From Talladega to 'Queer Eye': NASCAR fan stars in new Netflix series, breaks stereotypes

Think you can stereotype NASCAR fans?

Do you imagine that they're all beer-drinking rednecks who are close-minded and averse to change?

Diehard racing fan Cory Waldrop is here to break that outdated notion--and he has a starring role in the new hit Netflix show "Queer Eye" to prove it.

Waldrop, a Georgia resident well-known among Alabama NASCAR fans as part of the Dega Do Club at Talladega Superspeedway, stars in the third episode of the show.

The episode--appropriately titled "Dega Don't--shows the makeover journey Waldrop went on with the "Fab Five" group of gay celebrities who transform lives through fashion, style, cooking, home decor and personal motivation.

"I had no hesitation when I found out the title or what the basis of the show was going to be," Waldrop said.  "Plus I am pretty much up to doing anything. I have a pretty open mind and that is one reason the Dega Do Club started."

One of Waldrop's fellow Dega Do Club members nominated him for the show and, after an audition period and online interview, he spent a week with show hosts Antoni Porowski, Tan France, Karamo Brown, Jonathan Van Ness and Bobby Berk.

The official Netflix statement describes the show this way: "The new Fab Five bring their unique personal backgrounds to every transformational story, dimensionalizing the LGBTQ experience and dismantling the stigmas attached to the idea that anyone, gay or straight, should need to act or behave in any manner except for the one that counts: authentically themselves."

The show is a revival of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, "a reality show that originally appeared on the Bravo network and won an Emmy in 2004.

Waldrop described the group of men on the show as "incredible" and said he was initially surprised by how well he got along with each of them.

"I never thought in a million years I would have bonded with these guys, especially in a week," he said, "but these are guys I could go out to the bar with and have an absolute blast."

Waldrop said that he and Brown--who is the show's resident culture expert and an African-American--became especially close, despite their social and political differences.

In the episode's most emotional scene, the two men discuss their differences and the way each one views today's charged political and racial environment. Waldrop, a police officer and Trump supporter, found himself having an honest conversation that never devolved into anger.

Instead, they communicated openly and found shared beliefs.

"Karamo and I really bonded. I don't think that would have happened if the talk in the truck on the way back from Atlanta wouldn't have happened," he said. "It was a special moment for both of us and I am glad it took place. We will be friends for life."

Of course, not all the moments on the show were so serious.

Waldrop also had to get fashion and beauty advice from the men.

He learned how to select appropriate outfits (a big departure from the outlandish costumes Waldrop often wears to Talladega parties) and use beauty and hair products.

"My Dega Do Club brothers have pretty much constantly poked fun at me ever since the show because now I am more focused on my outfits and I use moisturizers and occasionally will do a face mask," Waldrop said. "But all the while they are making fun of me, I can tell they are learning also. A couple of my buddies have actually grown their hair out and are using hair products. And Henry, who nominated me, actually bought some skinny jeans and shoes."

And then there was the time he and Brown shared romance tips in a scene that was eventually cut from the show.

The two went to a restaurant and Brown gave Waldrop advice for the next time he took his wife Jennifer out to dinner.

"Just picture a white guy from Georgia feeding a gay black man oysters in a restaurant," he laughed.

Waldrop said that it's important to break the stereotypes that surround Southerners and especially NASCAR fans, and he hoped that "Queer Eye" would aid in that understanding.

He said that racing fans get classified as intolerant, backwards and racist.

"They think that we are all toothless and wearing confederate flag clothes," he said.

When he and his friends founded the Dega Do Club in 2011 they did so in order to show a different side of NASCAR. They wanted to form a group of fans who love NASCAR and attend the races at Talladega each year, but who do so in a way that is open and friendly.

And while Talladega, and especially the infield area where the Dega Do Club stays and entertains friends on race weekends, can have a reputation as a wild spot Waldrop said that they never cross the line.

It's all in good fun.

"You do things at Dega that you normally wouldn't do in your normal day-to-day routine. One example would be how we dress up in wild outfits. Our club has its own set of super heroes like Dega Man, Target Man and Copenhagen Warrior," Waldrop said. "We are just people who like to have a good time and spend time with our friends and family."

Now that "Queer Eye" has made its debut with mostly positive reviews, Waldrop has become a celebrity of sorts. Viewers and reviewers have looked to his episode as an example of how well the show works to break down barriers and show that everyone just needs to be "the best version of themselves, whatever that may be."

Waldrop, for his part, found a version of himself that looked better on the outside than before and also had more self-awareness on the inside.

The final scene of his episode had Waldrop dressed in a new tailored suit (while his Dega Do friends, dressed in costume, watched off-camera with the Fab Five) and reminiscing on what the experience meant to him.

"There are the typical Southern rednecks out there," he said. "But look, we can be transformed."

Check out the "Queer Eye" Season One trailer (featuring scenes from Waldrop's episode):

Cheryl Wray covers sports for the Alabama Media Group. Follow her on Twitter @cwray_sports and email her at cwray@al.com.

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