NASCAR chairman deflects Trump support, praises 'diversity'
HOMESTEAD, Fla.—NASCAR chairman Brian Z. France spoke publicly on Sunday morning just hours before the season’s final race, and offered up a vision of NASCAR long on sunny-skies optimism but short on specifics. He also drew a sharp line between his own personal political views and the work of NASCAR, beginning his conference with praise of Mexican-born Daniel Suarez’s Xfinity Series championship and returning to that highlight several times during the media conference.
France drew nationwide attention in February when he appeared onstage alongside several NASCAR drivers at a rally for then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Even though NASCAR officials immediately distanced the sport from France’s comments, Trump himself, among many others, assumed that France’s support meant Trump had NASCAR’s support as well.
France’s public support of Trump was a public relations pothole for a sport that has touted its diversity program, given that Trump began, and fueled, his presidential campaign with a strident anti-immigrant agenda. Indeed, NASCAR had withdrawn its 2015 Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series awards ceremonies from Trump’s Miami resort following Trump’s sweeping, highly critical condemnations of Mexicans.
One of the first questions to France on Sunday concerned the disparity between France’s support of Trump and the fact that a Mexican-born driver is now one of the sport’s fastest-rising stars. France cut off the question mid-sentence, declaring “nobody wants to hear my political views.” That’s a debatable assertion given the fact that he chairs the country’s most prominent racing organization, one so ingrained into American political culture that it has its own subgroup: “NASCAR dads,” the same white middle-aged men who turned out for Trump in overwhelming numbers earlier this month.
When Suarez, NASCAR’s first foreign-born champion, won the Xfinity championship Saturday night, he provided France with a tangible validation of NASCAR’s “Drive for Diversity” program … and, not coincidentally, a way for France to build a wall, to coin a phrase, between his own views and the aims of the organization he chairs.
“On my diversity, nobody, nobody in this company has worked harder, done more, and resourced it better than me,” France said. “I founded the Diversity Council. I fought for every single thing that makes sense, because that’s my core belief about diversity … And my efforts there should never be challenged, no matter what my political views might be. That’s a ridiculous thing to do.”
Of course, diversity in NASCAR isn’t just about who’s in the driver’s seat, but who’s in the stands as well. Actions are more important than words, and results are more important than endorsements. If Suarez is the first in a line of diverse winning drivers, and not simply an outlier amid a sea of white, that will provide tangible proof of France’s assertions that NASCAR is an increasingly diverse organization.
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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports and the author of EARNHARDT NATION, on sale now at Amazon or wherever books are sold. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.
