A Georgia man has filed a $500 million race discrimination lawsuit against NASCAR and its race teams, claiming his attempts to make NASCAR more racially diverse were rebuffed by the sanctioning body. Terrance Cox III, who operated Diversity Motorsports Racing and who founded a group to protest what it views as injustices of NASCAR by sponsors and team owners toward the minority community, filed the lawsuit Friday in U.S. District Court in New York. Cox claims that NASCAR, racetrack operator International Speedway Corp. and its race teams have not made any efforts to have corporate sponsors support an African-American team. In a statement, NASCAR defended its Drive for Diversity program ‘ which has been in place since 2004 ‘ and said it will fight the lawsuit. ‘NASCAR embraces all individuals interested and involved in our sport, whether as partners, fans, competitors or employees, and there is no merit to this lawsuit,’ the statement said. ‘NASCAR has a long-standing history of investing in diversity efforts including the NASCAR Drive for Diversity, NASCAR Diversity Internship and NASCAR Diversity Pit Crew Development programs. ‘¦ We stand behind our actions, and will not let a publicity-seeking legal action deter us from our mission. NASCAR not only will defend our organization against these meritless allegations, but we will be asserting our own claims against Mr. Cox for his defamatory actions.’(ESPN.com)
