I don't live next to him. I don't know what he's like away from the track. His public presentation is all I have to go on. If he presents himself as an ass, he's going to be presumed to be one.
If I wanted to watch people role-playing as heels, I'd watch rasslin'. Racing doesn't need that.
The guy was actively trolling fans for years. He may be showing some maturity now, for unfortunate reasons, but he’s outright been an ass, no narrative.