NASCAR Driver Suspended For Mocking IndyCar Driver On Livestream

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Daniel Dye will be out of his truck indefinitely after making comments about IndyCar driver David Malukas during a livestream.

Dye was doing a livestream for the shopping app Whatnot when he started telling a story about meeting Malukas at an event to promote the IndyCar and Craftsman Truck Series doubleheader in St. Petersburg several weeks ago.

The story started off being about how Dye didn't know who Malukas was and thought he was a driver in the Mazda MX-5 Cup, not a driver on one of the top teams in IndyCar.

Learn More About The Ultimate College Hoops Experience

That's embarrassing for Dye, but then it took a turn that is costing him a big chunk of track time.

Dye — who also races part-time in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series — started doing what he referred to as a "David Malukas gay voice" and wouldn't stop.

Not long after that clip started making the rounds, NASCAR announced that Dye has been suspended indefinitely and will have to take part in sensitivity training.

On top of that, Dye's team, Kaulig Trucks, announced that it was also suspending him indefinitely for the comments.

As the fallout continued, Dye released an apology on his Instagram page.

This isn't the first time Dye has found himself in some trouble. According to Road & Track, Dye was suspended from the ARCA series in 2022 after allegedly punching a classmate in the groin, which is believed to have resulted in the alleged victim sustaining a ruptured testicle.

We can debate the punishments and whether they're harsh, but I don't think there's any doubt that Dye demonstrated some incredibly poor judgment. 

It wasn't one comment or a slip of the tongue; he went on and on and on.

I mean, it was just a dumb thing to do. Teams, manufacturers, and, in this case, the series aren't playing around when a driver's actions have potential business consequences.