The world around us is constantly changing and evolving. Most anyone with at least 20/50 vision can see it isn’t all for the good. In the modern, woke, cancel culture world, the knee jerk reactions that can change someone’s life forever occur in the blink of an eye.
While that reaction can have long lasting impacts, the NASCAR world has shown, especially in recent years, that the impacts can actually be a blessing. Unlike the years when an indefinite suspension was truly indefinite, the modern world has proven that not only is the indefinite suspension very definite, it is also a moment in a driver’s life that can change their fortune forever.
In the earlier years of NASCAR, there was a huge rift between the drivers and ownership of NASCAR. There was extensive discussion about the drivers forming a union due to issues in the sport that the majority of drivers felt were detrimental to them. While the discussions went far, when the ultimate decision had to be made, the majority of drivers chose to keep racing rather than face suspensions. Curtis Turner and Tim Flock felt the wrath of Big Bill France and were indefinitely suspended. After four years, and the loss of two of the biggest names in the sport (Fireball Roberts and Joe Weatherly), France knew he had to bring Turner back. The return immediately met with success as Turner won in his seventh race back, and Flock was reinstated the following year.
The 70s and ’80s didn’t see much in the way of high profile suspensions. but there were a couple notable ones. Namely, Tim Richmond was suspended for using Sudafed, and Dale Earnhardt was sat down for rough driving. They both ultimately returned to their same teams and had very divergent careers after they came back.
The early 2000s saw Aaron Fike and Shane Hmiel struggle mightily with substance abuse and see promising careers end far sooner than they should. That brings us to 2009 and one of the highest profile suspensions, and dramas, in the history of the sport, when Jeremy Mayfield was suspended for failing a drug test for Adderall. Mayfield knowing took the prescribed substance for a known condition of ADHD, but the substance was on NASCAR’s banned list and it didn’t want to budge with Mayfield.
It didn’t help that he was badmouthing his boss and NASCAR legend Ray Evernham, along with NASCAR president Brian France. The hostility between Mayfield and the controlling family of NASCAR doomed him from ever coming back to the sport and tainted the opinion of many fans toward France, who ultimately proved quite two-faced after being drubbed out of the sport for substance abuse himself.
Just three years after Mayfield’s failure, another driver ran afoul of the urine police when AJ Allmendinger failed a test for Adderall as well. While Mayfield admitted openly to taking the substance, Allmendinger pled innocence and blamed the failure on consumption of an unknown pill that ultimately had the banned substance in it. While Mayfield battled the controlling arm of the sport to the bitter end, Allmendinger was the good soldier who complied with all mandated training and testing, ultimately being reinstated. Unfortunately for Allmendinger, he never got back into the quality ride he had at Penske when he failed the test, though he has had a long and somewhat successful career in the sport since.
That brings us to the latest trend in the stock car racing world. The most recent members of the driving fraternity who have met the long arm of suspension in the sport have ridden the unfortunate event to a new and more successful opportunity. Kyle Larson was famously suspended from his ride with Chip Gannasi Racing after uttering a racial slur on Twitch during an online race. After doing his due diligence and being reinstated, he found himself behind the wheel at Hendrick Motorsports. The ultimate prize has been 26 Cup Series wins, two Cup Series championships and ownership of one of the most successful Winged 410 Sprint Car series ever. Needless to say, Larson has rebounded to be arguably the most recognizable face in American motorsports today.
In a similar scenario, although with not quite as success after returning, Noah Gragson used a suspension to catapult himself into a ride with a championship-level organization. Gragson was suspended from the sport for liking a meme that was disparaging to George Floyd during the height of the beginning of cancel culture. Some three years after the death of Floyd, Gragson liked the meme and was yanked from his ride at Legacy Motor Club. After completing his necessary training and counseling, Gragson actually jumped into the seat at Stewart-Haas Racing, a team that had won a series title within the previous 10 years and was winning races. Hardly a harsh penalty after having to give up the steering wheel for insensitive actions.
That leads us to the latest development with Daniel Dye, an aspiring young driver who has accumulated the grand total of one solitary stock car win in his national racing series career (it was an ARCA race in 2021). Dye was just recently taken out of his seat for mocking the voice of David Malukas, an IndyCar driver. The implication of the mocking was questioning Malukas’ sexuality. The interpretation of the event was disparaging to Malukas and very insulting to the open-wheel driver.
Dye immediately apologized to Malukas and completed all mandated training to be reinstated. Not only was Dye reinstated, he is now making his Cup series debut this weekend at Talladega. It’s the latest in the recent series of drivers who have offended a significant group of people, only to return to a better racing opportunity than they were removed from. It is an interesting turn of events in the last few years, to say the least.
Obviously, there are much more respectful ways to progress up the ranks of the sport, but it appears that there is something that owners are noticing about young men that is convincing them that it is an intelligent move to put a driver returning from suspension into the seat of their racecar. While this has turned out well for these three young men, let’s hope that this isn’t turning into a trend. For now, it does appear that you can get canceled and land a better ride.
What is it that Mike Neff doesn’t do? Mike announces several shows each year for the Good Guys Rod and Custom Association. He also pops up everywhere from PRN Pit Reporters and the Press Box with Alan Smothers to SIRIUS XM Radio. He has announced at tracks all over the Southeast, starting at Millbridge Speedway. He's also announced at East Lincoln Speedway, Concord Speedway, Tri-County Speedway, Caraway Speedway, and Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Just a quick note, Aaron Fike was the Fike brother that got suspended. Not AJ.
Ah yes. Frontstretch leaning into clickbait articles again. “Cancel Culture”, “Woke”, and many other tropes, all in one poorly written package, which completely ignores Dye being “cancelled” was a business decision. Sponsors. Do. Not. Like. Drama. Well played attempt though!
Also hilarious the article argues Dye was “cancelled”, while at the same time indicating in the author’s opinion, it’s turning out just fine for Dye. Which is it? Was he “cancelled” or not?
P.S. – I don’t think going from a team with equipment capable of winning a truck title (Kaulig), to part-time in a car which hasn’t had a top five finish in five years of Cup competition is a step up. But hey, troll on, Mike Neff.