DAYTONA BEACH, Florida — J.C. France, son of the president of NASCAR, grandson of the racing body's founder, and himself a Grand-Am driver, was arrested for possession of crack cocaine in the early hours of Thursday morning. France had been racing a 2007 Lamborghini across the Seabreeze Bridge here, against another man in a 2003 Porsche Cayenne, and both were arrested.
France, age 43, and the other man, Russell Van Richmond, 40, are housemates, and Richmond is a relative as the son of one of France's father's ex-wives. Richmond was quoted by the Daytona Beach News-Journal as having told police: "I am a France. Do you know what that means? We own this city." He also reportedly threatened Daytona Beach Capt. Steve Szabo: "I am gonna have your job?you are so done in Daytona."
The paper reported that Daytona Beach police stopped the men separately after spotting them speeding across the bridge, and that when France got out of the car he had a "flushed face, bloodshot eyes and slurred speech" and had to lean on the car to hold himself up, according to police. Police found a plastic bag in his pocket that was reportedly determined later to be cocaine. At the separate traffic stop, police reportedly also found a plastic bag with cocaine in Richmond's pockets, as well as a tablet of hydrocodone in a container attached to his key ring. Both men were charged with DUI and cocaine possession, with Richmond additionally charged with hydrocodone possession and threatening a public official, and both were taken into custody at the Volusia County Branch Jail but were bailed out by Thursday afternoon.
NASCAR issued a statement immediately suspending France from racing. His biography on the Brumos Racing Web site tells of how the scion of the legendary NASCAR family began working at Daytona International Speedway "at an early age and in a variety of jobs" and started racing go-karts in eighth grade. He joined Brumos Racing in the Grand-Am Daytona Prototype class when it was formed in 2003 and was still with the team during the 2009 season. He had been scheduled to race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, in the season closer.
Inside Line says: This should be a major wakeup call for the famous Frances. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent
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