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NASCAR driver 'indefinitely suspended' after appearing to mock George Floyd murder

The Legacy Motor Club driver will not be returning for the foreseeable future.

NASCAR has "indefinitely suspended" Cup Series driver Noah Gragson after he liked a social media post appearing to mock the murder of George Floyd. Cup Series rookie Gragson was first suspended by his Legacy Motor Club team - owned by seven-time champions Richard Petty and Jimmie Johnson, but the reason was not initially made clear. A statement only read: "We have made the decision to suspend Noah Gragson effective immediately regarding his actions that do not represent the values of our team." An additional statement followed from NASCAR, who has "indefinitely suspended" Gragson from competition, having violated the "Member Conduct section of the 2023 NASCAR rule book." Gragson had recently liked an Instagram post appearing to mock Floyd's murder in May 2020 by Minneapolis police officers, sparking the Black Lives Matters protests worldwide. As one of NASCAR's most senior drivers at the time, Gragson's boss Johnson was instrumental in the series' response to the murder and in reacting to the Bubba Wallace noose incident at Talladega, which ultimately turned out to be a false alarm. Gragson will be replaced by Josh Berry - the Xfinity Series regular who will replace the retiring Kevin Harvick full-time in 2024. In his first full-time Cup season, Gragson had struggled at the wheel of the #42, sitting 33rd in points with a best finish of 12th in the first Atlanta race after 21 starts from 22 events.

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