 9 years. If you won't help us get the information we need, we can't cover you. That's reality. And we will write an article and explain to our reader how NASCAR is treating us." That's what Brian Leshon told Jim Hunter. And that is the purpose of this article.

That was also the end of the conversation. Or yelling match as it were.

NASCAR sponsors be aware that your NASCAR marketing efforts alienated the largest women's automotive publication in the world. NASCAR doesn't want to help us cover the sport you spend tens of millions of dollars on, every year.

I'm talking to you NEXTEL, and Ford, and General Motors, and Dodge and, Tide, and Hot Wheels, and Goodyear, and Alltel, and Kodak, and Goodwrench (a NewCarBuyingGuide.com advertiser), and Post Cereals, and Viagra, and Singular, and Cheerios, and Kraft Foods, and UPS, and the US Army, and the National Guard, and Home Depot, and Lowes, and Gillette, and LoJack, and Texaco Havoline, and Kellogs, and Target, and Brawny, and M &Ms, and AOL, and NetZero, and Schwanns, and Ditech, and GMAC, and Betty Crocker. And almost every beer and auto parts manufacturer under the sun. Every single one of you relies on the patronage of women. Make sure NASCAR knows this.

All you companies need to get these boys in line and tell them that bad press among women, is VERY BAD press. It isn't the case that “any press is good press”, when you piss women off with sexism. It just means they'll buy the products of companies that clearly support women, and the businesses they count on. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" is the truism. And scorned women speak with their pocket books -- you'll never know what hit you.

One cell phone company is just about as good as the next. Don't you agree ladies? Hey gals, if NASCAR doesn't get their act together, should we start using Verizon? That's a good idea, isn't it?

Hey fellas, don't tell me the problem is because I am angry. You're the ones that have played around with us for a decade. We've politely gone about providing our readers with the information they need to buy cars and enjoy motorsports, and lots of other things. If you don't like our tone of voice, stop being idiots.

Stop lying to us. Stop telling us NewCarBuyingGuide.com isn't important, and being vague about why. Stop telling us that the reason you don't give us the same access that the men's publications get has nothing to do with our audience being predominantly female. Because it does. It's your only reason.

You are sexist. And you lie. You are always the ones that are nasty first . So expect us to respond in kind. That is how women who have been mistreated behave. And with good reason.

Thanks Al Franken. You've given us the courage to call a spade, a spade. In your new book, you're brave enough to stand up and call a liar, a liar. In our case we're going to call the sexist behavior of companies sexist. NASCAR you're sexist!

So NewCarBuyingGuide.com readers what do you think we should do? Should we all stop watching NASCAR? Should we consider forbidding our husbands and sons from watching -- and perhaps go to church instead. Should we refuse to buy Fords, Chevys and Dodges, to send a message to these dummies that they can't treat women, and the businesses they rely on, this way? And should we also veto our husbands when they want products from these companies, or to travel to a race? Next time go to a CART event.

You tell me. How should liars and sexist people be handled? If you come up with a good idea, we'd be delighted to print it.

Please stay tuned. We'll tell you about other companies pulling the same kind of, self-defeating pranks.