Are NASCAR fans racist? The latest top 10 ‘most hated’ drivers list shows they might be

Are NASCAR fans racist? The latest top 10 ‘most hated’ drivers list shows they might be

Next-gen NASCAR

Gambling.com Group Limited, a French Marketing company has come up with the list of the most hated and admired NASCAR cup drivers of 2022. The list was made by evaluating the social media reactions to a driver in the 2022 regular season.

As expected Bubba Wallace, the sole Black driver of the cup grid is most hated. Wallace’s P1 didn’t surprise any as he has one of the most toxic hate groups on social media. One in three comments made about him on Twitter is negative.

Cody Ware is the second most hated driver. Ranked ahead of Ty Dillon at P3. Kyle Busch is the only former Cup Champion on the list. He ranks P9 in the list just ahead of Austin Dillon. Bubba Wallace’s employer Denny Hamlin is also on the list at P4.

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Also read: NASCAR issues severe penalty to William Byron for intentionally spinning Denny Hamlin at Texas

What does the research suggest about NASCAR fans?

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Bubba Wallace

First let’s address the elephant in the room, Bubba Wallace. His coming on top does not indicate the racist nature of NASCAR fans. The hatred aimed at Wallace on social media has a lot to do with factors other than his skin color. But it is also hard to deny that nearly half of the hate towards Wallace is because of his color.

Now let us look at the other drivers on the list. The presence of two foreign drivers, who are part-time cup racers, on the list throws shades at fans. Daniil Kvyat and Jacques Villeneuve ranks P7 and P8. Indeed, both the drivers haven’t been productive in the cup series. But the hate towards them on Twitter is fair. These drivers had to sacrifice a lot and even compete in the cup scene.

The Twitter reactions to the list from NASCAR fans suggest that they also find some unfortunate inductees in the list. “A black guy and a bunch of international drivers….wow” one fan Tweeted aimed at the racist nature of the list.

Are NASCAR fans racist? Most of them are not. But there are some bad apples in the basket which need to be taken out. The conservative nature of the majority of NASCAR fans makes them indifferent about such actions from a small portion of the group. This needs to change.

What are your thoughts about the list?

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