Pollster John Zogby has been tracking the political and cultural attitudes of the so called "NASCAR voter" since 2006, and his latest survey confirms some trends in that demographic that should be of interest to conservatives and Republicans.

Washington Times:

There is a “dramatic transformation” among the group, he says, affecting their politics and ideology. “What is so stunning now is the diversity of the sport’s fans,” Mr. Zogby notes. Those fans are many - numbering 75 million, according to multiple press reports.

He bases his conclusion on numbers. Among those who described themselves as “NASCAR fans” in Mr. Zogby’s 2006 poll of 3,351 likely voters, 58 percent said they were conservative, 25 percent moderate and 12 percent liberal. Another 54 percent were Republicans and 20 percent Democrats, while 82 percent were white, 7 percent were black, 7 percent Hispanic, and 56 percent were gun owners.

Mr. Zogby has repeated the questions among 1,653 NASCAR fans this week, and here’s the evolving numbers: Thirty-seven percent now say they are conservative, 30 percent moderate and 33 percent liberal. Now, 36 percent identify themselves as Republicans and 39 percent Democrat; 63 percent are white, 11 percent black, 22 percent Hispanic; and 50 percent own guns.

The pollster began tracking NASCAR fans who identified themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender two years ago; it was 6 percent then, and 11 percent this time around.

“This change did not happen overnight. It has been a steady progression,”Mr. Zogby says, who nonetheless deems it a “dramatic transformation."

First, Zogby is not the most reliable of pollsters, according to Nate Silver's pollster rankings.  But more importantly, it is the organization NASCAR who is probably responsible for most of the demographic change.

In the last 10 years, NASCAR has altered its marketing strategy to reach out to minorities and women, significantly increasing the number of fans.  Since both groups are more liberal, the change in political affiliation is at least partly explained by an expansion of NASCAR's fan base.

There has also been a strategy by NASCAR to increase the number of fans in blue states, which also skews the results.  In short, while demographic changes in America are happening long-term, it is NASCAR who has changed in the short term, not so much America.