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NASCAR: 'We must all hold ourselves accountable to driving positive change'

Nick Bromberg
·College football and motorsports writer
Updated ·3 min read

NASCAR issued a statement Monday evening as civil unrest continued throughout the country following the killing of Minneapolis resident George Floyd.

In the statement, which was made public minutes before Monday night’s Xfinity Series race began and minutes after federal police used tear gas to clear a park full of peaceful protesters near the White House, NASCAR said that “we must all hold ourselves accountable to driving positive change.”

The statement does not directly mention Floyd or the protests that erupted after his death and instead indirectly addressed “immensely troubling events.” It did acknowledge the sanctioning body’s own troubles with diversity and other cultural stereotypes.

“The NASCAR family, like so many others, is hurt and angered by the immensely troubling events that have taken place across our country in recent weeks. For us to heal and move forward as a nation, we all need to listen more and be united in the stand against racism, hatred, senseless violence and loss of life. And we must all hold ourselves accountable to driving positive change.

“While our sport has made progress over the years, there remains much work to be done and we fully embrace our responsibility to help bridge the racial divide that continues to exist in our country. We must do better and our commitment to promoting equality and inclusion continues and will never waver.”

NASCAR formed a program for women and minorities to progress through its ranks in the early 2000s and has included drivers like Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson and Daniel Suarez. Wallace is the only full-time black driver in any of NASCAR’s top three series and Suarez, a native of Mexico, is the only non-United States native who is racing in the Cup Series.

Larson is without a ride after he was fired as the driver of the No. 42 car after he said the N-word over the radio during a virtual race in April.

Wallace and Wendell Scott are the only two black drivers to win a race in any of NASCAR’s top three series.

Drivers speak out

NASCAR’s statement also came after numerous white drivers spoke out against racism. Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney and Ty Dillon all made social media posts about Floyd’s death.

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Seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson was asked about the weekend’s protests after he finished third on Sunday at Bristol.

“The circumstances are just crazy and unacceptable,” Johnson said. “I am for protesting, peaceful protesting. I hope there’s more of that tonight. I know there are concerns, especially in the Charlotte area, near my home, that they will be protesting tonight.

“The message needs to be clear, but I think being peaceful is really the right way to send the message here. I hope everybody stays safe.”

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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.

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