IndyCar fans know the name. Former racer turned race analyst Paul Tracy is potentially seeing the consequences of some very ugly, loose-lipped social media posts. After a particularly threatening Facebook comment, Tracy is now under investigation by NBC.
On Tuesday of this week, Tracy allegedly made a Facebook comment where he told Indianapolis resident Chris Cunningham that he had invited illegal immigrants to a party at Cunningham’s house where they would “listen to [Cunningham] play a mini guitar, then they are going to rape your wife then you.” Yikes.
When approached by the IndyStar, Tracy denied making the comment. Instead, he claimed to be the victim of fake social media accounts, one of which was responsible for the comment on Cunningham’s post.
However, many folks have noted that this isn’t the first time Tracy has made some pretty questionable posts online. In fact, he has something of a reputation among some IndyCar fans as having notably bad takes—rampant in sexism, racism, and xenophobia. According to Cunningham, this particular comment arose during a discussion about Cesar Sayoc, the man accused of sending bombs to notable names in the Democratic party. He claims Tracy often engages in political discussions—something most of us do nowadays—but that this particular one “crossed the line.”
Cunningham’s wife alerted NBC and IndyCar to the screenshotted comment on Twitter, which caused Tracy to block her from his verified account. However, he still claims that the Facebook comment was made by a fake account. Cunningham argues that Tracy’s real account wouldn’t have blocked his wife if he hadn’t actually made the Facebook comment in question.
It’s a whole deal, one that will likely be investigated in full by NBC. But many folks who follow the IndyCar series are hoping they’ll investigate his past offenses as well. He is, after all, the pundit who released incorrect information about the state of Robert Wickens’ injuries after his crash after Pocono, added to racial stereotypes, and has contributed to various political conspiracies in the past few years.
NBC has acknowledged that the comments in question are inappropriate and have stated that they will announce if Tracy’s position as race analyst will change as a result of their investigation.