NASCAR may be expanding its global footprint, but its roots remain. In late 2023, the sport signed a $7.7 billion media rights deal with Amazon Prime and TNT Sports. We saw the results of these partnerships in 2025, with global fans tuning into Prime’s coverage of Cup Series races. While this media coverage has contributed to a positive outlook of the sport, a recent publicity stunt has flipped that outlook. And this has reignited old stereotypical notions of NASCAR.

For 76 years, NASCAR has long been viewed as a motorsports limited to Southern white communities. Outliers like Wendell Scott and Bubba Wallace have defied long-standing stereotypes, carving out their own fan bases. That is why the reaction to the recent video by a popular Internet comedian was not what experts expected.

NASCAR loses its sugarcoated layer

During the Southern 500, Chase Briscoe dominated the headlines on the racetrack. But off the 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval in Darlington, a guest dominated the attention of NASCAR fans. Druski, a comedian named Andrew Desbordes, did a ‘white performance’ skit. He dressed up in the stereotypical NASCAR fan outfit – overalls, an American flag cowboy hat, a mullet, and a beard. He even painted himself a Caucasian skin tone and an American flag tattoo to perfectly symbolize a ‘redneck’. Druski used a thick Southern accent, tossed beers, and sang to Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born in the USA’. But the most shocking aspect was something else.

Journalist Jeff Gluck recently broached that topic in ‘The Teardown’s episode. He said, “Just on X alone, 300 million views, let alone YouTube, TikTok. This went completely viral…there were elements of it that were really funny.” However, Gluck highlighted the highly controversial part of Druski’s video, which set off a storm on social media. “The parts that I didn’t enjoy seeing were…he spits into black people as part of the skit in Darlington.” Jordan Bianchi added another part: “And calls them boy?”

For a sport that is seeking wings to go global, this publicity stunt was a major blow. Jeff Gluck continued, “Yeah. That’s not good; it doesn’t put NASCAR in a good light. But I have some thoughts on this…the reaction from his fans and the general public, this is what the general public thinks is already the stereotype of NASCAR anyway…rednecks, America, all this stuff.” Bianchi agreed, “I don’t like stereotypes in general. And I don’t like stereotypes when it comes to managing a race. I think with a sport with a very sensitive history…You’re playing into that…Largely, his audience probably isn’t NASCAR fans.”

At the same time, however, Jeff Gluck appreciated the swathe of NASCAR fans who were shocked by Druski’s video. At least that helps to somewhat disprove the stereotype that the comedian was propagating. “However, the reaction from the NASCAR community was, Man, that’s messed up. That’s not how it is here, that’s not who we wanna be. And people were like, upset about that within NASCAR, fans, social media…That’s good.”

While NASCAR grapples with its age-old perceptions, it is also grappling with fierce rivalries. One of them grew a little incensed after Sunday’s Cup Series race.

When the desperation slipped out

While NASCAR fights with its ‘redneck’ stereotype, Ryan Blaney is fighting with his confusion. His puzzled reaction ensued after an unexpected encounter with a renowned rival at Gateway. At the end of Stage 2 of the Enjoy Illinois 300, Kyle Larson was battling for 5th place. He aggressively lunged to the inside of Ryan Blaney, slid up the track and made contact, fully sending the No. 12 Team Penske Ford around into a spin. Eventually, Larson ended up finishing 12th, and Blaney rebounded from the setback to clinch a 4th-place finish. Despite sitting a comfortable 42 points above the playoff cutline, Blaney was still surprised by Larson’s moves.

Kyle Larson sits higher above the cutline, 60 points to the positive. But starting the playoffs with a disastrous Darlington outing left the star a tad desperate, leaving Ryan Blaney baffled. The Penske driver said, “I just wanted to know what I did to deserve it. He just said he made a mistake. That’s fine. Make mistakes. But like at the end of the day, I still got turned. Came from all the way up the bottom of the racetrack, hit me in he left rear. I know he most likely didn’t mean to do it, but it happened anyway. That’s one I’ve got to remember. I was happy we bounced back, not to get turned around, did a good job of coming out where we need to be. Having a good enough car to get back to fourth. Proud of the effort.”

As these rivalries have no bounds in NASCAR, apparently so do the sport’s stereotypes. Yet hopefully, fans and drivers can be more mindful and move on from a troubled history.