NASCAR informed the Joe Gibbs Racing driver on Tuesday morning that he must begin the process by the end of the week.
Hamlin tweeted a clip from Family Guy that mocks Asian drivers, intercut with footage from the final lap at Talladega when Kyle Larson collided with Kurt Busch -- who drives for Hamlin's 23XI Racing team. Busch's teammate Bubba Wallace was also collected in the crash.
Larson is the only Asian-American driver at NASCAR's top level and the reigning series champion. Many criticized the post for being racially insensitive.
Hamlin initially defended the post and spoke of his friendly relationship with Larson, telling people to “lighten up.”
Hamlin later deleted the controversial meme and posted the following apology.
I took down a post I made earlier today after reading some of the comments. It was a poor choice of memes and I saw how it was offensive. It came across totally wrong. I apologize.
— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) April 26, 2022
