Zach Herr, gay NASCAR racer, is returng to the track - Outsports

Contents:

• THIS GAY RACE R DRIVER IS OUT AND PROUD, AND CHASG HIS MOTORSPORTS DREAM
• THIS GAY RACE R DRIVER QU WHEN HE ME OUT. NOW HE’S RETURNG TO THE TRACK AS HIS TE SELF
• NASCAR WILL HAVE ITS FIRST OPENLY GAY DRIVER YEARS DURG 2021 SEASON
• TRAVIS SHUMAKE STRIV TO BEE FIRST OPENLY GAY NHRA FUNNY CAR DRIVER
• THERE ARE MORE 'OUT' GAY RACG DRIVERS THAN YOU THK
• WATCH: LEGENDARY RACE CAR DRIVER HURLEY HAYWOOD OPENS UP ABOUT BEG GAY NEW DOCUMENTARY
• VIO ON CISG GAYTCKERS
• 'IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THE FUTURE': OPENLY GAY NHRA DRIVER PREPAR TO MAKE HISTORY
• GAY UBER DRIVER
• TCK GAY STOCK FOOTAGE & VIOS
• GAY PRO RACE R DRIVER: STAYG THE CLOSET WAS ‘NOTHG BUT TORTURE AND PA’
• GAYS LOVE RS, AND NOW THERE’S A PLACE TO MEET AND GATHER
• EVAN DARLG THE FIRST OPENLY GAY RACER DRIVER
• AFTER MAKG HISTORY AS AN OPENLY GAY DRIVER, DEVON ROE CHAS EVEN BIGGER NASCAR DREAMS

THIS GAY RACE R DRIVER IS OUT AND PROUD, AND CHASG HIS MOTORSPORTS DREAM

He took to Instagram and me out as gay last June. If he tak the green flag there, he will jo Stephen Rhos on the list of openly gay drivers a NASCAR natnal seri.

THIS GAY RACE R DRIVER QU WHEN HE ME OUT. NOW HE’S RETURNG TO THE TRACK AS HIS TE SELF

Zach Herr didn’t thk was possible to be an out gay pro race r driver. But this time, as an out gay man.

“I never actually had the opportuny to disver who I was as a person, and what that other part was, once I realized I was gay, ” Herr said.

He heard the slurs around the tracks and uldn't thk of another gay driver. Herr and his boyiend, who had also recently e out, started immersg themselv the gay muny.

NASCAR WILL HAVE ITS FIRST OPENLY GAY DRIVER YEARS DURG 2021 SEASON

Herr, as one might expect for a baby gay, remembered the experience as “overwhelmg. The ultra-macho culture of NASCAR has slowly been changg recent years: Devon Roe, another out gay pro to racer, was recently featured on NASCAR’s Twter page.

TRAVIS SHUMAKE STRIV TO BEE FIRST OPENLY GAY NHRA FUNNY CAR DRIVER

Devon Roe looks to do the same 2021 as the first openly gay NASCAR driver years. Like Wallace last year, Devon Roe uld be that NASCAR driver 2021 who brgs a pletely new set of fans when he be the first openly gay driver to pete at a NASCAR natnal tourg seri event sce 2003. Devon Roe to but 2021 as first openly gay NASCAR driver years.

Stephen Rhos was first openly gay NASCAR driver.

THERE ARE MORE 'OUT' GAY RACG DRIVERS THAN YOU THK

Like Bubba Wallace was a trailblazer on the NASCAR Cup Seri as the lone Black driver, Devon Roe will do the same this year on the NASCAR Tck Seri as the only openly gay driver.

Stephen Rhos was the first gay NASCAR driver and he raced a uple of tim 2003.

Travis Shumake is the son of former NHRA Funny Car driver Tripp Shumake, who was killed a motorcycle accint 36, Travis Shumake hop to bee the first openly gay driver the NHRA Funny Car class. Shumake plans to h the racetrack by season’s end, memoratg his father’s last NHRA Funny Car victory 40 years ago at the Fals—and beg the Campg World Drag Racg Seri’ first openly gay June 15, Shumake earned his Nostalgia Funny Car license at the Frank Hawley Drag Racg School Florida.

WATCH: LEGENDARY RACE CAR DRIVER HURLEY HAYWOOD OPENS UP ABOUT BEG GAY NEW DOCUMENTARY

But they're not givg me a mulligan for beg gay bee my dad was great or whatever. ”Curly, he has gotten oppose advice om mentors about whether to tra on the fact he’s gay. You don't want to be the guy who was gay and terrible.

VIO ON CISG GAYTCKERS

Shumake said, “So I'm back and forth on playg up the gay rd, but I thk 's a good bs mol. ”Tripp Shumake didn’t live to see his son bee a foster parent and an advote for homels gay teens through his work Arizona wh one•n•ten, a non-prof anizatn dited to helpg LGBTQ youth ag 14-24.

Now is the time to show the world there is a place for gay petors and fans motorsports. I affectnately ll the Gay Mafia.

