NASCAR CEO BRIAN FRANCE BUSTED FOR DUI & OXYCODONE

StandOnIt said:
what you don't get is that there is hardly a minute where alcohol or opiates aren't in his system. What appears normal to him isn't even close to a non addict. The liver, a healthy liver, can only process an ounce of alcohol an hour. It stuffs it wherever it can with the largest area being the skin. This is why you would see Brian sweating bullets when nobody else is sweating.
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I always wondered why Brian looked like he just ran a marathon whenever he's in a press conference.
 
Pat said:
There can't be a connection when he doesn't even LIKE auto racing.
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Tony Stewart was on the TV show Glory Road last night and he thought having a road race on Tues or Wednesday night at the bigger tracks and then making the teams use the same car for the oval race that weekend. A guy like that eats and breathes racing. and a racing fan like me watching said hell yeah great idea. I don't believe I have said or thought that once of any of Nascar's changes.
 
StandOnIt said:
Tony Stewart was on the TV show Glory Road last night and he thought having a road race on Tues or Wednesday night at the bigger tracks and then making the teams use the same car for the oval race that weekend. A guy like that eats and breathes racing. and a racing fan like me watching said hell yeah great idea. I don't believe I have said or thought that once of any of Nascar's changes.
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IndyCar runs back-to-back Saturday and Sunday races in ... Detroit? Toronto? I don't know if they use the same cars or go to backups after a screw-up. I'd back Tony's idea even if the teams did use backups.
 
StandOnIt said:
Tony Stewart was on the TV show Glory Road last night and he thought having a road race on Tues or Wednesday night at the bigger tracks and then making the teams use the same car for the oval race that weekend. A guy like that eats and breathes racing. and a racing fan like me watching said hell yeah great idea. I don't believe I have said or thought that once of any of Nascar's changes.
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The one thing I would caution everyone just a bit on is that part of the native genius that Bill France Sr. and Jr. had was the ability to save the racers from themselves sometimes. Sometimes a racer's unbridled enthusiasm gets in the way of sound decision making.
 
Lots of heartfelt narrative on the subject of addiction. My thoughts and prayers go to all of you who shared.

Yes, people deserve a second chance, but that doesn't mean that they get a second chance at everything they once had. Some of us have careers that would be over doing what France did. He should suffer the same fate IMO. Second, I understand that rock bottom must be hit to get help, but you may not use hurting my family in a car on the street as a means of finding your rock bottom. You. May. Not. I believe, with 100% sincerity, that one should lose his or her license for life if convicted of using a car in this manner. 100%. The mistake wasn't made getting behind the wheel. The mistake was made when there was no contingency plan for what would happen after the first sip, shot, snort, whatever. To my knowledge, one is sober before that FIRST sip, shot, snort, or whatever--make the decision to only **** up your life at that point. Period. I want France ****** gone, and he should be gone right now. NASCAR cannot and should not wait. After all, we are in the midst of "Kids Drive NASCAR." What a ****** example.
 
Revman said:
Lots of heartfelt narrative on the subject of addiction. My thoughts and prayers go to all of you who shared.

Yes, people deserve a second chance, but that doesn't mean that they get a second chance at everything they once had. Some of us have careers that would be over doing what France did. He should suffer the same fate IMO. Second, I understand that rock bottom must be hit to get help, but you may not use hurting my family in a car on the street as a means of finding your rock bottom. You. May. Not. I believe, with 100% sincerity, that one should lose his or her license for life if convicted of using a car in this manner. 100%. The mistake wasn't made getting behind the wheel. The mistake was made when there was no contingency plan for what would happen after the first sip, shot, snort, whatever. To my knowledge, one is sober before that FIRST sip, shot, snort, or whatever--make the decision to only **** up your life at that point. Period. I want France ******* gone, and he should be gone right now. NASCAR cannot and should not wait. After all, we are in the midst of "Kids Drive NASCAR." What a ****** example.
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You must not watch any cop shows. About 90% of the time the driver they stop doesn't have a license, or insurance, or any personal I.D. and has prior convictions for doing the same thing.
 
