Brian France

Brian Zachary France (born August 2, 1962) is an American businessman  who is the former CEO and Chairman of NASCAR serving in the post from 2003 to 2018.  A third generation executive in the sport of stock car racing, France followed in the footsteps of his grandfather (and NASCAR co-founder) Bill France Sr. and father Bill Jr. in running NASCAR. Time magazine named him one of the "100 Most Influential of the Century" in 2006 and he was named one of the five most powerful sports executives by The Sporting News in 2005.

Early life
France grew up in the racing world, learning the logistics of NASCAR from a young age; though he was able to enter the family business, he did not have a trust fund. His first job in racing was as a janitor at the Talladega Superspeedway. France studied at the University of Central Florida but did not earn a degree. Following his first few years of classes, he instead entered the NASCAR company in order to learn the family business.

Early career with NASCAR
France managed several short tracks, including Tucson Raceway Park in Arizona in the earlier years of his career. He also ran the NASCAR Entertainment Division in Los Angeles during the 1990s, creating associations between NASCAR and the entertainment industry. This included Hollywood films and projects advertising on NASCAR vehicles, the appearance of actors and other entertainers during NASCAR events, and NASCAR figures themselves becoming integrated into reality television, television dramas, cartoons, soap operas, Hollywood feature films, music videos, and mass paperback novels. In 1995, he became the creator of the Craftsman Truck Series, which was launched from the competition department under his tenure there. Following this he became the head of the marketing department, where he endeavoured to grow the product's youth audience, and began to move the company away from its title sponsor Winston cigarettes in order to facilitate this. His final position before becoming CEO was executive vice-president; he was also on the board of directors.

CEO of NASCAR
In 2003, France was named NASCAR's Chairman of the Board and CEO by his father, who preceded him. One of his first actions was to create a new rule that drivers were no longer allowed to race back to the start/finish line when under caution. After assuming control of NASCAR, France negotiated a title sponsorship from Sprint Nextel. He also introduced the Chase for the Sprint Cup over the transition period, receiving a $4.5 billion television contract for the initial ten race seasons, in addition to a later multibillion-dollar deal with NBC. Part of the Chase was to award more points to significant or "spectacular" wins instead of consistent winning, as NASCAR had previously done, introducing it as a form of "post-season" for the sport. He also made an effort to expand the audience base of NASCAR to minorities, and allowed Toyota vehicles to begin competing on the NASCAR circuit. He has also overseen NASCAR during a period of ratings drops, as well as attendance going down 15% over the period of his tenure, despite record television deals.

Other ventures
France also owns Brand Sense Partners, a Los Angeles-based licensing company that launched Britney Spears’ line of perfume. He and his wife are the founders of the Luke and Meadow Foundation, a philanthropic cause that focuses on children. 

In 2019, Amy and Brian France launched the Amy and Brian France Foundation to support grassroots philanthropy within local communities, creating a deeper impact and more sustainable, long-term benefits. One of the first big moves the Foundation made is partnered with Charlotte, NC-based organization SHARE Charlotte (sharecharlotte.org) by presenting SHARE's Spotlight Series, #SpotlightOnCLT.  #SpotlightOnCLT is a content series which explores an important local issue each month through the lens of 460+ Mecklenburg County nonprofits, highlighting how their work is strengthening the greater Charlotte area and the many opportunities that local community has to be part of the solution. The goal of the Spotlight Series is a more informed, compassionate and engaged Charlotte. In addition to presenting this year’s Spotlight content, the France’s have pledged an additional $60,000 – money that will be given away as twelve $5,000 gifts to Spotlight-featured nonprofits throughout the year.

Controversy
On February 29, 2016, France endorsed Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election. This was controversial due to NASCAR's decision the previous July to pull its Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series award ceremonies from a Trump resort near Miami in the wake of the businessman’s comments about Mexican immigrants.

On August 5, 2018, France was pulled over by the Sag Harbor, New York police after driving through a stop sign in the Hamptons, and subsequently arrested for DUI and possession of a controlled substance, later revealed to be Oxycodone. After his release, he announced that he would be taking an "indefinite leave of absence" from his role as CEO and chairman of NASCAR. It was later deemed permanent in 2019, with Jim France going on to take over the job permanently as chairman of NASCAR.

On June 7, 2019, France made a guilty plea to one count of misdemeanor DUI and, in exchange, got 100 hours of community service and the order to complete an alcohol education course before June 5, 2020. 
If he completes the terms of his plea deal, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office will allow France to withdraw his guilty plea to a reduced charge of a traffic violation.

References

External links
 Luke and Meadow Foundation website

Category:Living people
Category:NASCAR people
Category:Auto racing executives
Category:1962 births
Category:University of Central Florida alumni
Category:American chief executives of professional sports organizations
Category:France family