One word cost NASCAR National Series driver Nelson Piquet Jr. a whole lot. The racing league announced Wednesday that it has handed down a $10,000 fine and indefinite suspension for his response to a photo of fellow driver Parker Kligerman after he left the gym. The three-letter response was a homophobic slur. Kilgerman reportedly responded positively, joking back with Piquet, but a Twitter user snapped a screenshot that eventually gained NASCAR's attention. Piquet responded to user @MatthewBreuer who took issue with the slur: "Don't act like if u have never called your friends names," Piquet said. "Were (sic) not living in the 50s anymore bud.. jokes are jokes." The tweet where he defended his wording has been deleted.
NASCAR released a statement today in which senior vice president of racing operations, Steve O'Donnell, explained the governing board's decision to penalize Piquet. "Nelson Piquet Jr. recently communicated an offensive and derogatory term that cannot be tolerated in our sport. NASCAR's Code of Conduct explicitly spells out in the 2013 rule book our position regarding the use of disparaging terms. We expect our entire industry to abide by this Code," the announcement read. Turner Scott Motorsport, the team that Piquet drives under, released a statement of its own saying that the driver understands the gravity of his statements and that it has spoken with him regarding the issue. "TSM expects those associated with the team to uphold professional standards that we can all be proud of," the statement said. "Nelson has assured the team that he has learned his lesson and he knows what it means to represent TSM."
Piquet, a 28-year-old Brazilian and son of three-time Formula One champion, has since deleted his tweet to Kligerman. This is the second time this year the driver's actions got him in trouble. Piquet got into an argument and kicked Brian Scott below the belt in May at the Richmond International Raceway during the post-race fireworks display at the National race. Two members of Scott's Richard Childress Racing confronted Piquet after the incident. They were subsequently arrested and charged with assault. Piquet apologized Wednesday for the offensive tweet. "I sincerely apologize to everyone for my poor choice of words last week. I did not mean to hurt or offend anyone. This has been a cultural learning experience that will make me a more sensitive person moving forward," he said.
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