NASCAR SUED BY FORMER OFFICIAL

AP Auto Racing Writer Jenna Fryer is reporting that a former NASCAR Official has filed a lawsuit against NASCAR for $250 million, alleging racial and sexual discrimination, sexual harassment and wrongful termination.

Mauricia Gant, who is black, was a technical inspector,her job was to certify cars in the NASCAR Nationwide Series from January 2005 until October 2007 when she was fired.

Grant stated that she was subjected to sexual advances from male co-workers, two of which she says allegedly exposed themselves to her and made graphic and lewd jokes.

"NASCAR perpetuated, condoned and actively participated in perverted and disgusting sexual conduct designed to demean and diminish (Grant) and the handful of other women employed by NASCAR as officials," according to the suit.

NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston issued this statement:

"As an equal opportunity employer, NASCAR is fully committed to the spirit and letter of affirmative action law," Poston said. "NASCAR provides equal opportunity employment to job candidates and employees without regard to race, religion, creed, age, gender, or any other characteristic protected by law. Personnel decisions are made based on factors such as performance and adherence to corporate policy."

Grant says that she told her supervisors many times about how she had been treated, but nothing was done. She stated that she was told to "deal with it" by her immediate supervisor.

The lawsuit details a series of alleged incidents:

• Grant was forced to work outside more often than the white male officials because her supervisors believed she couldn't sunburn because she was black.

• While riding in the backseat of her carpool at Talladega Superspeedway, co-workers told her to duck as they passed race fans. "I don't want to start a riot when these fans see a black woman in my car," she claims one official said.

• When packing up a dark garage at Texas Motor Speedway an official told Grant: "Keep smiling and pop your eyes out 'cause we can't see you."

• When she ignored advances from co-workers, Grant was accused of being gay. She also claimed co-workers questioned the sexual orientation of two other female officials.

Grant said that she was warned a few weeks after a her last complaint that she had engaged in "conduct unbecoming of a NASCAR representative", and that she would be dismissed unless she changed her actions.

About 2 months later Grant was fired, NASCAR said due to her poor work performance. The lawsuit states that she had never been disciplined for her job performance, other than a warning for using "street" language, and that she received positive reviews

My take on this lawsuit is why did she wait so long to file? This is something that could have come out back in October when she was fired. Also why wait until you are fired to hire a lawyer? NASCAR says they have not received the lawsuit yet, so some more detils may come forward.