NASCAR insider weighs in on RFK Jr. reportedly moving to ban food stamps

Former NASCAR spotter Brett Griffin has supported the reports that the US Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is banning food stamps from being used to buy soda. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has permitted the purchase of carbonated drinks with food stamps, which became a hot topic when RFK Jr. took office in the first quarter of 2025.

Food stamps have helped low- or no-income households in the USA to support themselves with a nutritious diet. SNAP allows people with EBT to buy edible items (excluding certain things like fast food, alcoholic drinks, etc.) through state funds.

Although food stamps have largely stayed the same since they were introduced a few decades ago, changes in the catalog have often caused controversy. With RFk Jr. taking office in early 2025, he aimed to cut back on spending for candy and carbonated drinks under SNAP.

According to recent reports, the 71-year-old plans to soon ban the purchase of soda with food stamps. Subsequently, veteran NASCAR spotter Griffin shared his perspective and backed the decision:

"The word food should be key. Candy and anything other than food and water ain’t it for me. And I support “food” stamps for people who qualify."

On the other hand, NASCAR hosted its latest race at the Iowa Speedway, where William Byron emerged as the race winner.

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Denny Hamlin laments NASCAR's recent race at the Iowa Speedway

Denny Hamlin at the Iowa Speedway for the Iowa Corn 250 - Source: Imagn

While Byron secured the victory at the Iowa Corn 350 and moved to the top of the regular season standings, Denny Hamlin finished in a disappointing 24th place. The JGR driver remains fourth in the standings with only three rounds left before the regular season ends.

However, Hamlin's poor result at the tri-oval circuit was not due to his performance, as he lamented the nature of the NASCAR-owned track on the Actions Detrimental podcast.

"It’s the yo-yo effect you see at Martinsville. No one can pass. You can’t pass the 30th-place car. That is the problem we’re talking about and that is what we have to fix. It’s that the leader looks like superman because he can run half throttle and just hold everyone off. Chase Briscoe at Pocono."

The 44-year-old then shared his frustration with the Goodyear tires and said:

"But when you look at the lap times and it was just a flat ass, level, no drop-off in 50 laps. It’s like I don’t know what we expect. That means the tire is so hard that it just takes dramatic amount of downforce to push that tire into the racetrack and get it to grip. Nobody but the first few cars have enough air to do that."

Meanwhile, Hamlin can still close a 51-point gap over the next three weekends if his competitors have poor results in the upcoming races.

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Edited by Vaishnavi Iyer