NASCAR announced Tuesday that Whelen Modified Tour team owner David Hill has been suspended indefinitely by the sanctioning body for his use of a racial slur in a Facebook posting made Saturday evening.
Hill must attend a NASCAR mandated sensitivity training program to be eligible to apply for reinstatement to NASCAR, though completion of the training program does not guarantee reinstatement.
According to a NASCAR release Hill: “… violated Sections 7-5 (NASCAR’s Code of Conduct) and 12-1 (Actions detrimental to stock car racing) of the 2014 NASCAR Rule Book.”
“Following the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour race on Aug. 30, David Hill made a post on social media that included remarks that we will not tolerate,” Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer said in a release. “We fully expect our entire industry to adhere to the Code of Conduct that is explicitly spelled out in the NASCAR Rule Book.”
Hill’s posting on Facebook, directed a racial slur at reigning NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Ryan Preece of Berlin, and also included a veiled threat directed at Preece (Click the link to see Hill’s Facebook post from Saturday).
Hill owns the Westfield, N.C. based Hill Enterprises racing team. The team had fielded a full-time car on the Whelen Modified Tour for more than two decades before leaving the series last year to run full-time on the Whelen Southern Modified Tour. The team has made three Whelen Modified Tour starts this year with Spencer Davis driving.
Preece, a regular on the Whelen Modified Tour, was at Langley Speedway in Hampton, Va. Saturday night competing in the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour Bayport Credit Union 150. Preece finished ninth in the event driving a family owned car. Davis, driving for Hill, finished 14th in the 17-car field.
The comment about “payback” was making reference to the fact that Hill’s team had been scheduled to be competing, against Preece in the Whelen Modified Tour season finale at Thompson Speedway on Oct. 19. Preece drives for the Flamingo Motorsports team on the Whelen Modified Tour.
Hill deleted the comment not long after posting it.
“It was never meant to be a racist remark,” Hill said Sunday morning. “You know it’s a figure of speech. It wasn’t meant anything the wrong way. It was took the wrong way. I should have had a better choice of words. And you shouldn’t be typing on Facebook when you’re upset that a really good run was taken away. I need to do better with my choice of words. … I did do it. But it’s definitely not the way I am. … I’m sorry for posting that. That’s not me.”
NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Jeremy Clements was suspended in February 2013 for using the “N-word” during a conversation with a writer for the television network MTV at Daytona International Speedway. Clements completed a racial sensitivity counseling session with Dr. Richard Lapchick of the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport and was reinstated two weeks after his suspension.
The war ain’t over is it Mr Hill?
When I looked up Ryan Preece on google, in every picture he was a white guy. So he wasn’t obviously calling someone an “N-word”. NASCAR front office is as silly as the media in general here. They hoot and holler over something like this, yet participate in a TV show that turns Bowman-Gray Stadium into “all star wrestling” and makes southern racers the “redneck” stereotype the media wants them to be. They and ESPN turn the Tony Stewart-Kevin Ward tragedy into a circus. Meanwhile, up in Vermont, there actually WAS a controversy at a NASCAR Modified track ON FACEBOOK between a black and a white driver and NO ONE commented on it. Time to just shut up and race
Must mean they have too many teams?
I’m not mad at him.
He deleted his comment and apologized. I don’t disagree with Nascar’s decision, but I think its over the top for a series that doesn’t get any TV time nor does it have any following from the print media.
ok guess their gonna suspend Mark Martin next for listening to rap music
The definition of that word is actually to be miserly and stingy with money. At least it was when it was used in congress in March of 2012 by democrat senator from Ohio Sherrod Brown. Of course that was ok because of the big D after his name
[email protected], Please post a link to any reputable dictionary website that offers that definition that backs up what you just said. I won’t hold my breath waiting for you to come back with that.
[email protected], what are you talking about? Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown used the word “niggardly”, which is defined in credible reference dictionaries as being cheap, stingy, and not generous. That is not the same word at all as was used by Mr. Hill. The word used by the Ohio Senator is not related in any way to the word used by Mr. Hill. Sharing some of the same letters doesn’t make it the same word. The root word niggard and the N-word, a derivative of which was used by Mr. Hill, are two very different words, different roots and histories.
And go review the video of the racing that took place between Preece and Mr. Hill’s car driven by Davis. Why was Mr. Hill so upset at Preece? Davis spun himself out, Preece had nothing to do with it. Davis was behind Preece when Davis spun on his own. Hill is now getting all this very undesirable attention for a very poor word choice used for trying to blame Preece for the mistake made by his driver.
Can’t make this stuff up.
I will vote for just about any candidate that makes education a priority.
Thanks Racedayct.com for this update. NASCAR made the right decision.
http://www.webpronews.com/senator-says-niggardly-2012-03
http://dailycaller.com/2012/03/15/sen-sherrod-brown-denounces-niggardly-colleagues/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpMQVUlf680
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/niggard
….good enough?
I’m not saying that I agree with him. I am saying that nobody should be banished from society because of what they say or the opinion they have. No harm was done to anyone. Ryan Preece is NOT black. The comment was made about him and directed to no one else. This political correct crap and the notion that your life should be over if you offend anyone is way out of hand.
