If you question why the Army National Guard has been spending your tax money
on a NASCAR team, apparently you're not alone. Minnesota Representative
Betty McCollum (D) is wondering aloud why the U.S. Armed Forces has spent
nearly $20 million over the past couple of years sponsoring the Stewart-Haas
Racing team. That relationship is reportedly coming to an end now, however,
as the Army has declined to renew sponsorship for next season.
At first, it might seem NASCAR's core audience and the pool of potential
Army recruits would have big overlap. But according to a Marketplace report,
Senator McCollum says she was told by the Guard themselves that the NASCAR
sponsorship deal has brought in some 24,800 interested recruits. But of that
group, only 20 were actually qualified to join the Guard. And of that same
group, exactly zero joined. McCollum says her goal is to get Congress to
limit what the Army can spend its ad dollars on, and sports sponsorships
will not be on her approved list.
