A NASCAR Xfinity sponsor canceled its sponsorship of driver Conor Daly for a “racially insensitive remark” that the driver did not even utter. Instead, it was said by his father over 30 years ago. Indeed, Connor Daly, wasn’t even born when the supposed incident occurred.
Lilly Diabetes ended its sponsorship of the 26-year-old Daly, just ahead of his NASCAR debut. After reports surfaced of his father’s off-color comments uttered back in the 1980s, according to Fox News.
Lilly Diabetes issued a statement proclaiming its stance on the Daly family: “Unfortunately, the comments that surfaced this week by Derek Daly distract from this focus, so we have made the decision that Lilly Diabetes will no longer run the No. 6 at Road America this weekend. We remain committed to our mission of supporting people with diabetes.”
Lilly Diabetes has pulled its sponsorship of Conor Daly’s No. 6 car in the NASCAR Xfinity race at Road America, citing a racially insensitive remark made by the driver’s father in the 1980s that surfaced this week. https://t.co/TbJeb1jCu5
— RTV6 Indianapolis (@rtv6) August 25, 2018
The elder Daly, a former Indy 500 racer, reportedly used the “n-word” in remarks made nearly 35 years ago when he said there were no black people in auto racing. After the comments resurfaced, Derek Daly was immediately fired from his job with Indianapolis TV station WISH-TV, Fox Reported on Friday.
Daly, who hailed from Ireland before becoming a racer, insisted that in those days he was unaware of how bad the word was until he had been in the U.S. for a while.
“I quickly learned what a derogatory term it was. When I was first informed of this, I was mortified at the offense I might have caused people. I have therefore never used the word since. I made this mistake once, but never again,” he told the media.
The 65-year-old former racer put out statement adding, “Finally, I want everyone to know I deeply regret and sincerely apologize for what I said more than three decades ago.”
But the explanation and apology were not enough to save his son’s sponsorship by the pharmaceutical company.
Conor Daly also put a brief message on Twitter about the incident.
“The last 24hrs have been quite an unnecessarily difficult ride for my family. There is A LOT I want to say… but I’m still here and still racing. I appreciate the support from @roushfenway and ALL of you. @LillyDiabetes has been a big part of my career, and I’m very thankful. #6,” he wrote.
The last 24hrs have been quite an unnecessarily difficult ride for my family. There is A LOT I want to say… but I’m still here and still racing. I appreciate the support from @roushfenway and ALL of you. @LillyDiabetes has been a big part of my career and Im very thankful. #6
— Conor Daly (@ConorDaly22) August 24, 2018
Despite the financial setback, Conor will debut as a NASCAR driver at the rural Wisconsin road course with Roush Fenway Racing on Saturday.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
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