Scandals are a constant regularity in Sports and they often leave the fans with a bitter taste in the aftermath. Similarly, the world of NASCAR was shaken by a controversy recently when a tasteless meme regarding the California wildfire was shared by the FDNY Racing Page on Facebook that too by owner Jim Rosenblum himself. It caused outrage among fans and left his team staff in a pickle. This had in turn caused turbulence in the core managerial team under Rosenblum.

Fans and the NASCAR community expressed their disgust, and one of Rosenblum’s key staff members, Lyle Tolito, announced his disgruntled thoughts on Twitter

Political meme gone too far

The California wildfire has cost multiple lives and billions of dollars of private property. At a time when the community comes together to support each other and send relief, some decide to post memes to get a mere few laughs out of someone’s misery. The post, shared on the team’s official Facebook account, mocked California Governor Gavin Newsom for his handling of the 2025 wildfires, a tragedy that has caused serious devastation. The now-deleted Facebook post has been making the rounds on Twitter and Reddit. Many fans labeled it distasteful and offensive, particularly given the gravity of the situation, which displaced thousands of Californians and destroyed countless homes. The meme quickly caught the attention of fans and others in the NASCAR community, many of whom flooded the comment section with anger and disappointment.

While Rosenblum has not publicly addressed the incident yet, the post stayed online long enough to create significant backlash. Fans accused the FDNY Racing owner of insensitivity, stating that using such a tragedy for political commentary was both inappropriate and heartless. As the outrage grew, the team’s PR manager, Lyle Tolito, took to Twitter to apologize and attempt damage control. His first tweet read: “Jim shared a distasteful thing on the FDNY Racing Facebook. Please disregard. Trying to get him to take it down :/”. This tweet showed good accountability and taking personal agency of matters.

The controversy deepened when Tolito’s subsequent tweets revealed growing frustration with Rosenblum’s actions. In a series of posts, Tolito condemned the meme and the lack of professionalism from the FDNY Racing owner. “I have no words. None. On my behalf, I apologize for Jim posting that on the FDNY FB Page. I got him to take it down but still, that post was absolutely disheartening and absolute bullshit 110%,” Tolito wrote.

Top Comment by Dav_Daddy

What a moron. Hopefully NASCAR comes down on him.

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Debate

The PR manager’s frustrations did not end there. He went on to share that this incident was not his first one. “I am absolutely floored and disgusted. This sadly isn’t the first time, and I honestly might be looking for a new team,” Tolito tweeted. The breaking point came when Rosenblum reportedly called Tolito, asking him to remove his Twitter apology posts. Tolito refused, stating, “No, I will not be doing that because it’s absolutely ridiculous and I’m not taking any blame whatsoever for your actions this morning.”

Tolito’s final tweet came as a bombshell when he stated : “Have a good one and sayonara after Daytona.” Which confirms his resignation from FDNY Racing.

Fans react to the scandalous meme

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Meanwhile, fans continue to call out Rosenblum, who remains silent amid the backlash. The post steered a lot of outrage on Reddit, as one user wrote : “This is what happens when you let Jim Bob run Facebook because he’s familiar with it while someone else runs Twitter and Instagram.” Pointing out that he insisted on running the FB page on his own because he understands the demography better.

Another person wrote : “Probably someone forgot to switch back to their regular account where they share content like this.” Implying that the political opinion that was to be shared is definitely Rosenblum’s own, but he forgot to switch to his personal account before doing so. One sensible fan noted : “It’s really sad to see them show their ignorance. They think it’s funny when they post it, but it affects a lot of people that were involved. It’s disgusting, unacceptable, and really? Putting blame on someone? That’s low class all around.”

Condensing all this in drama and reacting to it in the most hilarious way possible, one fan wrote : “Posting on Facebook in 2025 is problem number 1 for them.” Noting the sheer antiquity of that platform. Whether Rosenblum tries to turn this for good or just shove it under the rug, only time will be able to tell.

As for now, FDNY Racing faces a tough battle to repair its reputation. The fallout from this controversy serves as a reminder of the consequences of irresponsible social media use, particularly in an era where fans demand accountability from the teams they support.