BROOKLYN, Mich. — On Saturday at Michigan Int’l Speedway, NASCAR Chairman Brian France discussed NASCAR’s investigation into the allegations made by former official Mauricia Grant, who filed suit against the sanctioning body last week, alleging racial and sexual discrimination.
The early stages of the investigation led to the suspension of two NASCAR Nationwide Series officials.
“We haven’t completed our investigation. It’s ongoing,” France said. “Obviously, we found violations in our policy. I wouldn’t jump to conclusions that all the allegations that were made over many months that the plaintiff has made against us are accurate. I’d be very cautious even if we take action on any official in this investigation. We might discover something entirely different that had nothing to do with the claim and this lawsuit, but still is a violation of our policy. That would get you in trouble with us. They were very detailed. We’re bringing in everyone we can find to give us the information of what is going on, so we can be very clear in our findings.”
France continues to maintain the sanctioning body knew nothing of the allegations prior to the suit being filed.
“We found out Tuesday via filing of the lawsuit. By Thursday, we were in full investigative mode. We didn’t wait a week,” he said. “And some of these claims go back two years or longer. Here again, it would be very, very disappointing that was not brought to our attention if these claims actually happened, that they would have been brought to our attention right when they happened so we could have investigated right then and taken any action we needed, and it just didn't happen. She chose to make this about money and about a lawsuit and we’ll deal with that. That’s the nature of the court system.”