NASCAR must move on from CEO after arrest
Brian France pulled over and let someone else take the wheel for a while Monday. Now, NASCAR must make the move permanent.
France is in as good a condition to be running NASCAR as he was to be driving a car on Sunday night in Sag Harbor, New York, where France failed to stop at a stop sign and had oxycodone pills in his possession, according to police.
And this is the guy ultimately overseeing driver safety at NASCAR.
He needs to hand over the keys — to his car and to his job as CEO.
France, 56, started by taking an indefinite leave of absence to address the problems that almost assuredly contributed to the arrest. His uncle Jim France will fill in as chairman and CEO. But ultimately, Brian France must step aside for good.
Because let’s not forget 2006. That’s when he hit a tree while driving a Lexus in Daytona Beach, Florida, and a witness said France was driving at a “very reckless speed” and “fell over his own feet” after he got out of the car, according to news media reports.
France told Daytona Beach police he hit the tree when he was taking a drink of a soda.
Can’t help but wonder what was in that soda now that France is facing charges of aggravated driving while intoxicated and criminal possession of a controlled substance.
The truth is, France, the grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. and CEO since 2003, has looked unsteady leading NASCAR for years. This year, continuing a steady decline over the past decade, TV ratings for its first 16 events are down 20% and admissions revenue to 14 Cup series weekends after the Daytona 500 is down almost 15%, according to an ESPN.com report.
“The Wall Street Journal” reported in 2017 that France sold his entire stake in NASCAR more than a decade ago. That means his fate as CEO likely rests with his older sister, Lesa, his uncle Jim and other stakeholders who must ask themselves this: On what grounds can Brian France credibly oversee NASCAR’s substance abuse policy, safety issues and, for that matter, the entire organization?
He can’t, of course, and for that reason someone needs to put a sober adult behind the wheel for good.