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As evidenced by her nearly 200,000 followers on Instagram, NASCAR driver Natalie Decker is immensely popular. But the 28-year-old is quickly losing support in the garage, not just from men, but from her fellow female racers as well.
Decker is a part-time driver in both the Camping World Truck Series and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. However, she has just one top-20 finish in either series in the last five years, and has been at the center of a number of controversies, including multiple in the last week.
Prior to last Saturday’s O’Reilly Autoparts Series race at Daytona, she made headlines by posing for a picture with comedian Bert Kreischer while her racing firesuit was half-uncovered. The post has over 25,000 likes.
Earlier in the week, Decker made headlines on Speedway Sessions podcast with Matt Tiftt when she revealed that her husband, Derek Lemke, first messaged her on Instagram when she was just 14 years old.
“He messaged me on Instagram and he was like, ‘Call me when you’re 18,'” Decker said.
Lemke was 18 years old at the time.
“Whoa. Is that grooming? I feel like that’s grooming,” Tiftt replied, leading to an awkward chuckle from Decker.
Natalie Decker Loses Support Of Female Drivers
To make matters worse, Decker then went out and finished in 33rd out of 38 drivers in the race at Daytona after getting into a crash midway through the race.
Decker, over her radio, blamed fellow driver Sam Mayer for sliding up the track before she careened into him.
“F—, that hurt so bad. Why the f— did he roll up the track?” Decker asked. “Who the f— was that? That pisses me off so much. That f—ing hurt! Holy f—.”
Mayer did not have brakes at the time after he was already involved in the wreck. Decker, meanwhile, crashed into him only after speeding up while well behind the crash.
Her controversial week has since drawn plenty of criticism from fellow female drivers.
“Between the taking three business days to run into Sam Mayer and the multitude of things I saw on social last week … It’s honestly embarrassing,” Karsyn Elledge, a dirt car racer, the niece of Dale Earnhardt Jr., and a co-host of the Door Bumper Clear podcast, said of Decker.”
Elledge wasn’t alone.
ARCA Menards Series drivers Taylor Reimer and Jave Avedisian both took to X to indirectly call out Decker.
“…As a woman in motorsports, I feel it’s my responsibility to be a role model for young and upcoming women in this sport,” Reimer wrote. “I understand how difficult it is to secure sponsorship in this sport. I’m fully funded based on the partners I bring in each year. It’s a grind, and I know many others are in the same position. I made a promise to myself that I would do it the right way.
Avedisian quoted the post, saying “Well said @taylorreimerr. Couldn’t agree more. As a female in racing, my goal in life is to carry myself with a high standard on and off the track. Thanks @KarsynElledge3 for speaking on this topic as well.”
Maybe Decker doesn’t care. After all, as long as sponsorships keep rolling in, she’ll have opportunities. But she’s certainly not making many friends in an already tight-knit circle.