Former motorcoach driver re-files discrimination suit

By Bob Pockrass - Associate Editor

Friday, February 29, 2008

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David Scott, a black motorcoach driver who worked for Penske Racing, has re-filed his discrimination complaint against NASCAR stemming from a highly publicized 1999 incident at New Hampshire International Speedway.

The incident occurred when Scott was greeted by a pair of motorcoach drivers, one of whom was wearing a white pillow case over his head as if he were a member of the Ku Klux Klan. NASCAR indefinitely suspended the two motorcoach drivers involved.

Scott claims NASCAR and sister company International Speedway Corp. discriminated against him by not granting him a vendor contract he sought and that NASCAR discriminated against him for not following through with an alleged promise to hire him following the incident.

The new suit, filed in U.S. District Court in New York, lists NASCAR, ISC, NASCAR President Mike Helton and former Chief Operating Officer George Pyne as defendants and claims $40 million in damages.

Scott had to re-file the lawsuit after a judge ruled in January that the statute of limitations had passed for other allegations.

The new complaint details conversations between Scott and Helton and Scott and Pyne in the days and months after the incident where he says he was promised a job by NASCAR.

In past court filings, NASCAR says that Scott was given several work opportunities that were declined and he was not qualified for the
racing official job he wanted.

In the new complaint, Scott alleges that NASCAR and ISC conspired with Penske Racing to keep him from suing – he had signed a severance agreement with Penske where he was given a two-year severance package as long as he didn’t talk about the incident nor sue. He alleges the confidentiality agreement was broken because Pyne knew about the agreement.

Scott claims damages of $10 million and asks for punitive damages against NASCAR, ISC, Pyne and Helton of $27 million. He indicated he also has incurred legal costs of $3 million.