On a more positive note, sometimes addicts that beat their demons will get addicted to something else. And it can be almost anything. I've seen them get addicted to health routines, remodeling, car projects. It can be a host of things. So, in Brians case I would hope to see him use his sizable wealth to involve himself in some sort of charitable endeavor. Who knows? maybe some kind of intervention stuff. I honestly hope good things come from this. And I hope NASCAR benefits as well. I believe it will. It's a new day, in my view.
 
mack said:
On a more positive note, sometimes addicts that beat their demons will get addicted to something else. And it can be almost anything. I've seen them get addicted to health routines, remodeling, car projects. It can be a host of things. So, in Brians case I would hope to see him use his sizable wealth to involve himself in some sort of charitable endeavor. Who knows? maybe some kind of intervention stuff. I honestly hope good things come from this. And I hope NASCAR benefits as well. I believe it will. It's a new day, in my view.
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My father used to say that people who quit smoking (as he did in his mid-40s) often develop an even more annoying habit - telling others about it. :D
 
Revman said:
Lots of heartfelt narrative on the subject of addiction. My thoughts and prayers go to all of you who shared.

Yes, people deserve a second chance, but that doesn't mean that they get a second chance at everything they once had. Some of us have careers that would be over doing what France did. He should suffer the same fate IMO. Second, I understand that rock bottom must be hit to get help, but you may not use hurting my family in a car on the street as a means of finding your rock bottom. You. May. Not. I believe, with 100% sincerity, that one should lose his or her license for life if convicted of using a car in this manner. 100%. The mistake wasn't made getting behind the wheel. The mistake was made when there was no contingency plan for what would happen after the first sip, shot, snort, whatever. To my knowledge, one is sober before that FIRST sip, shot, snort, or whatever--make the decision to only **** up your life at that point. Period. I want France ******* gone, and he should be gone right now. NASCAR cannot and should not wait. After all, we are in the midst of "Kids Drive NASCAR." What a ****** example.
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No argument from me but millions of completely sober people, probably several in this thread, make the decision to stare at there phone while driving down the road every day. It has been proven to be more deadly than drunk driving. I believe 100% that it should carry the same penalty.
 
Revman said:
One manufacturer that I know of has been directly involved, and has taken a load of sh!t for it. This is a good article, but misinformed in this area. Ford has figured it out, and is getting there, and Chevy is just starting out. Note that the author says that the way things have always been done is no longer okay. Interesting. At the very least, this article validates what some of us (me) have been very slow to accept....this sport is in trouble. What a ******* shame.
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It's been in trouble for about 10 years now.
 
Changes for NASCAR have been long overdue. It’s ironic that Brian France’s giant flameout and possible exit might just allow him to finally accomplish something good for Nascar.
 
Ashstrodamus said:
Let him share a cell with Jeremy Mayfield.
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My guess is Brian has done all the jail time he's going to do. His penalties are being assessed in the court of public opinion. Love him or hate him, he's paying a tall price.
 
Hawaii808 said:
Presuming he is, is this (incorrect report) a way for his lawyer to help him get away with this?
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Good defense attorneys can accomplish a lot for their clients. It is unlikely that "TMZ inaccurately reported some of his behaviors while under arrest" is a strong basis to find him not guilty of the crimes he is charged with.
 
rd45usa said:
Changes for NASCAR have been long overdue. It’s ironic that Brian France’s giant flameout and possible exit might just allow him to finally accomplish something good for Nascar.
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I question whether Brian had any influence over the changes made in recent years. As CEO he bears responsibility, but we don't know how many of these changes were actually his ideas (and I doubt that), and how many he just rubber-stamped. If the major changes were the ideas of other people (as I suspect), those folks will still be there.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
I question whether Brian had any influence over the changes made in recent years. As CEO he bears responsibility, but we don't know how many of these changes were actually his ideas (and I doubt that), and how many he just rubber-stamped. If the major changes were the ideas of other people (as I suspect), those folks will still be there.
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Yep totally agree, hopefully a new face comes in and cleans house.
 
Switchback said:
No argument from me but millions of completely sober people, probably several in this thread, make the decision to stare at there phone while driving down the road every day. It has been proven to be more deadly than drunk driving. I believe 100% that it should carry the same penalty.
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I hear you, but this is not the same thing. It has been proven because it is easy to prove. I know that the laws have encompassed make up application, eating, etc., yet we put bigger infotainment screens in our new cars. How many distracted driving cases have you heard of where the screen has been the culprit? I don't think laws addressing stupidity work frankly.
 
