By Jerry Jordan, Editor
As millions of NASCAR fans prepare to vote for the president and other elected offices around the country in just a few days, many are likely unaware – as were numerous drivers and team owners – that the sanctioning body overseeing stock car racing shows its political support by giving money to candidates via its own political action committee (PAC).
Although NASCAR bans candidate sponsorships on racecars, the sanctioning body and several of its highest-ranking officials are quite active politically through their own personal political contributions and via the Motorsports Acceptance Corporation Political Action Committee, known as Speed PAC, according to government documents reviewed by Kickin’ the Tires.
2014 Speed PAC Is Formed
Since its inception, Speed PAC has contributed to numerous campaigns, supporting lawmakers who advocate for issues crucial to the motorsports industry. With a focus on candidates from both parties, the PAC fosters relationships that can lead to collaborative efforts in policymaking.
When asked for comment about Speed PAC, a representative from NASCAR provided the following statement, “Speed PAC supports candidates who have shown an interest and appreciation for issues important to the motorsports industry (i.e. promoting economic growth, safety of events, etc.). As you noted, the Speed PAC does not support one political party over another, spreading its contributions to candidates who most support motorsports and the growth of the industry. It will always put the interests of the motorsports industry ahead of any political party.”
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) keeps track of who donated to a candidate or campaign related to a federal office and who that money came from, even if it is a PAC. Additionally, organizations like OpenSecrets.org track, “money in politics and its effect on elections and policy.” It is a non-profit organization based in Washington D.C.
A decade ago, on December 10, 2014, International Speedway Corp. (ISC), which was controlled primarily by the France family despite being a publicly traded company, had its attorney, W. Garrett Crotty, create Speed PAC. Crotty also serves as the treasurer of the group. At that time, Crotty, Brian France, Jim France, Sharon France, Lesa (France) Kennedy, Ben Kennedy, Mike Helton, John Saunders and Brent Dewar each gave $5,000 to initially fund the PAC.
The following year, FEC records show more NASCAR and ISC employees began making contributions to the PAC and money was contributed to various candidates across the United States. However, in reviewing years of disbursement records, it appears Speed PAC was very deliberate in where and to who it was sending money.
Like a well-calculated military strike, Speed PAC’s money in 2015-2016 went to support racetracks or, more aptly, candidates in areas where there were racetracks. And it doesn’t appear that conservative or liberal politics played much of a part in the financial decisions. Debbie Wasserman Shulz, who was based out of Weston, Fla. received a $2,500 contribution on October 26, 2016, from Speed PAC. The southern Florida Democrat represents the congressional district just north of Miami, Fla., which is close to Homestead-Miami Speedway. New York Senator Chuck Schumer, whose vote could impact Watkins Glen International, also received money from Speed PAC. Schumer was given $5,000 on August 4, 2016. Likewise, Republican Richard Burr in North Carolina was the recipient of $5,000 on August 9, 2016, from Speed PAC. Burr also revied $5,000 on February 17, 2016, during his primary race.
Other candidates near Auto Club Speedway, Pocono Raceway, Iowa Speedway, Phoenix Raceway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and more received Speed PAC contributions. One outlier from 2015 to 2016 was Brady For Congress in The Woodlands, which is just north of Houston, Tx. Congressman Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands, doesn’t have a NASCAR or Speedway Motorsports Inc. racetrack within 150 miles of his district but he received $2,500 from Speed PAC. From 2015 to 2016, Brady was chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.
“The Committee on Ways and Means is the oldest committee of the United States Congress, and is the chief tax-writing committee in the House of Representatives. The Committee derives a large share of its jurisdiction from Article I, Section VII of the U.S. Constitution, which declares, “All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives,'” states the official Ways and Means Committee webpage.
Although Speed PAC distributed tens of thousands of dollars to candidates in 2015 and 2016, leading into the first presidential run for Donald Trump, it does not appear to have made contributions to either presidential candidate – Trump or Hillary Clinton – at that time. Some individual Speed PAC contributors did make direct political contributions but those federal filings were not reviewed in detail.