There's about 10 people I know the sport that are gay that haven't taken the steps like I am takg, jt bee of that fear, ” Shumake said.

'IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THE FUTURE': OPENLY GAY NHRA DRIVER PREPAR TO MAKE HISTORY

“There have been so many more gay people, but we don't talk. “Maybe if, for some reason, someone is able to e out of the closet or enter the sport—gay, lbian, transgenr—bee of my attempts at this, that would certaly be rewardg enough to me. “I'm like, how do people not know you're gay?

’”Devon Roe, 22, a dirt-track sprt-r veteran om Wt Burlgton, Iowa, is a iend of Shumake, and they enurage one another as Roe embarks on his NASCAR journey as the first openly gay Campg World Tck Seri driver.

GAY UBER DRIVER

On Tuday, Raphael Orlove and Bill Caswell posed the qutn on Jalopnik, “Why Aren’t There More ‘Out’ Gay Race Car Drivers? ” Actually, there are more than you EVs Can’t Get A Break From The HeatOffEnglishEvan Darlg is an openly gay driver known bt for his efforts road racg. In an exclive terview wh Queers4Gears, the current NASCAR Sprt Cup Champn, Brad Kelowski said, “I don’t thk anyone r (if a driver is gay.

”That statement is accurate, as the reprentatn of openly gay people the sport is not limed to recently profiled Matthew Pattison, an openly gay official who’s worked the sport for 15 years and is one of the ma officials the Timg and Srg Tower.

Queers4Gears profiled an openly gay employee at Michael Waltrip Racg — who works the anizatn wh his partner. ”But what about the sponsors you ask — would an openly gay driver be able to attract a sponsor? Will there be fans that refe to accept an openly gay driver?

TCK GAY STOCK FOOTAGE & VIOS

Openly gay drivers.

GAY PRO RACE R DRIVER: STAYG THE CLOSET WAS ‘NOTHG BUT TORTURE AND PA’

Nothg chang a person’s views more than them knowg and rg about a gay person their life.

But Cheney’s view on LGBT rights is squarely the progrsive mp — bee he has a gay child.

GAYS LOVE RS, AND NOW THERE’S A PLACE TO MEET AND GATHER

Attus about gay people are changg Ameri and the grandstands at the race track will not be immune to this shift.

Now, the new documentary Hurley, produced by actor and fellow race r driver Patrick Dempsey, the retired Haywood is openg up about beg secretly gay while also beg a superstar the credibly mascule (and ually straight) field of race r drivg. Nearly two years ago, Shumake had planned his but to the eic, high-octane world of Natnal Hot Rod Associatn drag racg as the erng body's first openly gay the son of NHRA Funny Car drag-racg legend Tripp Shumake, the younger Shumake had grown up that world, havg attend drag rac each summer at the Kansas Speedway and racg shifter karts wh his father the late the s sce his father died  a 1999 motorcycle accint, though, somethg kept llg Shumake back to the sport — back to followg his father's he started drivg.

EVAN DARLG THE FIRST OPENLY GAY RACER DRIVER

At a separate race Las Vegas, Shumake failed to qualify, markg the first time the Myer's dragster that he was drivg failed to qualify over eight all that, Shumake has learned to manage his expectatns, even as he prepar to qualify as the first openly gay drag racer at the NHRA Campg World Seri at Heartland Motorsports Park on Friday. We’ll see where go, " Shumake as he gets ready to race qualifiers Friday, Shumake is exced at the prospect of makg through to the elimatn rounds on Saturday and Topeka, Pri Kansas play role Travis Shumake's but as gay racerAs Shumake set out to make his but, one of his early challeng was fdg a sponsor.

"One of my hunch was that I would fd somebody willg to sign me who was makg cisns wh the pk dollar md — maybe a gay marketg officer or someone wh a marketg foc on the LGBT piece, " he he reached out to Sean Dixon, print of Vis Topeka, Shumake found someone who was not only willg to sponsor him, but also someone who was willg to vt a racer who uld crease visibily for a cy and sport that historilly have been characterized as nservative and unwelg to LGBTQ people.

AFTER MAKG HISTORY AS AN OPENLY GAY DRIVER, DEVON ROE CHAS EVEN BIGGER NASCAR DREAMS

"His journey and beg the first openly gay sanctned driver really ronated wh , " Dixon said. "But the race r don’t know if I'm a boy or girl, or gay or straight, or Christian or Jewish. Although they never talked about before his father died when Shumake was 15, his father knew he was gay.

There’s 40 ln fans who self-intify as drag racg fans, and there jt should be a gay driver. Gay pri slow motn dancg LGBT people on tck. Party tck drivg by full wh people partyg durg the antwerp gay pri para, Flemish LGBT ftival, 6 Augt, 2019.

Party tck wh drag queens drivg by at the antwerp gay pri para, Flemish LGBT ftival, 6 gt, 2019, antwerpen, Belgium.