NASCAR Chair & CEO Brian France endorsed Donald Trump for President last week, and he has "been dealing with the fallout" ever since, according to Jenna Fryer of the AP. France "roiled a sport his family built from the ground up." He said, "I was frankly, very surprised, that my diversity efforts for my whole career would have been called into question, over this, in my view, a routine endorsement." France acknowledged that he has "had to have conversations with sponsors since making the endorsement, which came as NASCAR is seeking a new main sponsor for its top series." France: "I made a few phone calls and clarified some things. That kind of goes with the territory." He said that he "backed Barack Obama" in '08 and "actively participated in the campaign, shifting his support" to Republican candidate Mitt Romney four years later. But Trump is a candidate "unlike any other in recent memory, drawing intense criticism for the racial undertones of his rhetoric and policies." France said, "I don't even know all their policies, truthfully." He added that he "likes Trump's 'business approach' and his status as a Washington outsider." France's "efforts to quell criticism over what he insists was a 'personal and private' decision have also been complicated by Trump's continued mentioning of how he's received 'NASCAR's endorsement'" (AP, 3/9). ESPN’s Mike Greenberg said of France defending his Trump endorsement, “If you're going to make that public, then you are going to have to deal with consequences, and in this particular election, I would guess regardless of who you support” (“Mike & Mike,” ESPN2, 3/10).
