Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s Spotter, Tab Boyd, Out This Week Following “Screw This Place” Comments About Mexico City

NASCAR driver, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., is going to have a new spotter this weekend.

Why is that noteworthy? Well, his Cup Series spotter has previously been Tab Boyd… that is until Boyd made some remarks on X bashing NASCAR’s trip south of the border last weekend. NASCAR took to Mexico City and hosted their first points-paying international Cup Series since 1958 – when they raced in Toronto, Canada.

There were a fair share of travel and logistical hiccups with traveling out the country for NASCAR, most notably when one of the planes the racing association chartered for the teams suffered a blown engine during takeoff, which forced crew members to seek other travel arrangements. Another flight chartered by NASCAR was grounded by Homeland Security in Charlotte due to paperwork issues.

But even with all of the troubles, everyone eventually made it to Mexico City for the race that was held at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. And it was quite the exciting weekend of events… though the incident that stole a lot of attention away from the racing itself was a social media post that Cup Series spotter Tab Boyd shared online.

Boyd, who spots for Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet, shared this message below giving his thoughts on Mexico City and…well, it’s safe to say the spotter didn’t enjoy his trip:

“I’m ready to go home, screw this place, people can talk it up all they want… can’t even walk out the front door of the hotel without getting hustled and money snatched… in less than 5 minutes. Good area my a**.”

Now, his comments come after former spotter and co-host of the Door Bumper Clear podcast, Brett Griffin, was heavily criticized for his comments on Mexico City a while back, expressing his own concerns about safety for the teams and drivers. Griffin wasn’t a fan when he went to Mexico City for an Xfinity Series race a few years ago, while some fans jumped on his comments as racist and said he was just scared to be in a different country.

Just as Brett Griffin faced backlash, it appears that Tab Boyd is now “facing the music” himself. A quick search of road crew personnel ahead of this weekend’s 52nd annual Great American Getaway 400 shows that Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s spotter is no longer Tab Boyd. Someone by the name of Clayton Hughes is now listed the No. 47 car’s spotter, as you can see below:

It’s unclear whether this means that Tab Boyd has been fired, or if he’s just been asked to step aside for the time being. Though what the Cup Series spotter said in his now deleted social media post was questionable, can you really blame the guy for complaining if he was actually hustled on the streets of Mexico City? On Corey Lajoie’s Stacking Pennies podcast, they referenced something about swapping pesos for dollars, so it sounds like someone may have approached him on the street and offered to help with a currency exchange, and then took off on him. And we can talk about his lack of street smarts and you gotta have your head on a swivel in Mexico City, but seems like he should be allowed to be frustrated with it.

Is Mexico a “safe” place? Of course the term “safe” is sorta relative, and there’s always a fair share of people who will travel anywhere, but objectively, no. According to an annual index put out by Mexico’s Citizens Council for Public Safety and Justice, 20 Mexican cities, including Mexico City, have landed on the Top 50 Most Dangerous Cities in the World list. That’s a lot.

Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t go there ever, or NASCAR shouldn’t race there either. In fact, I think most teams would probably have a damn good time there. But to bring teams to a place where crime is statistically more likely, and then punish someone when it does (whether it is their fault for being naive or not), seems a little much.

I mean, this is quite the escort…

All that to say… I’d find it hard to believe that what he said would be a fireable offense, but him not being a part of the Hyak Motorsports teams this week isn’t exactly a good sign. There’s no official word on whether or not Tab Boyd has been fired… though at the very least, he won’t be spotting for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. at the Great American Getaway 400.The post Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s Spotter, Tab Boyd, Out This Week Following “Screw This Place” Comments About Mexico City first appeared on Whiskey Riff.