DA: Ex-NASCAR chairman pleads guilty to DWI on Long Island

Former NASCAR chairman and chief executive Brian France pleaded guilty Friday to driving while intoxicated last summer in Sag Harbor, agreeing to perform community service and undergo alcohol counseling, prosecutors said.

France had taken an indefinite leave of absence after he was arrested Aug. 5 on charges of aggravated driving while intoxicated and criminal possession of oxycodone.

In a statement the next day he apologized “to our fans, our industry and my family" and announced he was taking an indefinite leave of absence.

Jim France, Brian France's uncle, has since assumed the role of chairman and chief executive.

Brian France, 56, of Ormond Beach, Fla., was driving a 2017 Lexus north on Main Street around 7:30 p.m. when he drove through a stop sign, police said at the time. Authorities determined that France was "in an intoxicated condition" and in possession of oxycodone pills, police said in a news release.

France registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.18 percent on the chemical sobriety test, documents show. The legal limit to drive an automobile is 0.08 percent and the threshold to be charged with aggravated DWI is 0.18.

Police also found France in possession of five yellow pills later determined to be oxycodone, according to the charging documents. France, who had served as chairman of the stock car racing organization founded by his family since 2003, was charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

France is the grandson of NASCAR founder William H.G. France and the son of Bill France Jr., who helped broaden the sport to a national audience.

"Under the terms of the plea agreement, France is required to complete 100 hours of community service and undergo alcohol counseling before his sentencing date" in Sag Harbor Village Justice Court on June 5, 2020, prosecutors said in a statement.

If he completes the requirements he can withdraw his guilty plea and the charge will be reduced to a DWAI traffic violation, prosecutors said. 

“This case is a reminder for both residents and anyone visiting Suffolk County this summer that it is all of our responsibility to keep our roads safe,” Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini said in a statement.