Brian France

Last updated
Brian France
Brian France Homestead 2016.jpg
CEO and chairman of NASCAR
In office
September 2003 August 5, 2018

Brian France implemented a wide variety of policies and mandates that tended to focus heavily on driver safety (largely in response to the death of Dale Earnhardt) and equal opportunity for virtually all drivers to contend. Some of the rules implemented included mandation of the HANS device for all drivers, installation of SAFER barriers around the outside walls of each track (eventually, the inside walls of each track as well), as well as the 'yellow line rule' at superspeedways (which states that no driver may advance their position if they noticeably place at least their left side tires below the inside yellow line surrounding the track), and the 'overtime line' rule, which was a designated area of the track where if a caution were to be thrown at any time within the closing two laps and the leader had passed through the area, but had not yet crossed the official start/finish line, the race would end and a winner would be declared (this was removed after the 2017 NASCAR season). Many fans, especially those of a somewhat older age who had gotten used to Bill France Jr.'s style of management, were not in favor of these rule changes; this caused NASCAR's ratings to drop significantly throughout the early to mid-2010s.

Litigation

In March 2020 Brian France sued John L. Steele, an internet user behind the parody Twitter account "Drunken Brian France" (@DrunkBrianF), for "infliction of emotional distress" and invasion of privacy. [24] [25] In April 2020 the lawsuit was withdrawn after Steele agreed to delete the account. [26] The lawsuit has been cited as an example of an SLAPP lawsuit. [27]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Talladega Superspeedway</span> Motorsport track in the United States

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International Speedway Corporation (ISC) was a corporation whose primary business was the ownership and management of motorsports race tracks. ISC was founded by NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. in 1953 for the construction of Daytona International Speedway and in 1999 it merged with Penske Motorsports to become one of the largest motorsports companies in North America. The company played an important, though controversial, role in the modernization of the sport. It worked with NASCAR to create new tracks and update older ones in an effort to improve the racing and the experience for spectators and has constructed popular new tracks in regions previously thought uninterested in NASCAR. Because both companies have several members of the France family in top positions, ISC's competitors have filed multiple lawsuits on antitrust grounds

William Henry Getty France was an American businessman and racing driver. He was also known as Bill France Sr. or Big Bill. He is best known for founding and managing NASCAR, a sanctioning body of US-based stock car racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GEICO 500</span> Auto race held at Talladega, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">YellaWood 500</span> Auto race held at Talladega, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">ARCA Menards Series</span> American stock car racing series

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The Car of Tomorrow was the common name used for the chassis of the NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series race cars. The car was part of a five-year project to create a safer vehicle following several deaths in competition, particularly the crash at the 2001 Daytona 500 that killed Dale Earnhardt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Helton</span> NASCAR executive

Michael Gregory Helton is an American businessman, and the Vice Chairman of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). He replaced Bill France Jr. in November 2000 as the company's 3rd president. He was named Chief Operating Officer of NASCAR in February 1999.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">NASCAR Cup Series</span> Top tier auto racing division within NASCAR

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Daytona 500</span> 62nd Running of the event, held in Daytona Beach, Florida

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Production Alliance Group 300</span> NASCAR Xfinity Series race

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Unhinged 300</span> NASCAR Xfinity Series race

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2004 Aaron's 499</span> Motor car race

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References

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