ELKHART LAKE, Wis. — Lilly Diabetes has pulled its sponsorship of Conor Daly’s No. 6 car in the Nascar Xfinity race at Road America, citing a racial slur made by the driver’s father in the 1980s that surfaced this week.

Lilly said in a statement Friday that its sponsorship was intended to raise awareness for treatment options and resources for people living with diabetes.

“Unfortunately, the comments that surfaced this week by Derek Daly distract from this focus, so we have made the decision that Lilly Diabetes will no longer run the No. 6 at Road America this weekend,” Lilly said.

Primarily an IndyCar driver, Conor Daly is making his Nascar debut Saturday with Roush Fenway Racing. Lilly was sponsoring Daly, who has Type 1 diabetes, for the first time. Messages left for a team spokesman seeking comment were not immediately returned on Friday night.