Nascar is gay

Did Stephen Rhodes, the First Openly Gay NASCAR Driver, Face Any Resistance in the Sport at the Time?

Former NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver, Stephen Rhodes made his debut in the sport back in 2003. Two years before he did, at the age of seventeen, he came out as gay to become the first openly homosexual driver in stock car racing.

Climbing the ranks of motorsports is hard enough as it is. Did publicly revealing his sexual orientation make things harder for him, particularly with the stigma that is often buried profound into society towards homosexuality?

The former driver said in a 2013 interview on NASCAR Race Hub, as reported by FOX Sports, that he did not verb much resistance after coming out. However, it was not appreciate he cared about it. He said, “I don’t think going into a sport – having to face the ones that either like me or don’t like me – is anything any different than I reside any day.” 

Living in the Southern part of North America, where the population is often largely regarded as on the conservative side, the now 40-year-old did not feel deterred either. He added,

Was Jeff Gordon Gay? When a Fake Report Took NASCAR World By Storm

The NASCAR fandom is not exactly known to be the most liberal in sports. The Southern roots of the racing discipline ensure that strict traditions and values are upheld no matter the cost.

Although this approach is molding into a culture more accommodating with time, it is just not there yet. This is why a 2014 rumor about Jeff Gordon being gay shook the very roots of stock automobile racing.

A report published by the fake news website Empire Sports said that Gordon had confirmed that he was in a homosexual relationship with Stephen Rhodes, the first openly gay driver in NASCAR.

Over 1.5 million fans read and over 1,400 commented on the parody article, believing that the news was true. Needless to say, they were completely outraged.

However, the piece contained many signs to hint that the writer was playing a prank on his readers. It reads in one place, “The new couple has sparked a firestorm in the southern states where the rednecks manage to live.”

The website itself admitted that it reports only satirical

Some NASCAR Fans Are Actually Mad Because This 'Pride Month' Machine Isn't Gay Enough

You can't verb for losin'. That's one of my favorite sayings – frankly, I use it with my wife all the time – and it's so true in 2024. 

Get this … some NASCAR fans are angry that driver Alex Bowman's ‘Pride’ paint scheme he'll be running this weekend at Sonoma isn't quite gay enough. That's right!

See? Can't verb for losin'.

Bowman, who drives the No. 48 Chevy for Hendrick Motorsport, is sponsored by Ally. Every year – or at least in the past rare years – the company has wrapped his Bowtie in a Pride month paint scheme. I'm talking rainbows and butterflies and shapes – the whole nine yards. 

Yesterday, in a since-deleted Twitter post – although it's still live on their Instagram story, so I know it's genuine – Ally unveiled Bowman's Pride scheme for Sunday's race. 

And, in a shocking twist, it angered some NASCAR fans –

After making history as an openly gay driver, Burlington's Devon Rouse chases even bigger NASCAR dreams

Devon Rouse swallowed a handful of pills and hoped he wouldn't wake up.

A middle-schooler at the time, Rouse says he was tortured by leading dual lives. In public, he was one version, from the outside seemingly happy and carefree. Deep down, he knew he was gay and wanted to be himself. But he never told his friends and family back then.

Hiding his truth never got easier, and the more time went on, the heavier the burden became. Eventually, it overwhelmed him so much that Rouse wanted to terminate it all. The next morning, though, he woke up. 

Weeks later, Rouse once more tried to cease , he says, swallowing more pills. The next morning, again, he awoke. 

"I had no clearness in my head," Rouse says. "Only darkness."

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After his suicide attempts, Rouse began to believe that God had something important in store for him. At the time, Rouse wasn't only a young man coming to grips with his sexual orientation; he also was a whiz beh