"America is created by immigrants."
With five words, Dale Earnhardt Jr. symbolically slammed President Donald Trump into the outside wall. A cautionary tale ensued.
Trump's executive orders suspending immigration from seven majority Muslim countries is not playing well to a broader audience with different values, despite likely support from a NASCAR fan base that traditionally skews conservative.
Earnhardt's comments came in response to a tweet directed at him by [at sign]GelarBudidarma, who identified himself as Muslim.
"my fam immigrated from Germany in 1700s escaping religious persecution. America is created by immigrants.," Earnhardt tweeted.
"thank you for speaking up, I know a lot of folks in the country look up to you," [at sign]GelarBudidarma, who is from Bandung, Indonesia, tweeted back,
It is not the salvo to end salvos, but Earnhardt's voice definitely matters, He has been voted NASCAR's most popular driver 14 years in a row, despite missing half of last season with concussion-related symptoms.
He also has 1.9 million Twitter followers.
Earnhardt's views are his own, and aren't necessarily reflective of the entire NASCAR Nation. Brian France, NASCAR's top executive, endorsed Donald Trump during the presidential campaign, drawing criticism in a sport that has made diversity a priority.
France, NASCAR's chairman and CEO, said at the time: "He wins with his family. Any of his children, you'd be proud of have them as part of your family. That's how I judge a winner, how somebody manages their family and raises their family."
Other NASCAR stars, including retired driver Mark Martin, endorsed Trump.
