Reality just got sped up.
BET offers the next reality TV challenge with their new show, “Changing Lanes,” set to air debut on Wednesday at 8 p.m. The show, narrated by rap star Ludacris, takes on an industry most African-Americans rarely get to participate in: The world of NASCAR racing.
Despite it being the nation’s second most popular sport, NASCAR’s record on race relations is sub-par. (Former NASCAR racing official Mauricia Grant settled a $225 million discrimination lawsuit with them in 2009 for an undisclosed amount.) There are very few black drivers who can generate the kind of mainstream sponsorship necessary to support a racing team and little opportunity for them to learn to do so. Many NASCAR drivers come from a family history in the sport. Women are also mostly shut out in racing, despite the success of Formula One driver Danica Patrick.
“Changing Lanes” is an eight-episode competition that will pit 10 aspiring drivers from a final pool of 30 against each other in on-road and off-road skills tests. They will be sponsored by Revolution Racing, owned by racing veteran Max Siegel, the only African-American owned franchise in the history of the sport. The competition’s winner will have the chance to qualify for The Toyota All-Star Showdown race in California.
To make it that much more fun to watch – and, in keeping with most reality shows’ “create some drama” tradition – all the contestants will live in the same house. Think “Making of the Band” meets “Top Chef” on wheels.
The show came about through the efforts of Siegel and NASCAR’s own Drive for Diversity campaign, which hopes to win more minorities and women over to NASCAR. Siegel parlayed a relationship with BET CEO Scott Mills, who turns out to be a huge NASCAR fan, into what he hopes will be groundbreaking programming.
“I leveraged every personal relationship I’ve had for the last 20 years,” Siegel told The Sporting News in a recent interview. “I went to see them four times. Scott is a huge motorsports enthusiast, and BET is going through a rebranding initiative to grow its viewership. It’s an unusual but interesting collaboration.”
While “Changing Lanes” faces an uphill battle selling auto racing to an audience that has been indifferent to it thus far, it’s a good start to exposing NASCAR to a brand new audience.
“For people who don’t know racing,” Siegel told the New York Daily News, “it has drama built into it. There’s a lot of speed. There’s a lot of complexity in racing. Those are the key touch points to make an entertainment product successful.”
