By Chad Leistikow, USA TODAY
Kasey Kahne's transition, at least image-wise, to Hendrick Motorsports is off to a rough start.
By Jared C. Tilton, Getty Images for NASCAR
The NASCAR Sprint Cup driver has come under fire for expressing apparent disdain Tuesday on Twitter over a breastfeeding mom in a supermarket.
Kahne, on his Facebook page, has since apologized for a series of tweets that stirred instant social-media reaction. Among the tweets was a detailed description of what he saw. One tweet -- "One boob put away one boob hanging!! #nasty" -- was later removed from his timeline.
He concluded the grocery-store diatribe by saying, "I don't feel like shopping anymore or eating."
Kahne, who has more than 101,000 Twitter followers, later blasted user @KnittingRad, whose profile described her as a liberal feminist and a mother of three, for criticizing Kahne's comments. She had written, "I hope someday you have a kid and someone tells your wife that feeding your child looks nasty." Kahne replied, "And your a dumb b*tch."
In his apology Wednesday, Kahne said, "My comments were not directed at the mother's right to breastfeed. They were just a reaction to the location of that choice, and the fashion in which it was executed on that occasion. I respect the mother's right to feed her child whenever and wherever she pleases."
Kahne is set to take over the No. 5 Chevrolet with juggernaut Hendrick Motorsports in 2012, a ride previously manned by Mark Martin. At Hendrick, Kahne will be part of a four-man team that includes Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Kahne drove for Red Bull Racing in 2011 and finished the year strong, including a win at Phoenix International Raceway on Nov. 13. Red Bull shuttered its NASCAR program following the season.
