Saints running back Alvin Kamara has become NASCAR’s newest, biggest fan

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara has been getting more and more outspoken on social media lately, and his latest crusade has been... Promoting NASCAR. For the past week, Kamara’s Twitter has been absolutely flooded with the racing sport’s content. This is in the wake of NASCAR banning the confederate flag from its events.

The Saints running back had a quick, simple reply to NASCAR’s ban:

Things moved EXTREMELY quickly after this. Kamara became a massively outspoken Bubba Wallace fan, he was in attendance on June 14 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and he kept fans informed on where he was at all day.

Before Kamara attended a race, however, he had to brush up on what the sport entailed.

Wallace unveiled his No. 43 Black Lives Matter car on June 10, which featured a white and black hand clasped on the hood and a “#BLACKLIVESMATTER” decal toward the rear, and Kamara showed love for the design.

NASCAR quickly reciprocated.

Kamara watched the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 on June 10, and he gave a very brief live blog of what was going on (it admittedly wasn’t exactly a play-by-play).

Kamara even appeared to catch the racing bug himself.

On June 13, Kamara let everyone know that he was planning on attending a race after an invitation from NASCAR, via Master Tesfatsion, and he was going to be supporting Wallace.

Kamara reached out to fans for some help as well.

Heading down to the track, Kamara let fans know he was en route.

Naturally, there was a bit of a learning curve. Learning new sports isn’t easy, and the NASCAR pit stop isn’t the kind of thing you just “get.”

Of course, the brands just couldn’t resist making a pun.

When he stepped out toward the track, Kamara was absolutely shook.

After Chase Briscoe won his XFINITY Series race, Kamara gave credit where it was due.

As with any Kamara story, Air Heads also got involved.

Mid-race, Kamara said that he’d need to find some old jackets, and he congratulated Denny Hamlin on a win in the main event before saying he isn’t done with NASCAR after his first race.

All in all, Kamara was very positive about his experience.

“...Being here today, I’m learning a lot,” he said, via ESPN. “It’s definitely a different experience in person. Obviously, we’re in corona protocol right now, so I’m not even getting the full experience. But I’m enjoying it. ... I can’t even imagine it being just full-out 160,000 people here and everything.”

After the fact, the Airheads sponsorship might have gone a bit far.

In the aftermath of the race, Kamara was ready for the next.

Kamara FINALLY got some recognition from Wallace himself, with an assist from ... What else ... Airheads.

In spite of Wallace’s success and Kamara’s enthusiasm, there is a darker side to NASCAR’s new emphasis on inclusivity.

Last week, Wallace claimed to have found a noose in his garage. In response, other drivers walked Wallace to the starting line in a show of solidarity. Although a further investigation has shown that it was not a hate crime, but rather a garage pull, per ESPN, Wallace has stood by his claim and he has said he will continue to be a vehicle of inclusivity in racing.

On the incident, Kamara had this to say:

It looks like Wallace and NASCAR have a huge new fan in Kamara, and he isn’t shy in continuing to speak on NASCAR’s new mission to be more inclusive. It’s clear that he thinks that NASCAR is moving in the right direction, and as Wallace continues to do well on the circuit, expect a lot more enthusiasm and support from Kamara throughout the NASCAR season.

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