Recently-retired road racing ace Scott Pruett revealed today in an exclusive interview with Spade Racing that his life has been turned upside down, mostly due to the similarity in his name to recently-retired EPA head Scott Pruitt.
“I saw that clip online of that woman confronting the other Pruitt in a restaurant in DC—well that’s nothing compared to what I went through”, Pruett explained. “I can’t tell you how many tire tests I’ve been to where I’ve had to deal with protesters trying to scale the fences of the tracks. Not to mention the fact that I’ve had to remind people on Twitter pretty much daily how our names are different, we look nothing alike, and that I’ve never bought tactical pants.”
Pruett made his mark in endurance racing, posting wins in such prestigious races as the 12 Hours of Sebring, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the 24 Hours of Daytona. However, he is now better-known to the general public—erroneously so—as being the embattled former head of the Environmental Protection Agency.
“Sonoma was Hell for me”, Pruett explained, referring to his experience as the grand marshall for the recent Nascar race in Sears Point, California. “People were screaming at me the whole time, throwing garbage at the pace car, and blaming me for ruining the environment. Sure, I drive a race car—not the most energy-efficient method to make one’s living—but this is taking it way too far. Then I remembered that some people are simply angry about the state of the country, and are looking to take it out on a guy they think is in charge. Well the NAME IS SPELLED DIFFERENTLY, people.”
Pruett joins a long line of other Nascar drivers who are frequently mistaken for others—Jimmie Johnson (with former football coach Jimmy Johnson) and Ryan Newman (with actress Ryan Newman) being just two of them. However, the vitriol directed at Pruett over the past year or so appears to be some of the worst the sport has ever seen.
“Just last week I had someone smear my daily driver with Tide liquid detergent”, Pruett lamented. “Of course, Ricky Rudd fans have been doing that to me for YEARS, so maybe that one was warranted.”