NASCAR settles suit with a former official

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- NASCAR has settled a $225 million lawsuit filed by a former official who said she was subjected to racial discrimination and sexual harassment during her two-plus years working for the stock-car organization, The Associated Press has learned.

The suit was settled during a Dec. 3 mediation held in New York between Mauricia Grant and NASCAR. Settlement terms were confidential.

"We're glad to have the case settled on mutually acceptable terms," NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said yesterday. "NASCAR remains dedicated to maintaining a professional work environment for all employees at all times, and we wish Ms. Grant well in her future endeavors."

Grant's attorney did not immediately return a call for comment.

Grant, who is black, worked as a technical inspector responsible for certifying cars in NASCAR's second-tier Nationwide Series from January 2005 until her October 2007 termination.

In the lawsuit -- filed in June in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York -- Grant alleged 23 specific incidents of alleged sexual harassment and 34 specific incidents of alleged racial and gender discrimination during her employment with the sanctioning body.

Grant said she was referred to as "Nappy Headed Mo" and "Queen Sheba," by co-workers, was often told she worked on "colored-people time," and was frightened by one official who routinely made Ku Klux Klan references.

Grant also said she was subjected to sexual advances from male co-workers, two of whom allegedly exposed themselves to her, and to graphic and lewd jokes. NASCAR investigated and ultimately fired Tim Knox and Bud Moore, the two officials accused of exposing themselves. NASCAR has not discussed the reasons for their dismissal.

NASCAR chairman Brian France said Grant never complained to her supervisors about any of the actions she claimed after her firing.

Grant denied France's account, saying she followed the chain of command but stopped short of taking it to human resources when Nationwide series director Joe Balash failed to address the concerns she had raised. She said NASCAR's human resources director reprimanding her for going to Balash. She claimed that her complaint was the reason she was fired shortly after that.

NASCAR's response, without disclosing why Grant was fired, claims Grant was reprimanded with a warning of termination for an altercation with a track security guard at Michigan International Speedway who had asked to see Grant's credentials as she passed through a gate. The response claimed a pattern of tardiness for which she was routinely reprimanded.

The sanctioning body also claimed Grant acknowledged an understanding of NASCAR's "zero tolerance policy against discrimination and harassment in the workplace," attended mandatory training seminars on the topics in 2006 and 2007 and acknowledged her obligation to immediately report offensive acts.

Mike Wilford, one official named in the suit, previously told The Associated Press that Grant never once complained about how she was treated in time the two spent together away from the track. Wilford also said she was a willing participant in graphic and lewd jokes and has "twisted" events to benefit her suit.