Good enough???? Are you delusional? No Bill, you saw the word right? Because the word you just posted all these links about right here is NOT the same word in question.
Bill,
Who said he was being banished from society? Who said his life is over. He was punished for doing something that NASCAR officials didn’t agree with. Your comments here are simply off the wall ridiculous. First you threw out some totally fabricated explanation of the word have some other secret meaning and now you’re talking about someone being banished from society. You need to kinda get a grip man, your locomotive is far off the tracks here and shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon.
Bill Richards, what does that Sept 3 @ 1:48 PM post to do with this thread? Why are you talking about the words “niggardly” and “niggard”, and what some senator said? How is that related to what Mr. Hill said? Please explain.
One can be extremely passionate when it comes to your own kids…. Fooey with NASCAR all they care about is the money and Dave Hill has plenty of that.
with NASCAR problems of filling the stands or getting eyeball to the TV set they are now the speech police. are they afraid that holder will show up in Daytona ??
This politicly correct, cry for your mommy stuff is gonna be the end of so many good things in America. Buckle up folks, the world is a rough place and your sensitive feelings may get hurt from time ho time.
Dave Jr., as much as one tries to make it appear as such, there is nothing here about politically correct.
what a bunch of b.s.its just a figure of speech.it was wrong and david knows it.he made an error.everyone is so friggin sensitive.who gives a crap who calls who what.like none of us have never said the ‘ n ‘ word.who cares.
If the shoe was on the other foot I can guarantee people would think differently. I’m actually shocked by how many people with this post and the other one that the thought process is that this is normal language used by everyone. Really makes me sick. Justify it however you would like. Mr hill. Said ” excuse my language” after he said it. If he or everyone else believes this word is social acceptable than why would he need to say that? Please everyone justify your use of this terminology away, but please spare me the “it’s a derivative or something else” bull crap.
Fred, you make a great point about how Mr. Hill communicated, “excuse my language”. He didn’t say it, he WROTE it. That takes more time and thought. HE WROTE IT. He had to know as he was writing it that it was wrong. How could anyone defend it?!?!?!??!??!?! He wrote it and apologized all at once.
But remember why Hill wrote it: His driver made a huge mistake and he then tried to blame Preece. Talk about “cry for your mommy stuff”.
Those of you that think it is just a figure of speech, or politically correct crap, go visit the Bronx or Harlem, or just about any major metro neighborhood, and walk around talking like that. You will be informed of how unacceptable it is.
a lot of blacks use the word so that means to me it should be socially acceptable for whites to use it.
Bill Richards – the fact that Ryan Preece is white is totally irrelevant.
When people in NASCAR use the n word, people are harmed:
1) believe it or not, all NASCAR fans are not white. Allowing people to spew hateful words harms all non-white fans. It says that they are not welcome.
2) all fans are harmed. I don’t want to be associated with racists. If comments like that are acceptable, I am out.
3) racers are harmed. If I was trying to find a sponsor for a team, track, or race, I wouldn’t want to explain that use of the n word is ok.
Nigardly, Niger, and Nigeria are real words. The word used was not.
Try reading: http://www.merriam-webster.com
Just to clarify.no person was called any racial name.black, white, green purple or blue.so why is this turned into a racial issue?beacause everyone wants to make it one.as I said before.its just a figure of speech.not socially correct.but no harm no foul.don’t make this out to be something its not.
Social media, like Facebook, is NOT your friend. What used to occur in private conversation among friends that remained private becomes very public. I am amazed that the number of people that do not get this. And in a public forum, you really cannot say whatever comes to mind. Well, you can, but…
Very true Bob..David I do believe never meant his to be a racial anything.Just a very poor choice of words.Very poor..It was probably written when emotions where high.
Kevin, et al, the word itself is racial, it is prejudicial, it is discriminatory. Don’t even attempt to make like it isn’t. And racism is not exclusively about color.
The Irish have an interesting history. The Irish are considered, by some, to be the N-word of Europe. When the Irish migrated, they were chased out of their settlements. And here in the USA, employers would hang signs saying, “Help Wanted – No Irish Need Apply”. Would those of you that are Irish like to be called the N-word? And the way women are treated, they have been considered the N-word of the world. John Lennon had a song about the plight of women and titled it “Woman is the N-word of the World”, and that was just 30 years ago. How would you women like to be called the N-word, or have your sisters, daughters, and wives called the N-word? If not, why not?
Use of the word by a NASCAR licensed member about a NASCAR racing event is harmful to NASCAR.
So I have seen that this has been taken out of context. Would someone please explain the message that was intended by the use of that specific word? What was the intended context? The lack of an explanation of that intended context is damning.
NASCAR banned the sponsor redneckjunk.com from a cup car a number of years ago, because they deemed the term “redneck” offensive. This call is consistent with that. Is not a figure of speech. It’s a term that is blatantly offensive to a sizeable number of people, and it’s use is unnecessary and uncalled for.
It’s their tracks, their series, and their rules. They’ll gladly tell you to find another sandbox to play in, and I wish good luck to anyone trying to find a series where using that kind of language in a public forum is acceptable.
Pretty soon there will be Formula E racing and NA$CAR counts will go down once again.
For all you people that complain about Nascar every chance you get. Why are you on a Nasdcar page? Go watch Golf.