NASCAR has been around for almost 8 decades now, but there has never been much representation from the LGBTQ+ community. Devon Rouse is looking to change that as one of the first openly LGBT drivers to take part in NASCAR-sanctioned events, as he has raced in the Truck Series for Reaume Brothers Racing.

In an Exclusive Interview with EssentiallySports, the 25-year-old shed light on his ambitions to make stock car racing a safe and inclusive sport for everyone.

Let’s face it, it was not easy to make it in stock car racing if one was from the LGBTQ+ community back in the day, and we all know the reasons why. Things have been a lot better ever since Stephen Rhodes became the first openly gay driver to compete in a NASCAR-sanctioned national touring series in the 2000s. Rhodes definitely must have been an inspiration for Rouse, who is looking to do the same for others.

Speaking about the matter in an EssentiallySports Exclusive Interview, Devon Rouse said that while it was a big deal that he’s one of the few racers from the LGBTQ+ community, some things held even more value for him, including, making his racing career flourish, bringing a new set of fans, and helping LGBT drivers feel safe in the motorsports world.

“It means a lot and I don’t think that…I don’t think I see it quite as that. Understanding of what a huge thing that is but…it’s history books and one of the giant pieces of professional sports that we have in the world to make history within one of those…it’s an astronomical thing,” Rouse said.

“So I think it’s really cool to know that I have that, but to be able to keep continuing and growing with that to one, grow my career, but also two, grow a whole different fanbase for stock car and NASCAR racing, but three, also, open a whole new world for kids who are like myself that would never see themselves in this position, scared of who they were or scared of letting people know who they truly are, so I think that with that transition and that change from where things were in the previous years to seeing what we have now, I think it’s gonna be really good for our sport, hopefully, and also really good for our community. It’s merging 2 completely different worlds that were never merged in previous years,” he added.

The 25-year-old also spoke about some of the challenges he faced while coming up through the NASCAR system as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. While he mentioned that people were mostly nice to him, he did call out a certain group of people who would pass comments.

How is dealing with negative comments in NASCAR for Devon Rouse?

There are pros and cons to every sport, and NASCAR, to be fair, has done a fantastic job of being more inclusive since back in the day. But there are still those who may say something hurtful once in a while. But according to Devon Rouse, their numbers are few, and he doesn’t put much stock in their opinions.

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“I would say that most people I have come in contact with within NASCAR, whether that is competitors, whether that is crew guys, engineers…anything else outside of that that you deal with in motorsports…I’d say everyone has been pretty good for the most part. You know you have your few people who make comments, but you’re gonna have that regardless of whether you’re a female in the industry, whether you’re an African American in the industry, whether you’re a gay person in the industry, or whether you’re a straight white male in the industry who people just don’t like,” he added.

Devon Rouse is a young and promising racer. Currently, he mainly races sprint cars in local competitions in his home state of Iowa, with dreams of becoming a full-time driver in one of NASCAR’s national touring series. The EssentiallySports Exclusive Interview was an eye-opening affair into the life of one of the few LGBTQ+ drivers in the sport’s history.

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