Denny Hamlin apologized Monday night for a tweet he posted, saying “it was a poor choice of memes and I saw how it was offensive.”
In the tweet that has since been removed, Hamlin poked fun at friend Kyle Larson’s actions at the end of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway.
Hamlin tweeted a clip from the show “Family Guy” that references a female Asian driver. Larson’s name was superimposed over the driver. Larson’s mother is Asian American.
Larson moved up multiple lanes coming to the finish in Sunday’s race. His actions caused Kurt Busch to crash. The incident also collected Bubba Wallace. Both drive for 23XI Racing, the team Hamlin co-owns.
Hamlin’s tweet was posted at 4:44 p.m. ET Monday. Hamlin posted his apology at 11:49 p.m. ET Monday and noted he had removed the earlier tweet.
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.
— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) April 26, 2022
Hamlin could face discipline from NASCAR.
Section 4.3.e of the Cup Rule Book states: “NASCAR Members shall not make or cause to be made a public statement and/or communication that criticizes, ridicules, or otherwise disparages another person based upon that person’s race, color, creed, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, age, or handicapping condition.”
Section 4.4.e of the Cup Rule Book states that a member could face a penalty for a “Statement and/or communication made public (including social media platforms) that demeans, criticizes, ridicules, or otherwise disparages another person based upon that person’s race, color, creed, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, age, or handicapping condition.”