MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- Sixteen years after Bill Clinton successfully courted soccer moms during his first presidential run, his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, is making a pitch for a new crucial demographic: NASCAR dads.

Mrs. Clinton appeared yesterday at the North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame museum, wooing voters for Tuesday's Democratic primary in the Tar Heel state. If she is able to overcome Sen. Barack Obama -- whose once-large polling lead in North Carolina has shrunk in recent weeks -- it will be because she brings white men into her corner.

And in North Carolina, there are quite a few white male "racin' fans."

Mr. Obama earlier in the week shot hoops with the University of North Carolina basketball team, but auto racing is at least as popular as basketball -- if not more so.

Appearing with Gov. Mike Easley, her most prominent supporter in the state, Mr. Easley's wife, Mary, and NASCAR legend Junior Johnson in a room filled with racing memorabilia, Mrs. Clinton dotted her speech with car metaphors.

"I've been nicked and bumped and knocked around a few times," she said. "But I've managed to get to the finish line."

A swipe at Republicans drew a large cheer from the gathering of a few hundred supporters: "If you want to go forward, you put it in D. If you want to go backward, you put it in R."

Mrs. Clinton also drew sharp contrasts with Mr. Obama, who has struggled recently with the perception that he is elitist and out of touch with working-class voters.

"You need to make up your mind about who is really on your side," she said. "Who understands what you're going through, and who will stand up for you?"

Mrs. Clinton attacked the Illinois senator -- referring to him as "my opponent" and not by name -- for disagreeing with her proposals to suspend the 18.5-cent federal gasoline tax this summer and freeze home foreclosures for an extended period.

The New York senator also attacked Mr. Obama's health care plan for not mandating coverage, saying it would make insurance more expensive for everyone else.

As she has throughout the country, Mrs. Clinton asked voters to take her experience into account and treat the election like a hiring decision.

The Mooresville stop was the last of four events in the state yesterday, as Mrs. Clinton's campaign has increased its intensity to help trim or eliminate Mr. Obama's advantage in a state once thought to be an easy win for him.

After spending today in Indiana, Mrs. Clinton plans to return to North Carolina tomorrow, and her indefatigable husband is speaking at 15 North Carolina events, mostly in small towns, today and tomorrow.

They are hoping to attract more voters like James Rosenbalm, 68, a retired mechanic who has put off buying furniture and a new car because of the hard economic times. Before the event in Mooresville yesterday, he said he liked Mrs. Clinton's extensive experience.

"I'm looking for someone who will take care of old people like me," he said with a chuckle.

Mr. Rosenbalm, whose favorite driver is Kasey Kahne, said he hoped the event would sway a few more NASCAR fans to Mrs. Clinton's side.

Barry Lewis, 67, a Vietnam veteran who worked for BellSouth before retiring a couple of years ago, fondly recalled the years when Mrs. Clinton's husband was in the White House.

"I made more money when Bill was in office," Mr. Lewis said. "I couldn't wait to get up in the morning and check my stocks."

But Mr. Lewis, who took advantage of North Carolina's early voting to cast a ballot for Mrs. Clinton, said he didn't agree with her gas tax proposal -- an issue that has been played up on the stump and in campaign ads for both candidates in the final days before the North Carolina and Indiana primaries.

"It's just a Band-Aid," Mr. Lewis said. "It's not that big a deal. You'll take anything if you can get it, but I don't think that's it."

After she finished her speech, Mrs. Clinton toured through the museum looking at old stock cars with Mr. Johnson, who won 50 NASCAR races but started his driving career running moonshine through the North Carolina mountains.

Here in NASCAR country, the legendary driver's word goes a long way.

"When you can get Junior Johnson to show up with you, Hillary," Mr. Easley said, "you are somebody."