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Brian France doesn't exactly deny reports NASCAR is for sale

NASCAR Chairman Brian France watches a video of driver Jeff Gordon after after announcing Gordon will be inducted into the 2019 class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, in Charlotte, N.C., Wednesday, May 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
NASCAR Chairman Brian France watches a video of driver Jeff Gordon after after announcing Gordon will be inducted into the 2019 class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, in Charlotte, N.C., Wednesday, May 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

NASCAR CEO Brian France didn’t dispute the accuracy of reports that NASCAR was for sale.

France was asked Wednesday about reports that emerged earlier in the month that the France family, the only owners in NASCAR’s history, were looking to sell a partial stake in the sport. Here’s what he told ESPN:

“We’re locked and loaded. We’re doing our thing. We’re very focused on what we’ve got to get done. That’s all. No comment necessary.”

A NASCAR spokesperson was initially cited in the Reuters report that broke the news NASCAR was for sale by saying the sport had nothing to add. Since then, no one has disputed the report and France’s remarks certainly continue that trend. If the reports were untrue, it’s quite curious why NASCAR wouldn’t have immediately shot them down.

The sport is in the midst of a years-long television ratings and attendance slide. Track attendance has declined by roughly half in recent years and television ratings continue to be some of the lowest they’ve been since NASCAR’s monumental television deal with Fox and NBC in 2001.

Bill France Sr. founded NASCAR in 1948 and was succeeded by his son Bill France Jr. as the head of the sport. Brian France took over for France Jr. while Lesa France Kennedy, Brian’s sister, and Jim France, Bill France Jr.’s uncle, are the sport’s primary owners.

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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.

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