NASCAR’s history stems from “good ole boys” trying to out run the “revenuers”; but in the 70 plus years since that beginning the sport has seen a great deal of change, including diversity and tolerance.
After the race at Talladega Superspeedway on April 24, driver Denny Hamlin made a post on social media in reference to fellow driver Kyle Larson causing a wreck that involved 23XI drivers Bubba Wallace and Kurt Busch – a team that Hamlin is a minority owner.
Aimed at Larson, who is a Japanese American and the only driver in NASCAR of Asian heritage, Hamlin posted a meme based on the “Family Guy” series intermixed with the final lap of the race when the wreck occurred.
Hamlin later took the post down and issuing an apology saying, “I took down a post I made earlier today after reading some of the comments. It was a poor choice of memes and I saw how it was offensive. It came across totally wrong. I apologize.”
But, that was not enough for NASCAR who has ordered Hamlin to complete a course of sensitivity training that must begin by the end of this week.
Two years ago, it was Kyle Larson who was required to take sensitivity training after using a racial slur on the radio during an iRacing event. Larson was also suspended from NASCAR until after he had completed the training.
feature photo credit: Denny Hamlin Xfinity Charlotte 2016.jpg