NASCAR CEO takes leave of absence after DUI arrest

Aug. 7 (UPI) -- NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France will take an indefinite leave of absence after he was arrested for drunk driving and drug possession in New York.

France was arrested Sunday evening in Sag Harbor Village, N.Y., a wealthy suburb in Long Island, after he allegedly failed to stop at a stop sign. A police officer pulled France over and determined he was intoxicated. The officer also allegedly found France to be in possession of oxycodone pills without a prescription.

For France, 56, this is the second known driving incident for the third-generation NASCAR scion.

In 2006, a witness called 911 after seeing France drive "at a very reckless speed" through downtown Daytona Beach, Fla., before smacking into a tree. By the time police got to France, he was already at home and told them he was drinking a soda when he "bumped into something."

France avoided any charges for the 2006 incident.

France will be replaced by his uncle, Jim France, the vice chairman of NASCAR and son of late NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr.