NASCAR chief delivers clear statement after driver receives death threats

NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps has spoken out after it emerged a driver had been subject to death threats and vile abuse.

Katherine Legge, who has raced in both the Cup and Xfinity Series this season, revealed recently that she had received a torrent of online abuse following her wreck at Rockingham Speedway last weekend.

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Disgustingly, Legge explained that this included death threats and inappropriate sexual comments.

"First of all, I want to say that being a woman racing in NASCAR, it comes with an incredible sense of pride," Legge explained on Throttle Therapy. "And obviously, it comes with a level of scrutiny and harassment.

"However, I will say the hate mail, the death threats, and the inappropriate sexual comments that I've received aren't just disturbing, they are unacceptable."

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NASCAR commissioner addresses death threats

Speaking to CNN, NASCAR's recently appointed commissioner Phelps has made it very clear how he feels about that sort of behavior from fans.

“I want to be crystal clear about this," Phelps explained.

"We condemn this behavior. It is unacceptable, this is not appropriate for NASCAR, sports, or the world."

Some of Legge's critics have argued that she doesn't deserve to race in NASCAR, but Phelps has also defended her on that front, too.

“This is a woman who has competed very successfully in all forms of motorsports and we want her here at NASCAR," he added.

"They can take their opinions and their hate right out of NASCAR, because there’s just no place for it."

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