NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Tanner Gray released a statement Wednesday in response to a viral video of an iRacing user with his name and likeness making racially-demeaning remarks toward another driver, clarifying that they were wrongly attributed to him and that he was not the user in question.
Tuesday night, a video of an iRacing user by the name of Tanner Gray mocking Spanish-speaking drivers during an online practice session began to spread, which lead several to jump to the conclusion that Gray was the culprit. But in his statement, Gray shared that he does not have an active iRacing account and last used the subscription-based motorsports simulation software in 2018 with an account under his mother's name.
Gray pointed out that the profile in question was launched on July 27 by an individual in Georgia, and that their activity on the service overlapped with his Truck Series schedule beginning with a July 29 event at Indianapolis Raceway Park.
"I denounce the behavior shown in this video, and I'm actively working with iRacing to get this user flagged and removed from the service," Gray wrote.
— Tanner Gray (@tannergray5) August 31, 2022
Gray was then absolved of any wrongdoing by iRacing executive vice president Steve Myers, who confirmed that the user in question was not the Truck Series driver and that they have been banned from the service.
Gray, 23, is currently in his third full-time season competing in the Truck Series for David Gilliland Racing. He has two top-five and five top-10 finishes, with a best run of fourth in the season opener at Daytona in February.
iRacing, the most popular and pre-eminent online sim racing software, boasts many real-life racers across many different disciplines amongst its userbase. The service rose to prominence during COVID lockdowns, as many NASCAR drivers competed in an iRacing Pro Invitational Series that filled a two-month gap in lieu of real life events.
