Former NASCAR CEO Brian France Files Lawsuit over Parody Twitter Account

Ex-NASCAR CEO Brian France has filed a lawsuit in Stamford, Connecticut, against John Steele, who operates the parody Twitter account "Drunken Brian France" (@DrunkBrianF).

Per Matt Weaver of Autoweek, France "alleges that user John Steele is impersonating, harassing and targeting the third-generation former NASCAR leader."

France was the CEO and Chairman of NASCAR from 2003-2018. He is the son of the late Bill France Jr., who was the head of NASCAR from 1972-2000.

Per Weaver, France also said in the lawsuit that he has suffered "emotional distress" due to the "highly offensive" tweets. He is looking for damages "in excess of $15,000," as well as a jury trial.

The Brian France parody account describes itself as follows: "The quintessential drunk & oxyfied idiot destroying what my family spent 60+ years building in NASCAR. You can't be this stupid sober (Parody)."

Weaver provided some further background.

"Drunken Brian France has been active since February 2014 and has long described itself as a parody account," Weaver wrote. "It occasionally provides insider speculation and opinions to over 15,000 followers." 

The account apparently responded to the lawsuit with these two Thursday tweets:

France was arrested in Aug. 2018 for DWI and drug possession in Sag Harbor, New York, per Nick Bromberg of Yahoo Sports. He reportedly had a 0.019 percent blood alcohol level and allegedly had five oxycodone pills in his car.

France then took a leave of absence as NASCAR's CEO. Per Weaver, France pled guilty to a misdemeanor DWI in June 2019, but that was altered to a "noncriminal violation" in exchange for completing 100 hours of community service and attending counseling sessions.

France launched Silver Falcon Capital, a private investment company, in February.