03/17/26 06:18:00
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03/17 18:16 CDT NASCAR suspends Daniel Dye after livestream mockery of
IndyCar's David Malukas
NASCAR suspends Daniel Dye after livestream mockery of IndyCar's David Malukas
By JENNA FRYER
AP Auto Racing Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) --- NASCAR driver Daniel Dye was suspended Tuesday --- the
second known major penalty of his racing career --- for mocking IndyCar driver
David Malukas during a recent livestream.
In the video, which circulated Tuesday on social media, Dye used voices that
made inferences about Malukas' sexuality. He mimicked Malukas' voice at one
point.
Dye is a Truck Series for driver Kaulig Racing, which also suspended him.
NASCAR ordered Dye to undergo sensitivity training.
Dye apologized to Malukas in a social media post, calling his comments
"careless."
"I chose my words poorly and I understand why it upset people," he wrote. "I'm
sorry to anyone who was offended. That's now I want to represent myself.
"I have some close friends in the LBGT+ community who would never want to feel
less of themselves because of what I said, and that's exactly why I should hold
myself to a higher standard."
He said conversations with those friends made him recognize that "a true friend
would know better than to act the way I did."
Malukas, a 24-year-old driver for Team Penske, often posts pictures on social
media with a girlfriend.
This is the second time Dye has been suspended.
He was 18 and racing in the ARCA series when he was arrested at a Dayona Beach,
Florida, high school and charged with felony battery for approaching a
classmate and punching the student in the groin area.
The victim was treated at a hospital for a potential ruptured testicle.
Dye said it was a game and he'd be exonerated.
He was instead indefinitely suspended by ARCA, which is owned by NASCAR. Dye
was reinstated when the charge was reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor.
Dye in his third full season of racing in the Truck Series. He moved to Kaulig
Racing this year to drive for Ram in the automaker's return to NASCAR
competition. Through three races, his best finish is 13th at Atlanta.
Dye raced at St. Petersburg, Florida, in the Truck Series when NASCAR partnered
its third-tier series with IndyCar's season opener. Malukas made his Team
Penske debut that same weekend.
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
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