John Henry’s Odd NASCAR Obsession

There’s something about Red Sox principal owner John Henry’s insistence on pushing NASCAR that leaves us confused. Henry’s Fenway Sports Group is wooing the members of Red Sox Kid Nation in the hopes that some of them will learn to love watching cars go around in circles for hours on end. Even the kid pictured in the Globe’s story looks deeply skeptical.

But it’s not just our obvious indifference to camshafts and restrictor plates that makes us wonder why Henry pushes the racing thing while we’re trying to watch the Sox.

NASCAR is famously Republican country and the New Hampshire racetrack gives GOP candidates the perfect place to campaign.

McCain swooped in yesterday in his Straight Talk Express bus for a pitstop at the Sylvania 300 NASCAR race in Loudon.

Appearing with Red Sox star Curt Schilling and NASCAR legend Richard Petty, McCain laid a Republican claim to the stock car fans’ vote. And many in the rain-soaked crowd cheered him.

That’s all well and good, but the Red Sox owners are notoriously liberal. They endorsed John Kerry in 2004, and Red Sox chairman Tom Werner donated to several Democratic presidential hopefuls last year. We can just imagine Werner slapping the picture of McCain happily waving to race fans on Henry’s desk this morning, snarling something about this being all Henry’s fault. (OK, it’s hard to imagine Werner snarling, but you get the point).

It’s not too late, Mr. Henry. Just quietly step away. If you won’t do it for us non-NASCAR fans, do it for the Democrats.

Logo from Fenway Sports Group website