I agree with you that racing wastes resources and pollutes, but the actual amount of pollution and used resources is a tiny fraction of those used daily on America's highways. Did you know that the fuel they use is some of the cleanest, highest octane stuff going? If sold to you and I, it would have a cost of over $6.00 a gallon.
If you're having an issue with the wastefulness of the millions of race fans, consider all the other sporting events that people go to see all the time.
As for fotering wasteful attitudes - I'm sure that American's would be as bad as they are without NASCAR. Also - with the exception of the major teams at the top levels of racing, mechanics do reuse as much of their parts as possible. All that stuff is too expensive not to reuse.
Even at the top level, the crews are constantly rebuilding and re-tooling parts for the next race. Only the bodies and tires are highly disposable. And trust me, all major race tracks have recycling programs and I can assure you that Goodyear, Hoosier and the other tire manufacturers recycle as well. They take back all the used tires for more reseach - in fact NASCAR teams do not even own the tires on which they race.
The local race track in the U.S. is a wonderful place to see families. Sure people may think they're all ignorant rednecks, but that's not the case. The love of cars and racing crosses all lines: economic, racial, educational, age and more. Go into the pits on a typical saturday night, and you will see a whole bunch of people. Including young men and women who are learning how to work on the cars - something that is much more transferrable to real life than playing baseball.
I have a friend who runs a modified stockcar in local drag races. He is 60 years old, recently retired from being an engineer with Lockheed Martin. He has a masters from Georgia Tech and worked on improving flight simulators. His wife typically comes to the races. One of his sons recently received a law degree from Harvard. The other son is finishing his law studies at Georgetown. That son races rally sports in his Subaru as a hobby. His fiance is a co-mechanic.
I can list a dozen other people dis-similar to him, yet most assuredly not redneck material.
I am a member of the Green Party. As I said before, I don't go to NASCAR races (even though I live an hour from Daytona), though I do go to local races occasionally. I derrive enjoyment out of watching the races. To me that enough of a point as to why they should go on. By the way - I drive a scooter and run a non-profit organization out of my home.