“I hate social media.” Kyle Busch, a two-time Cup Series champion, admitted this in 2023. Over the 2024 season, NASCAR made great headway in its popularity through social media. From trendy Instagram reels to taking the help of influencers, NASCAR’s online presence boosted followers by 12%. However, what it also boosted was the vulnerability of racers to the ravages of cyberspace.

Social media has more often than not resulted in crippling drivers’ careers. Remember Noah Gragson’s icky situation in 2023? Legacy Motor Club fired him for liking an insensitive meme. That was a questionable action that got Gragson penalized – but now a troupe of female drivers are getting snubbed for things they did not even do!

NASCAR women shudder at fake rumors

Being a celebrity is no mean feat – the same applies to NASCAR entities. Along with constantly working hard to fetch good race finishes, they also strive to keep up a good reputation. That involves lengthy interviews, meet-and-greets with fans, and marketing campaigns where drivers need to maintain good dispositions. In the age of social media, fans are encroaching upon drivers’ lives even more. We saw that during the filming of the Netflix documentary ‘NASCAR: Full Speed.” Joey Logano confessed he did not like the film crew invading his family space. “I don’t know if I feel really comfortable doing that just from a privacy and safety standpoint.”

Similarly, two trailblazing female NASCAR drivers are bearing the brunt of invasive social media. Kaylee Bryson scripted history last year by becoming the first female driver to win a USAC National Series feature race. A year later, the USAC Silver Crown Hucovsky Classic winner posted on X about getting heckled. Apparently, a person contacted her and accused her of conversing with their spouse. Turns out it was not Bryson at all. “Please be aware of scammers…This is a common occurrence where people think they are in a relationship with me because they are getting scammed by someone that has made a fake account pretending to be me.”

This was hardly the end of it. Kaylee Bryson encountered another person who fell prey to her social media imposter. She wrote, “Also, I had a random guy I’ve never met call one of my SPONSORS because he was mad and thought we were in a relationship… Turns out he was talking to a fake account and didn’t want to believe it.. 😳” 

What made things more interesting was when another rising NASCAR star, Jade Avedisian, let slip her own tiny confession of facing the same issues. “It’s bad😭🤦🏻‍♀️”, she wrote. A mighty Toyota Racing Development gem, Avedisian won a CARS Tour race at New River All-American Speedway. The 18-year-old was the first woman to catch a CARS Tour victory in the series’ 11-year history.

Amidst their golden careers, these two powerful women find themselves disadvantaged by social media. Ironically however, Avedisian’s career first kick-started due to a post on social media.

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A mix of good and evil

According to 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick, “Social media is a necessary evil, unfortunately.” That is why he does not allow his son Keelan anywhere near the online platforms, although the latter races in Europe. Similarly, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski also strictly draw boundaries between their children and social media. Jade Avidisian’s father also did the same – but at the same time stumbled upon something that would launch his daughter’s passion. When Jade was 4 years old, her father Ryan came across a quarter midget (a beginner-level race car) for sale on social media. He decided to buy it for her, paving the way for a star-studded motorsports career that is developing thunderously.

As a mere 13-year-old, Jade Avedisian beat veterans at a winged Outlaw micro sprint race at the John Hinck Championship in Missouri and grabbed $20,000. Driving for Keith Kunz Motorsports in 2023, she won the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series championship. On her latest CARS Tour victory, Dale Earnhardt Jr. heaped praises on her. Kyle Larson, Avedisian’s topmost role model, also hailed her racecraft in 2023: “You wouldn’t look at her and talk to her and think she’s a gasser, but she hammers it.” Larson said Avedisian “has a little bit better understanding of patience and race craft” than many other drivers he’s seen. “That’s not something you can necessarily teach somebody. They just have it or do a better job learning it.”

Evidently, social media has given Jade Avedisian a lot. At the same time, it has also taken from her and Kaylee Bryson as well. Hopefully, they will be able to figure out a way out of this mess.