Hamlin respects NASCAR punishment for crass meme
Toyota driver had posted anti-Asian tweet targeting Larson’s Talladega driving
Denny Hamlin said someone sent him a crass anti-Asian meme that poked fun at Kyle Larson’s driving and out it went without a care — from his mobile phone to Twitter.
“I thought it was hilarious,” Hamlin said. “Also, it’s insensitive. I understand.”
He didn’t laugh long. NASCAR and scores of fans and casual observers who lashed out at Hamlin for linking Larson’s ancestry — he’s half Japanese — with an offensive stereotype linked to Asian drivers certainly didn’t find the meme funny.
Hamlin is headed to NASCAR-mandated sensitivity training after he posted the anti-Asian meme from the television comedy “Family Guy” to criticize Larson’s driving last weekend on the last lap at Talladega Superspeedway.
“I respect their decision. I understand where they are with it,” Hamlin said Saturday at Dover International Speedway.
Hamlin deleted the tweet Monday night and apologized.
Larson moved up the track multiple lanes in an aggressive move that caused a wreck at Talladega.
“I saw the correlation in the driving. That was it,” Hamlin said. “I didn’t even think twice about the other (part). That’s the insensitive part, right? Whoever created it, I guess, put his name in front of a woman who’s speaking Asian. I guess you’re making fun of that.”
Hamlin is a three-time Daytona 500 winner who drives a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. He also owns 23XI Racing with Michael Jordan and fields two cars supported by the Japanese automaker — one driven by Bubba Wallace, the only Black driver at NASCAR’s top level.
In the meme, an Asian woman speaks in choppy English before moving across six lanes of traffic with no warning, reflecting a racist stereotype about Asian drivers. It has long been removed on all streaming platforms but the clip can still be found on YouTube. Larson’s name was superimposed over the female driver in the meme.
Hamlin’s tweet was up nearly seven hours before he deleted it.
“I definitely understand how some people could find it offensive,” Hamlin said. “If it’s one, then it’s one too many.”
Hamlin wanted to keep private his conversation with Larson.
“No hard feelings from me,” Larson said. “I think after he put it out there, he realized how offensive it could be.”
Contract talks
Two-time Cup champion Kyle Busch sparked NASCAR headlines when he griped last week about his unsatisfactory contract talks with Joe Gibbs Racing and his cloudy future in the series.
Owning perhaps NASCAR’s most prickly personality, Busch was vague Saturday at Dover about conversations he had this week with JGR.
“There were some discussions and such,” he said. “Nothing to elaborate on. All good.”
Busch has been with JGR for 14 years and the team was rewarded with the 2015 and 2019 Cup championships.
Busch leads all active drivers with 60 Cup wins.
Qualifying
Chris Buescher was the surprise pole winner Saturday at Dover, turning a lap of 160.149 mph to win his first career top spot.
The RFK Racing driver will be joined on the front row by Hamlin.
Buescher also earned the first pole for RFK Racing in the No. 17 Ford. Brad Keselowski left Team Penske in November for an ownership stake in Jack Roush’s organization, forging a new partnership. Keselowski and Buescher opened strong for RFK Racing when they won the 150-mile qualifying races at Daytona International Speedway in February.
Xfinity: Josh Berry led a dominant outing for JR Motorsports and raced to his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the season in the A-GAME 200 at Dover International Speedway. Berry had tears in his eyes and hoisted his daughter in the air after he took the checkered flag in the No. 8 Chevrolet for his third career Xfinity win in 39 starts. Berry finished second in last year’s Dover race. JR Motorsports put four drivers in the top five on the one-mile concrete track. Justin Allgaier was second, Noah Gragson was fourth and 18-year-old Sam Mayer was fifth. Ty Gibbs interrupted the JR Motorsports run with a third-place finish.
IndyCar: Rinus VeeKay led an upset in qualifying to position himself to race for the win for the Indy Honda Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park. The Dutchman was the surprise pole-winner for Sunday’s race.