NASCAR hit with $500 million lawsuit for keeping black-owned teams out of races

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NASCAR was hit with a $500 million lawsuit accusing the auto racing body of racial discrimination for preventing black-owned teams and drivers from competing, including in the Sprint Cup Series.

Terrance Cox and his company, Diversity Motorsports Racing LLC, filed a lawsuit late on Friday in U.S. district court in Manhattan against NASCAR, its parent company, International Speedway Corp, and 18 teams, according to court records.

The plaintiffs said they sued after NASCAR refused to let them field a team or join its Drive for Diversity program, and last year told them to cease contact.

Citing NASCAR’s website, the plaintiffs said none of the 48 drivers in the Sprint Cup, NASCAR’s top racing series, is black, and only one of the 18 teams has partial African-American ownership. They also said only one driver in NASCAR’s Xfinity Series circuit is black.

“Motorsports remain the most racially segregated sport in the United States,” the complaint said. “NASCAR and ISC have been complicit in, and supportive of, the racially discriminatory environment that virtually excludes African-Americans from meaningful participation.”

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