I’ve got to say NASCAR fans, I’m a little disappointed. I was looking around at unnamed Web sites and I came across a story about George Gillett and his partnership with Prince Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdullah al-Saud of Saudi Arabia (if his last name didn’t tip you off). What I found was a very prominent site that didn’t moderate comments and as a result allowed a lot of hateful, racist stuff to be said. I won’t repeat any of it here.

Although I know none of our readers were saying any of that stuff (and those comments don’t reflect the views of most fans) it still really bothered me. NASCAR fans bemoan being tied to some really negative stereotypes and I don’t blame them. But then there is a segment of fans that goes on to write stuff like this. A few bad apples spoil the whole bunch.

Now I suspect Prince Faisal is far more interested in George Gillett’s stake in the Liverpool Football Club in England (which Gillett owns with Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks), than he is in Gillett’s interest in Richard Petty Motorsports. For the sake of argument though, let’s say it is RPM that Faisal wants. Whats so bad about that?

The beauty of this sport is that literally anyone can enter it if they have the resources. This means the owners in the sport are financially a pretty eclectic bunch; from auto magnates to sports stars to working joes. Is Prince Faisal’s money not just as good?

In the NHRA, the money of a middle eastern royal was good enough for Alan Johnson, Larry Dixon and Del Worsham. HH Sheikh Khalid Bin Hamad Al Thani, a member of the ruling family of Qatar, partnered with Johnson this season to form Alan Johnson Al-Anabi Racing. According to the Wall Street Journal Sheikh Khalid is pouring $10 million into the team just this year. In this case the Sheikh is a man of wealth who loves drag racing and sees value in the NHRA. I say welcome.

In an era when money is increasingly tight and the future of a lot of organizations is in question why not look outside our own borders to attract investors?

All of what we’re seeing right now is very preliminary stuff, and from NASCAR’s and Richard Petty’s comments they haven’t even been consulted. That being said Prince Faisal and his sports investment firm F6 have a lot of resources. That shouldn’t be turned away or discouraged. Nor should we attach offensive stereotypes to someone just because of their national origin.

At the end of the day if Prince Faisal wants to buy a NASCAR team, or start one, or even wants to go NASCAR racing himself, I say go for it.

In the words of Rodney King, “Can’t we all just get along?”