For those of you who don’t follow NASCAR (like me), let me fill you in; there’s more to racing than going fast; financing a racecar takes money (a !$%*  load of money); and Jimmy Johnson is king (Yes. Apparently, he’s won four championships in a row. Did you know that? I didn’t).  In fact, I’d venture a guess – with the exception of actual fans, most people don’t know anything about NASCAR. These people don’t recognize NASCAR for what it is:  “the fastest growing sport in America.”

So, when South Park revved up this week to take a few shots at NASCAR nay-sayers, who refuse to recognize it as “respected, legitimate sport” because of regional and social stereotypes, it’s no surprise they compared them to Eric Cartman.  Wake up, people.  In the words of Kyle Broflovski, “I believe you’re a broke, ignorant idiot.”

The show enters with Cartman in a state of pretentious self-loathing, crying half-heatedly by his locker about the typical unexpected plotline we’ve come to expect from South Park.  Mr. Garrison has assigned the classic classroom essay - “What I Want to Be When I Grow Up” – and Cartman reveals to Stan and Kyle that his dream is to become a NASCAR driver.

As usual, Stan and Kyle indulge Cartman's display with sympathy.  They tell him he can be a driver if he wants until they discover the root of Cartman’s misery: he is, and I quote, “not poor and stupid enough.” Apparently, Cartman is too rich and too smart to be a NASCAR driver … Enter the stereotype of supposed racing fans, like Kenny.

Believing his friends actually support him, an arrogant Cartman sets out to become poor and stupid.  He enlists the help of a “psyched up” Butters (so innocent and naïve) as his pit boss.

Step one: Cartman gives Butters his entire life savings, a grand total of 58 dollars and 32 cents, which Butters donates to the needy – he actually buys canned foods and blankets for NASCAR fans.

Step two: Cartman needs to become stupid (the irony of stupid person trying to become more stupid is apparent, like a dog chasing its own tail). Cartman had hoped watching Two and A Half Men! would make him stupid(I knew there was a reason I like South Park), but when a Vagisil  commercial promises him memory loss, Cartman ingests the female product like a Thanksgiving feast. For you men who don’t know, Vagisil removes itching and odors … yuck.

Now that Cartman feels poor and stupid, Butter lures a driver away from his car during a major race, and Cartman (I mentioned he was stupid, right?) hijacks the vehicle, quickly ruins the race, destroys the car, and kills 11 people.

Cartman is heartbroken because, even though he worked so hard, somehow he was still not poor and stupid enough. However, when the doctors calls his stunt, “the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard of a kid doing,” Cartman returns to the track Tom Cruise – Days of Thunder style.

To become poorer, Cartman goes out and spends even more money he doesn’t have, buying items that are “zero percent down and no payments for two years” – three cheers for the state of the American economy!

Cartman becomes renown for his stunt, and backed by a new sponsor, Vagisil, Cartman enters the NASCAR circuit as an official driver.  Not surprisingly, under the spotlight of the national media, he promotes the exaggerated stereotype of uneducated, redneck hillbilly.  A jealous and angry Kenny realizes that this poor publicity is harming the national recognition of the sport, and aims to kill Cartman with a sniper rifle.

Determined to be the stupidest driver in the race, and showing no regard for the skills actually needed to drive a professional race car, Cartman becomes a out-of-control, dangerous force.  He bangs into cars, runs over Danica Patrick, and mows over dozens of fans.

Desperate to save his sport, Kenny leaps from the stands onto Cartman’s car as it races down the track.  He attempts to stop Cartman, but his reckless driving eliminates every other car from contention.  It’s only when the wife of the owner of Vagisil hijacks Jimmy Johnson’s car, crashes into Cartman’s vehicle, and wins that race that Cartman realizes the truth – he can never be poor and stupid enough to be a NASCAR driver.

So, the moral of the story is this: stereotypes are misleading and can lead to false assumptions that can do serious harm (and I don’t just mean vehicular manslaughter).