Daniel Suarez: ‘I’m in NASCAR, I’m not in Brian France whatever’
Xfinity Series driver Daniel Suarez is handling NASCAR CEO Brian France’s endorsement of presidential candidate Donald Trump extremely well.
Suarez told USA Today and ESPN on Friday that he wasn’t too worried about the Monday endorsement, which came just before primary elections in many southern states. The Mexican-born Suarez is in his second year in NASCAR’s No. 2 series with Joe Gibbs Racing.
“I’m happy where we’re at right now and I feel at home in NASCAR,” Suarez told reporters from USA TODAY Sports and ESPN.com on Friday. “I think Brian can do everything he wants on his own, but NASCAR is different. I’m in NASCAR, I’m not in Brian France whatever. I’m in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and I feel at home here. I’m not going anywhere.”
As you know, one of Trump’s main presidential platforms has been the construction of a wall between the United States and Mexico to curb illegal immigration despite data that shows more Mexicans have returned to their home country than have come to the United States.
NASCAR also has a series in Mexico and France has championed his sport’s “Drive for Diversity” program. Suarez is a member of that program. France’s diversity efforts within the sport made his endorsement of Trump even more curious.
Carlos Slim, the owner of Arris, Suarez’s sponsor, canceled a TV project with Trump over the summer after Trump made derogatory remarks towards Mexicans.
France endorsed the Republican frontrunner alongside NASCAR drivers Chase Elliott, Ryan Newman and David Ragan along with former driver and NASCAR Hall of Fame member Bill Elliott. The endorsement immediately dominated the NASCAR discussion Monday night. According to a NASCAR spokesperson, France’s decision was a personal and private one, though Trump tweeted Tuesday morning that he was happy to have the endorsement of NASCAR.
The NASCAR CEO defended his actions to NASCAR employees in a letter obtained by Motorsport this week. France has endorsed political candidates before and supported Mitt Romney in 2012 vs. President Barack Obama.
Here’s a snippet of that letter.
Looking ahead at the presidential election in November, I made the personal decision on Monday to announce my support of Donald Trump. I have known Donald and his family for many years, and it is through this connection that I offered my support. Needless to say, with any candidate that one may endorse, there are many positions or policies that run counter to your beliefs, as is the case here with me. This is my personal and not a corporate position. However, I still encourage each of you to make your own personal evaluations as our country moves forward in the electoral process.
That said, let me make something perfectly clear: NASCAR will continue to operate our business unchanged. This includes our deep, long-standing commitment to diversity and inclusion. It’s a commitment that I made to this organization more than a decade ago. We will not waiver from our goal to make our sport more open and friendly to everyone, and we will remain steadfast in our support of key initiatives to grow our fan base and remain a model of a progressive organization.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
