Bigoted NASCAR Track Owner Wonders If the Cuban National Anthem Is Sung in Homestead
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Homestead-Miami Speedway hosts the Ford Championship Weekend, the last hurrah of the NASCAR season when the champ is crowned. Smith, of course, doesn't care much for the speedway and would much rather see the final race held at one of the many tracks owned by his company, Speedway Motorsports Inc.
He has continually made that point with ridiculous, ignorant comments.
In 2009 he wondered, "Why would you have the final race of the year in some godforsaken place that's near Cuba?"
Then, last year he added, "If you're going to do a championship, you've got to do it at the proper place, and I don't think North Cuba is the proper place."
This year's version of the sentiment is perhaps the worst yet. Here's an exchange Smith had with Dustin Long of Landmark Media:
Long: "You've repeatedly referred to Homestead as North Cuba. You've said things like that. If you said things like that on Homestead, aren't you being hypocritical?''He's implying that Cuban-Americans aren't real Americans. That they perhaps shouldn't be singing "The Star-Spangled Banner," even though many took giant risks -- the kind that a privileged white billionaire like Smith would never understand -- for a chance to come to America and escape a communist dictatorship. To suggest they should be singing the national anthem of Castro's Cuba is a harsh insult.
Smith: "Tell us where it is located. Is it not really in North Cuba?''
Long: "It's in the United States.''
Smith: "Yes, but isn't it really in North Cuba?... Do you sing the Cuban national anthem in North Cuba [his reference to Homestead]?
Long: "No, they don't.''
Smith: "Well, they should.''
He's also implying that, well, only gringos watch NASCAR. Which, as long as people like Smith influence the sport, might continue to be the case.
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