IF BF is allowed to come back, he better have to go through the NASCAR drug program like the other drivers did.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
I question whether Brian had any influence over the changes made in recent years. As CEO he bears responsibility, but we don't know how many of these changes were actually his ideas (and I doubt that), and how many he just rubber-stamped. If the major changes were the ideas of other people (as I suspect), those folks will still be there.
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Sorry, Charlie, but that is a ridiculous skating of responsibility. The buck stops at the top. It is the top guy's job to hire the right people, assign them the right tasks, monitor their progress toward accomplishing those tasks, weigh all the alternatives, and make the key decisions. The buck stops at Brian Z France from 2003 to 2018.

Most people here don't want to hear it, but France deserves major accolades for some Nascar initiatives, including the unified TV deal, a stellar safety record that is the envy of the racing world, and Nascar's significant progress toward diversity. He has been relentless in trying to ramp up the intensity of the racing product (although some of his strategies to do that are highly debatable, such as elimination-style playoffs and seeking expansion of pack racing). He deserves credit for transforming the industry from a benevolent dictatorship that worked well in a bygone era toward a collaborative coalition of stakeholders that is more appropriate in today's economic and cultural environment.

France also is responsible for programs that haven't worked out so well. He created the COT and he was CEO when the Chase was first used, although it seems certain that Bill Jr. was totally on board with both. Brian France inherited a schedule very much like the current schedule... stale stale stale after 15 years of doing nothing. It was on his watch that Nascar went BUST as a white hot cultural fad, so he gets credit for steep declines whether or not he had any control (just as Bill Jr. gets credit for the explosive growth he didn't create and never understood correctly).

Brian France's legacy also reflects how the man performed as a leader and as the public face of the founding family. He has always been a stumbling, bumbling speaker that is downright painful to listen to. He has always appeared to be uninterested (at best) in racing. He can't be bothered to even show up. And when he does, we get sh!t like this...


Despite the positive accomplishments, Brian France has been an embarrassment to the founding family and to the entire Nascar industry for years. Jim France and Lesa Kennedy have been presented with an opportunity. I hope they realize that, and I hope they grasp the opportunity and make the most of it. Time will tell (and not a lot of time will be required to tell IMO).
 
Brian was never proactive about safety, always reactive, and in some cases like the car of tomorrow went way overboard. Even I at first look took one look at the splitter and knew it was a tire cutting weapon and the basic design looked like a brick instead of a race car. Again after years of fans complaining they finally changed the design completely. Given credit for the TV deal? It was an auction between two very new start up cable networks who were desperate for much needed programming. Anybody selling a product would kill to be in that position. IMO he even screwed that up with out any guarantee of how many commercials networks could cover up the racing. All he cared about was banking the money.
 
I apologize if this has been addressed already but...…

As members of this board we have more than just a passing interest in the sport and we may not all agree on any single subject(NEVER LOL)
My question is...……. Is there even one member here that feels that Brian should return to his position? Ever?
 
The guy should buy an island somewhere and tweet congratulations when a driver wins a race...if he thinks about it.
 
Old 97 said:
I apologize if this has been addressed already but...…

As members of this board we have more than just a passing interest in the sport and we may not all agree on any single subject(NEVER LOL)
My question is...……. Is there even one member here that feels that Brian should return to his position? Ever?
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who?
 
Very well stated and fair-minded post, @LewTheShoe. I have seen a few articles crediting Brian France for the 'unified' TV deal, and I have an honest, open question about that. Didn't the first unified TV deal that incorporated Fox, TNT, and NBC begin in 2001 after being negotiated and announced in 1999?

https://nypost.com/1999/11/12/victory-lap-for-nascar-2-4b-tv-deal-broadens-exposure-fattens-purses/

That contract was the real game changer for NASCAR, in that it organized the TV schedule to be on one network at a time and provided much wider broadcast exposure. This was the basic template for all future deals as well. I believe Brian France took over as Chairman and CEO in 2003. Is he believed to have been instrumental in that deal while serving in a lower position? Or is he being credited for the subsequent TV contracts / renewals that produced notable rights fee increases?

I don't dispute that as the top executive, he deserves both credit for NASCAR's successes and blame for its missteps.
 
Old 97 said:
I apologize if this has been addressed already but...…

As members of this board we have more than just a passing interest in the sport and we may not all agree on any single subject(NEVER LOL)
My question is...……. Is there even one member here that feels that Brian should return to his position? Ever?
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Hell no.
 
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