NASCAR Exclusive: Scared of US Ban, Simone Biles’ “Silent” Behavior Inspired Natalie Decker

Natalie Decker was all set to hit the track at Talladega Superspeedway for the AG-PRO 300 Xfinity race after finishing a solid P18 at Daytona. But it turns out she won’t be racing after all. DGM Racing decided to bench her for the Talladega Superspeedway race due to a sponsorship issue. She explained that although “We knew this information a few days before the entry list was released but mistakes happen and my name was accidentally still on there.”

Not one to sit idle, Natalie Decker grabbed the chance to sit down with Josh Macuga for an exclusive with EssentiallySports, in partnership with Fan Controlled Sports. They dove deep into her future ambitions, her drive, and how Olympic gymnast Simone Biles has been a huge source of inspiration for her.

Natalie Decker recently shared how Olympic gymnast Simone Biles inspired her to make a significant change

In an exclusive interview with Josh Macuga for EssentiallySports and Fan-Controlled Sports, Natalie Decker opened up about a new tactic she’s adopting—keeping her goals private. When pressed by Josh about her future plans in motorsports, Decker hesitated to divulge any specifics. And she had a good reason for that.

Decker explained her reasoning by referring to an episode of the podcast “Call Her Daddy,” where host Alex Cooper interviewed Simone Biles. Natalie recounted, “I heard her say that she recently stopped sharing her goals publicly. And it was life-changing. So, after hearing that, because I’ve always shared my goals and the reasoning why she stopped doing that because then… random people in the public were holding her to like expectation up to like her goals. And then if she never achieved them, you know, know, she let herself down and everyone else, like thousands and thousands, millions for her, millions of people.”

Talking to Cooper on the podcast, Biles said, “I thought I was going to be banned from America, ’cause that’s what they tell you: ‘Don’t come back if not gold. Gold or bust. Don’t come back.’” This is after she withdrew from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics due to the ‘twisties’.

Moved by Biles’ perspective, Decker decided that she too would start keeping her goals to herself. She revealed that Simone Biles’ approach to privacy inspired her to zip it when it comes to her personal ambitions. “And after hearing her talk about that, I was like, “You know what? I think I’m going to start doing that,” she admitted.

Decker added, “My goals are like my career in racing and my relationship, I am gonna start being a little bit more silent about my goals and see if it helps me achieve them. It helps me focus harder on them or not feel so much pressure about the goals that I have. I have a feeling that… I’m going to really like the rest of the year not sharing so publicly all of my goals. So sorry about that. I’m not gonna share them.”

The 26-year-old even drew a comparison to a hypothetical scenario to emphasize her point, saying if someone came up with a killer business idea—one that could really rake in the cash—they wouldn’t just go blabbing about it, right? While she’s bummed about missing this weekend’s race, Decker hinted at some exciting announcements on the horizon. Additionally, she is currently very excited about planning her dream getaway with Wawa.