NASCAR piece was an insult

I was angered by the NASCAR opinion piece in the Herald. I am not a big NASCAR fan, I mostly watch Formula 1 and IndyCar, but … here goes:

I suppose he/she/they will get away with the obvious slur “Bubbas’ — is the writer aware that Bubba Wallace, a Black NASCAR driver, is heavily sponsored by a large Chicago company (McDonald's)? Did the writer intend to insult none other than the legendary Michael Jordan — Wallace's team owner? The blatantly obvious “regional racist” intones convey the impression that the Northern states' view of sport is superior to that of the South. Is the writer aware there are a significant number of motor racing fans in Chicago? Are only the Cubs, Bears, or Bulls worthy of attention? What about other sports or teams in Chicago that draw even smaller crowds than NASCAR, are they thus even less worthy of attention?

In Chicago, the supposed liberal, open-minded utopia of Illinois, how can the writer's myopically intolerant attitude exist?

John Becker

Downers Grove