NASCAR’s “Drive for Diversity” program is getting a name change.
The racing series first established Drive for Diversity back in 2004 as a developmental program aimed at attracting more female and minority drivers to the sport. Since 2009, NASCAR has partnered with Rev Racing to train drivers and selected for the program and field cars for them in lower racing series’ like the Whelen All-American Series and the K&N Pro Series in hopes of getting them into NASCAR.
And there have been some pretty successful drivers come through the series over the years. Rising Truck Series star Rajah Caruth was a member of the Drive for Diversity program for several years, as were current Cup Series drivers Daniel Suarez and Bubba Wallace. But by far the most successful former participant in the Drive for Diversity program was Kyle Larson, who has gone on to win a Cup Series championship and 31 races in NASCAR’s top series.
But yesterday, it was announced that NASCAR had changed the name of their Drive for Diversity program, which is now only called the Driver Development program. The change has reportedly been under consideration for several years, and was made to broaden the program’s scope.
Of course the change also comes as President Donald Trump has moved to end diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs across the country, so naturally people assumed that NASCAR was somehow doing this as a way to cater to Trump, who himself has been to several NASCAR races and is good friends with team owner Richard Childress.
After the name change was revealed, several on social media applauded NASCAR for opening up the program to make it more inclusive:
Glad they went back to what it is a Driver Development Program. Racers dont want to be called anything but that.
— Jessie Collins (@JessieLC24) April 18, 2025
No issue here. Should be an equal playing field to get in the program regardless of race.
It's more racist to "lower the bar" for POCs because you think they're too dumb and poor to get in.
— Roger Smith (@Rogersmith1300) April 18, 2025
Hope this opens up the program to new applicants.
Race/gender isn’t the biggest disadvantage to making it into NASCAR. It is socioeconomic status.
These programs should also be open to middle/lower class drivers that have talent, but have insufficient funds to race.#NASCAR https://t.co/KorEE4628p
— Digital Gashouse (@DigitalGashouse) April 18, 2025
I've read nothing that says NASCAR is taking away opportunities from minorities. NASCAR is "broadening the scope". Hopefully that scope includes the little white boy whose parents are too poor, or is raised by a single mom that can't afford the kid to even have a chance. ✌🏽 https://t.co/uVOrTMYGyK
— B-Dunc 🇺🇸🏁🤘🏽 (@bryceduncan13) April 18, 2025
But naturally, there were plenty of fans who were mad about the change and accused NASCAR of bowing to Trump:
Total cowardice move. Every team has their own development program already.
DFD was specifically to develop minority and female drivers, crew, ownership, sponsors, etc.
Claiming to want to grow the sport and then bowing to politicized pressure. Real brave. https://t.co/drqSeQ9TRQ
— Dirty Air Analytics (@DirtyAirData) April 18, 2025
Pathetic. Yet another capitulation in fear of the tyranny we’re living in.
— Matt Trewartha (@RacerThreads) April 18, 2025
This was 100% done to appease Trump. Don’t dress it up as anything else
— Paint Scheme Passion (@NSCRPaintScheme) April 18, 2025
The NFL had to remove “End Racism” from the end zone because melon felon was coming to watch. We know exactly why nascar did this.
— Excellent Will 🎸⚡️ (@ExcellentWill) April 18, 2025
Pathetic. Yet another capitulation in fear of the tyranny we’re living in.
— Matt Trewartha (@RacerThreads) April 18, 2025
And over on the NASCAR subreddit, folks were even more upset about the name change:
“Whole country capitulating to an orange clown. Sad.”
“I am unsurprised. This is a clear signal that NASCAR wasn’t interested in diversity. Instead they were interested as long as such a program made them look good. This is just another example of the incompetence leading NASCAR.”
“I’m sure this has nothing to do with the current administration”
“Took place in the off season, but nobody heard about it until now… a week after NASCAR brass visited the White House. Interesting.”
Of course NASCAR says that the name change has been under consideration for several years, so who knows if the timing was actually related to Trump’s election.
But as many of the comments point out, the real change needs to come with how teams are funded. Right now, the biggest indicator of whether someone will get a ride in NASCAR isn’t their race, but how much money they have. Drivers who don’t come with their own funding or sponsorship have very little chance of getting into the sport, while a driver who brings a major sponsorship often gets a ride over more talented drivers who don’t bring their own funding.
Just this past year, there was a lot of speculation over who would drive the third car for 23XI Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. There were several top drivers available, but the seat ultimately went to Riley Herbst, who has a grand total of 3 wins in the Xfinity Series, because he brought along sponsorship from Monster Energy due to his relationship with the company through his family’s ownership of a chain of convenience stores.
Until NASCAR does something to make sure that drivers get into the sport whether they have their own funding or not, we’re going to continue to see drivers buying their way into top rides – and more qualified (and yes, more diverse) drivers get left out.
