A social media post from the Department of Homeland Security announced plans for the "Speedway Slammer" immigration detention center in Indiana. It featured an image of an IndyCar-style vehicle with the number 5, which coincidentally aligns with Pato O'Ward, the only Mexican driver in the series. O'Ward expressed his shock, noting that the situation was not something to be proud of. IndyCar stated they were not informed about the use of their imagery and requested it shouldn't be used for such purposes. DHS officials stated there are no plans to alter the imagery.
"It caught a lot of people off guard. Definitely caught me off guard," O'Ward said Wednesday. "I was just a little bit shocked at the coincidences of that and, you know, of what it means. ... I don't think it made a lot of people proud, to say the least."
"We were unaware of plans to incorporate our imagery as part of yesterday's announcement," IndyCar said in a statement Wednesday. "Consistent with our approach to public policy and political issues, we are communicating our preference that our IP not be utilized moving forward in relation to this matter."
A DHS spokesperson said there were no plans to change the imagery. "An AI generated image of a car with 'ICE' on the side does not violate anyone's intellectual property rights. Any suggestion to the contrary is absurd," the spokesperson said in statement.
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