It’s no secret NASCAR has supported political candidates through the years. That goes back decades. And when Trump won the presidency in 2016, he was openly supported by then-NASCAR Chairman and CEO, Brian France, among others in the sport. France, along with former drivers Mark Martin and Bill Elliott, along with Chase Elliott, the sport’s multi-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association NASCAR Most Popular Driver award, all endorsed Trump in February 2016. However, following that announcement, France sent out an email stating that the endorsement was his alone and not representative of NASCAR as a company.
Contributions to candidates in 2020 were much the same as before and there was no money from Speed PAC given to Joe Biden’s campaign or Trump’s campaign.
In reviewing the FEC filings over the past decade, it was noticed that NASCAR and International Speedway Corporation received multiple thousands of dollars from Speed PAC for, “Accounting and record keeping support.”
Curiously, the FEC has guidelines that allow companies to “donate” accounting services for PACs at no charge but it doesn’t appear Speed PAC went that route. Instead, it paid NASCAR and ISC money that was contributed to it by its own employees.
According to the FEC, any entity (for example, a committee, a corporation, a union, a partnership) may provide a campaign with free legal and accounting services as long as:
- The services are provided only for the purpose of ensuring the campaign’s compliance with the Federal Election Campaign Act;
- The entity paying for the service is the regular employer of the individual performing the service;
- The employer does not hire additional employees to render the services or to free regular employees to perform the service; and
- The campaign reports the value of the service (the amount paid by the employer), as well as the name of each person who performed the service and the date the service was provided.
Speed PAC also paid thousands of dollars to multiple law firms and banks through the years for their services. On December 6, 2018, Speed PAC paid Americrown Service Corporation a total of $242.82 for, “Food and Beverage for PAC membership event.”
2023-2024 Election Cycle
Fast forward to 2024 and Trump is again running for president, this time against current Vice President Kamala Harris and Speed PAC is still actively contributing money to political candidates who could have a voting impact on NASCAR’s business model.
On August 1, 2024, Speed PAC gave the Republican National Congressional Committee a total of $5,000. Three weeks later, on August 22, 2024, Speed PAC hedged its bets, following up with a $5,000 contribution to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, according to publicly available documents filed with the FEC.
One candidate receiving money from Speed PAC is very familiar with the NASCAR world. Austin Theriault, who is running for Congress from the state of Maine, is an eight-time winner in the ARCA Menard’s Series and a former driver in the NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. He received $2,500 from Speed PAC on May 23, 2024.
The total spent from January 1, 2023, to October 16, 2024, was $77,864.25. Speed PAC still has $177,226.62 cash on hand. For this presidential election cycle, there also doesn’t appear to be any direct contributions to a particular candidate for the nation’s highest office, according to the FEC. Two candidates listed on Speed PAC’s filings either failed to cash their contribution check or returned the contribution.
Additionally, the number of people contributing to the cause has dramatically increased from the original nine, who each gave $5,000. Now, the list of Speed PAC contributors looks more like a list of Who’s Who in the NASCAR hierarchy.
The NASCAR representative said all of the contributions by employees were voluntary, and employees were free to give whatever amount they chose; it was more about the good of the sport than party affiliation.
“Speed PAC is a resource voluntarily supported by individuals within the company who want to help support candidates on each side of the aisle who understand and appreciate the motorsports industry,” the representative stated.
CONCLUSION
Since its founding in late 2014, NASCAR’s Speed PAC continues to support those politicians who can directly help the business model of racing. As many might guess, Speed PAC has traditionally donated more money to Republican candidates than to Democrats. That information comes from OpenSecrets.org, which showed that in the most recent election cycle political donations were about 63 percent Republican and 37 percent Democrat. However, in giving money to politicians, since racetracks tend to be located in slightly more conservative than liberal areas of the country, the analysis showed that’s where Speed PAC sends its financial backing.