Advertisement

NASCAR CEO Brian France not planning to attend GOP convention

Brian France isn't planning to attend the GOP convention (AP).
Brian France isn’t planning to attend the GOP convention (AP).

Don’t expect to see NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France at the Republican National Convention.

A spokesperson for the sanctioning body said Wednesday that France was not planning to be at the event, which begins July 18 in Cleveland.

“Brian does not plan to speak at nor attend the convention,” NASCAR spokesperson David Higdon said.

France, who endorsed GOP nominee Donald Trump at a rally in Georgia in February, has been mentioned as a possibility to speak at the four-day event. According to a report from Bloomberg Politics, France was among many sports figures the Trump campaign was “lining up” to appear at the convention. Other people named were former boxer Mike Tyson, ex-Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka and former Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight while the report said “talks are in the works with a broad slate of other celebrities and top athletes.”

Trump publicly denied Tyson’s invite through Twitter.

When France made his endorsement of Trump public, NASCAR classified the endorsement as a personal and private decision. After he received France’s endorsement, Trump said he had received the endorsement of NASCAR, a statement the sanctioning body was quick to refute.

France had also said he was surprised to see NASCAR’s diversity efforts questioned in the wake of his Trump endorsement. NASCAR had moved the site of its Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series banquets following the 2015 season after Trump’s comments regarding Mexican immigrants.

NASCAR drivers Chase Elliott, Ryan Newman and David Ragan were also in attendance at the rally where France endorsed Trump.

– – – – – – –

Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!