The owner of the controversially plated and tarted-up pickup is incensed, claiming his license plate isn't a coded white supremacist message as Virginia claims. Nope, it's a tribute to Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Tony Stewart, his favorite NASCAR drivers. Update!
The owner of the F-150 pickup truck with a graphic-embellished tailgate of the World Trade Center many outlets have called racist has now been unhooded as Doug Story, who told The Washington Post "There is absolutely no way I'd have anything to do with Hitler or Nazis." He also claims some of his family is Jewish and the "88" and "14" — numbers used by some white supremacists as codes for racist propaganda — refer to Dale, Jr. and Tony Stewart. This almost makes you feel a little sorry for the way people made assumptions about him based on a tiny snippet of information... until you read the rest of the Post's story.
He says he doesn't know who took the photo of his truck, in a handicapped parking spot, that became a viral sensation on the Web. "Probably someone who obviously has a soft spot for Islam," he said, pronouncing the word "I-slam," "because if you pronounce it 'Ih-slahm,' it's not disparaging enough."
Clearly, it was crazy anyone thought Mr. Story might be bigoted in any way.
UPDATE:
The public Facebook page for a Doug Story from the same city with the same job as the truck owner begs to differ. Doug Story's favorite book? "My Awakening" by former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke about racial separation. His bio?
100% WHITE MAN, 100% ARYAN, 100% PRO-LIFE (Children are innocent), 100% PRO DEATH PENALTY (Criminal Scum aren't innocent). Over the past 28 years; I, like David Duke, have had an Awakening.
Contradicting his assertion he wants nothing to do with Nazis, the link at the bottom of his Facebook page is to a membership profile on the white-separatist social media site NewSaxon, an "online community for whites by whites." The site features numerous swastikas and references and links to the National Socialist (Neo-Nazi) Movement.
UPDATE 2: In case there was any doubt of the true meaning behind his license plate, commenter Tychoides shares this capture from a discussion where someone with the same username as the one listed on Doug Story's Facebook page goes into detail about what 14/88 actually means.
UPDATE 3: Story removed his Facebook page and updated his status with this via a FARK user:
So remember folks, if you want him to "friend you" first you'll have to prove why he wants to know you. Perhaps he seeks some sort of coded message?
UPDATE 4: The Washington Post follows up with Doug Story, who claims he's a white nationalist and not a white supremacist. He also ignores the mounting evidence to the contrary and sticks by his NASCAR claim explaining:
"Southern white men. Southern white sport. What else needs to be said?"
(Hat tip to Pepito!)