Gay pride at Infineon
Published: Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 8:18 p.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 8:18 p.m.
It was late in the NASCAR race Sunday at Infineon Raceway when I noticed a dark-haired man walk in front of my press box seat in the first row. I thought I saw a logo on his shirt — “Queers4Gears.com” — but I shook my head. Nah. Couldn't be. This is NASCAR. This is straight-arrow Americana I'm watching. About five minutes later the man walked by again. I paid closer notice. Yep, that was what the logo read all right.
And I thought that after 47 years I'd asked every question I could ask in sports ... until this one surfaced.
“Is that the name of a website for gay NASCAR fans?” I asked Michael T. Myers, the site's founder.
I was half-expecting Myers to say, “LIVE, from Sonoma! It's Saturday night!” Gay NASCAR fans? Why not tree-hugging lumberjacks? Why not chain-smoking yoga instructors? How about Tiger Woods, the monk?
“Usually the first reaction is: Really?” Myers said. “The second reaction: People start laughing.”
Fact, Queers4Gears.com is not a punch line but a website run by Myers, a sales manager from Las Vegas. Online since September 2009, the website features commentary by Myers on NASCAR's races. A member of the National Motorsports Press Association, a NASCAR-credentialed reporter for the four Cup races in the West, Myers began this project to bring new fans to the sport. It has evolved into something quite beyond that.
Last Sunday Myers wrote a story about Craig Wadsworth, an openly gay man who is the chef for Michael Waltrip Racing. Myers didn't solicit Wadsworth.
“I was not going to approach him,” said Myers, 38. “That's not how I operate.”
It was a public relations man who approached Myers. Wadsworth agreed, Myers agreed.
“I don't have any problems at all,” Wadsworth told Myers. “They all know it and nobody seems to mind.”
It was a significant piece of journalism because it helped destroy a stereotype, one Myers is eager to identify.
“That everyone in NASCAR is full of gay-hating redneck Republicans,” Myers said. “I had a woman from Missouri send me an email in which she said, ‘I'm not going to go out and march for you but you have changed for me how I view gay people. Thank you.' Fact is, it's been easier for me coming out gay at a NASCAR race than it has been coming out as a NASCAR fan at a gay bar.”
Myers has heard that he's just being used. Or that the rednecks are laughing behind his back. Or that he really hasn't been accepted at all, he's just kidding himself. Nonetheless, Queers4Gears.com has morphed into something of a social phenomenon, a vehicle to tear down stereotypes on both sides of the sexual-preference line.
“Once a person gets to meet and know a gay,” said Myers, who has a bachelor's degree in communications from Appalachian State, “everything changes. Why is it that Dick Cheney has a much more liberal approach to homosexuality than Barack Obama? Because Cheney has a gay daughter.”
It is in this context Jeremy Fuller, the ex-tire changer for Red Bull Racing, ought to sit down and talk with Myers. Fuller was fired from Red Bull Tuesday night after he made homophobic tweets about San Francisco's gay pride celebration. A follower of his tweeted, “If we could get rid of them it'd be a lot better.” To which Fuller responded, “LOL. Don't we all wish!”
Myers wrote about the offensive tweets, pressed Red Bull for a response. Initially, they didn't respond. Then they issued a statement that read in part: “Red Bull Racing team was made aware of comments ... Red Bull Racing Team terminated the contractor's employment effective immediately ... We have zero tolerance for such violations and in no way support any of the comments posted by this individual.”
Myers will not shy away from the hard news but has attracted 2,000 unique visitors a month with a sense of humor. Myers is not a gadfly looking to grab a few headlines. Rather, he is knowledgeable about the sport, is not afraid to label drivers “divas” and writes in a conversational style.
“He (Richard Childress) took off his rings to fight (Kyle Busch) — and you only do that if you are gonna shower, make love or fight ... It has been scientifically proven that gays love a parade. But some of us also love fast cars and hot drivers. Why not skip the parade and head out to Sonoma to watch a much faster line of brightly colored vehicles go by ... I did not see as much carnage as I expected from the Lady in Black (Darlington Raceway). By the way, would someone tell her that wearing all-black is soooooo 1990s. ... In the past few years the racing at Bristol was more boring than Piers Morgan ...”
So rather than ask why would someone run a gay NASCAR fan website, the question should be this: Why not? Why not read someone with passion and perspective? Why not see NASCAR from a different angle?
For more North Bay sports go to Bob Padecky's blog at padecky.blogs.pressdemocrat.com. You can reach Staff Columnist at 521-5223 or bob.padecky@pressdemocrat.com.
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