Were We Able to Find Any NASCAR Fans Actually Upset Over NRA's Sponsorship of the Big Texas Race? 'Hell No!

(Photo: Jon Seidl/TheBlaze)

Despite all the uproar surrounding Friday's National Rifle Association-sponsored NASCAR race, the actual attendees of the Sprint Cup event could care less about the so-called controversy.  TheBlaze surveyed dozens of people and interviewed others at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, to get some organic fan reactions to the NRA's affiliation.

The event was more packed than this author anticipated.  There were cars lining the streets a good distance from the race track three hours before the race was scheduled to begin.  There were also rowdy NASCAR fans tailgating in the parking lot, some of which had been at it since the early morning hours.

"Hell no," Johnny Tindle of Waco, Texas replied when asked if he was "offended" by the NRA's sponsorship.  "I don't know why they have caused this big deal about this...They are just crazy.  Everybody should be a member of the NRA."

(Photo: Jon Seidl/TheBlaze)

Tindle said he would feel no different if an anti-gun group like the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence sponsored an event.  He may choose not to attend, but free speech gives them the right to sponsor whatever event they want to.

"I certainly wouldn't call for a boycott or try to shut them down," he added.

Bill Edwards, who drove in from San Antonio early Friday morning, said it doesn't bother him at all that the NRA is sponsoring the Sprint Cup race.  "Why would it?" he asked.

The outrage over the NRA's sponsorship comes from individuals who don't know enough about firearms, he explained.  The anti-gun crowd needs to learn more about weapons and how to use them, then "they wouldn't be so afraid of them," he said.

Regardless, Edwards was undoubtedly excited about the NASCAR race, given that it's the first one he's ever attended.

Bill Edwards, far left, enjoys the race with friends from San Antonio. (Photo: Jon Seidl/TheBlaze)

Lounging in a lawn chair outside the race track, Waco resident Ann Roberts told TheBlaze it comes down to freedom of speech and freedom of choice.  She said the NRA isn't forcing anyone to come to or watch the race -- so why should they be shut down?

"I think they have just stretched it all out of proportion.  It's not the guns," she said, defending the NRA.  "It's crazy people."

Sitting close by was her husband, Wayne -- and he wasn't shy about voicing his opinion on the matter.

"It's Obama who caused all this sh*t," he said, lamenting the fact that ammunition is much harder to come by these days.

If there is outrage over the NRA-sponsored race, it certainly is nowhere to be found here in Texas.

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