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NASCAR driver Daniel Dye has been suspended indefinitely after using a homophobic voice to mock an IndyCar rival during a recent livestream.
Dye, 22, will be required to complete sensitivity training before he is considered for reinstatement, the auto racing organization announced on Tuesday.
In a clip circulating on social media, the Kaulig Racing star is seen mocking IndyCar’s David Malukas and appearing to question his sexuality while mimicking his voice in a homophobic tone.
NASCAR said in a statement that it has suspended him indefinitely after he ‘used language that officials deemed unacceptable’ on the livestream.
After receiving the ban, Dye took to social media to issue an apology to Malukas, admitting his comments were ‘careless.’
‘I chose my words poorly and I understand why it upset people,’ he wrote.
NASCAR driver Daniel Dye has been suspended indefinitely after using a homophobic voice to mock an IndyCar rival
WARNING – Offensive language below
‘I’m sorry to anyone who was offended. That’s not how I want to represent myself.
‘I have some close friends in the LGBTQ+ 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 Daytona 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.
Dye was mimicking IndyCar’s David Malukas when he used the homophobic tone of voice
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.
The driver from DeLand, Florida, is 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.
