Tag: Brian France

Welcome to FTW Explains, a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. We here at For The Win write about a lot of ridiculous things in NASCAR, but this might just top them all.

Former NASCAR CEO Brian France — who took a leave of absence in 2018 after being arrested for driving while intoxicated and never returned to his post — recently filed a lawsuit against the man behind the Twitter parody account Drunken Brian France (@DrunkBrianF).

Seriously.

The suit, filed in Connecticut on February 28, argues that the operator of the parody account is using France’s name and likeness to mislead “his Twitter audience and the public at large to believe that [France] is the source of the highly offensive content.” And because of this, France is claiming he suffered “severe” emotional distress and is seeking damages in excess of $15,000.

Even though suing someone over a parody Twitter account seems like an absurd waste of money and time, we’re here to break it down.

So, who exactly is Brian France?

The now-57-year-old former CEO and chairman, a Connecticut resident, is a member of NASCAR’s founding family. He’s the grandson of Bill France Sr., who founded NASCAR in 1948, and he took over for his father, Bill France Jr., as the head of the governing body in 2003. Forbes estimated that the France family was worth $5.7 billion in 2015 and ranked No. 53 among America’s richest families before dropping off the list in 2016.

Under France, NASCAR introduced a playoff system to determine the champion, which was formerly known as The Chase and replaced the season-long points system that previously crowned the champ. Though now referred to as simply the NASCAR playoffs, the concept still exists and is a 10-race postseason with periodic eliminations winding down to the title race.

However, toward the end of his tenure, some drivers, like Tony Stewart and Brad Keselowski, criticized him for not being visible at NASCAR races and being disconnected from teams and their concerns.

France endorsed Donald Trump for president in February of 2016.

Brian France was arrested for DWI in the Hamptons in 2018

France’s tenure came to an abrupt end after he was arrested in August of 2018 for driving while intoxicated in Sag Harbor, New York. After he was pulled over for not stopping at a stop sign, police said they determined he was driving “in an intoxicated condition” with a blood alcohol level of 0.18, more than twice the legal limit in New York. His eyes were glassy and his speech slurred, USA TODAY Sports reported according to police.

He was also found in possession of five oxycodone pills and faced charges of aggravated driving while intoxicated and criminal possession of a controlled substance. He pleaded guilty in June of 2019 to DWI in exchange for a reduced sentence, which includes having the misdemeanor reduced to a non-criminal infraction if he completes the terms of the deal.

A day after his arrest, France took an indefinite leave of absence from his NASCAR post, and it eventually became permanent. His uncle, Jim France, replaced him and is the current CEO.

Since then, France has been largely absent from NASCAR events, but he was seen getting off Air Force One ahead of the 2020 Daytona 500, according to the White House pool report.

What’s the deal with @DrunkBrianF on Twitter?

Although the account occasionally dabbles in sharing NASCAR-related rumors and reports, it’s obviously a parody account, which makes this lawsuit absolutely comical.

So…does anyone know a good 1st Amendment lawyer who specializes in parody Twitter accounts?

— Drunken Brian France (@DrunkBrianF) March 5, 2020

Active since February 2014, the account had nearly 18,000 followers at the time of this post (but it had closer to 14,000 in February when the suit was filed, documents show). The account’s photo is France’s mugshot from his 2018 arrest, and the bio reads:

The quintessential drunk & oxyfied idiot destroying what my family spent 60+ years building in NASCAR. You can’t be this stupid sober (Parody)

The account tweeted this, which is cited in the lawsuit, the day after France was arrested:

Thought it was time to update my profile pic to something more current pic.twitter.com/cLmyzkzFJn

— Drunken Brian France (@DrunkBrianF) August 6, 2018

As far as we can tell, the actual Brian France is not on Twitter.

And who’s the guy behind it who’s being sued?

According to the suit, a man named John L. Steele, a Tennessee resident, runs the account, and he “hijacked” France’s name and likeness without his consent. That seems pretty standard for parody accounts.

It also argues the purpose of the account is:

“to harass, demean, abuse, belittle, and disparage [France] while impersonating [him] in a manner that is intended – and in fact does – mislead, confuse, and deceive others to believe that [France] is responsible for the content and activity of @drunkbrianf.”

Sure.

Help Mrs. Drunk Brian and I settle this debate. When making a fried egg and cheese sandwich on toast, mayonnaise is:

— Drunken Brian France (@DrunkBrianF) February 5, 2020

Why does this lawsuit seem ridiculous?

First, it seems like a sizable waste of time and money and another way for the former NASCAR CEO to draw negative attention to himself by suing the person behind a popular Twitter account already making fun of him. Additionally, although you can sue someone for using your name or likeness without your permission, parodies generally are a huge exception to that. France is a public figure, and it seems awfully unlikely that the law will side with him against against a parody Twitter account.

The best part of all this?

France’s suit largely hinges on the fact that NASCAR fans and the general public would assume an account with his name and the words “Drunk” and “Drunken” ahead of it could credibly be seen as something he would create and run himself.

[jwplayer MI8BOaKj-q2aasYxh]

[vertical-gallery id=899511]

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 tag=421393221]