NASCAR said that it’s going to require Hailie Deegan to take sensitivity coaching earlier than the beginning of the 2021 season after her use of the R-word during an online racing event Sunday night.
The 19-year-old Deegan will probably be a rookie within the Tenting World Truck Sequence this season. The sequence’ first race is scheduled to be Feb. 12 at Daytona Worldwide Speedway.
Video of Deegan uttering the pejorative was posted on social media Sunday night.
Deegan, probably the most celebrated feminine driver within the NASCAR ranks, issued an apology on social media.
“Earlier tonight I used an insensitive phrase throughout an internet race being broadcast on twitch,” Deegan said. “It was inappropriate slang and a silly factor to do. I apologize to everybody who was offended by it. There’s no excuse for it, and I do know I’ve to do higher for my sponsors and my followers.”
Ford issued a press release Monday: “We’re conscious of this inappropriate remark. Hailie instantly acknowledged this error, has apologized and promised to be far more considerate sooner or later.”
Part 12.8.e of the Tenting World Truck Sequence Rule E-book states that “NASCAR members shall not make or trigger to be made a public assertion and/or communication that criticizes, ridicules, or in any other case disparages one other particular person primarily based upon that particular person’s race, colour, creed, nationwide origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital standing, faith, age or handicapping situation.”
Deegan is in her second 12 months as a Ford growth driver. She competed within the ARCA Sequence final season. Her runner-up end final 12 months at Daytona in her sequence debut tied for the best result by a female driver in that series. Deegan made her Truck debut final October, ending sixteenth at Kansas Speedway. That set a document for highest end by a feminine driver in her Truck Sequence debut.
Beforehand, she had been a growth driver for Toyota. She was the first female to win an ARCA West race when she did so in 2018.
