BROOKLYN, Mich. — To say that Noah Gragson’s debut season for Legacy Motor Club in the No. 42 Cup car has been a struggle would be the understatement of the year.

In 21 races this season, he has only achieved two top-20 finishes (a 12th at Atlanta, and a 20th place at COTA), and he missed one race with concussion symptoms.

But things just got a whole lot worse for Noah, as he has been indefinitely suspended by both Legacy Motor Club and NASCAR for liking a social media post featuring a meme that belittled and made fun of the death of George Floyd at the hands of police. (NOTE: I won’t repeat what it says or share it out of decency, but I’ll say the meme is of the same despicable type that got NASCAR’s Mike Wallace suspended a few years back)

Gragson will be replaced in the 42 car at Michigan by Chevy’s super-sub Josh Berry, who got word of his new assignment for the weekend less then two hours before practice.

"We have made the decision to suspend Noah Gragson effective immediately regarding his actions that do not represent the values of our team," Legacy Motor Club said.

The shit has officially hit the fan in terms of how NASCAR takes on the lingering racists in its ranks. Pardon my French, but it’s no time to be polite: This is serious business.

In case you weren’t awake when the story broke late Sunday, the horrific news is that a noose was found in the garage stall of the 43 team at Talladega. The 43 car is driven by Bubba Wallace, the lone black driver in the Cup series. This is, of course, right on the heels of NASCAR banning the Confederate flag after Wallace pushed for a ban. 

It’s a clear case of racist retaliation from an evil remnant of the past squealing their last breath before they are excised from the sport. It also comes on the same day racists flew a Confederate flag over the speedway, with a sign reading “Defund NASCAR”

Today’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway was a major milestone for NASCAR, and the significance had nothing to do with Kevin Harvick’s dominating performance on the track.

As the national outrage continues against the death of George Floyd from a knee to his neck from the police (a very literal metaphor in so many powerful ways), and America demands justice, NASCAR could have sat this one out. 

It’s clear from the reaction today that a large percentage of the sport’s fan base did not want to hear the sport weigh in on the topic that’s dominated the news for the past two weeks. They just wanted to watch a race and see their favorite drivers compete, and forget about all the strife around the nation for a few hours.

But there are times when you have to choose which side of history you want to be on. And you should not sit out. This is one of those times.