NASCAR's Brian France to take personal leave after DWI arrest

Brian France, chairman and chief executive of NASCAR, announced Monday that he was taking an indefinite leave of absence "to focus on my personal affairs" after being arrested on charges of drunken driving and drug possession.

"I apologize to our fans, our industry and my family for the impact of my actions last night," France said in a statement.

France was pulled over in Sag Harbor, N.Y., around 7:30 p.m. Sunday after failing to stop at a stop sign, according to a news release from the Sag Harbor Village police department. He was charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated and possession of a controlled substance, oxycodone.

France, 56, is the grandson of Bill France Sr., who founded NASCAR in 1948. His father, Bill France Jr., ran the organization for 30 years, until handing the reins over to Brian France in 2003.

NASCAR, which puts on the eponymous stock car racing series, is still owned by the family. Brian and his sister, Lesa Kennedy, who runs the company that owns famous tracks like Daytona and Talladega, each own 25 percent of NASCAR, while their uncle Jim France owns the remaining 50 percent, according to The Wall Street Journal.

NASCAR announced that Jim France, the vice chairman and executive vice president, would serve as interim chairman and chief executive.

In 2006, Brian France crashed his car into a tree. He said he had been distracted while drinking a soda, though a witness said at the time that France had been driving at a "very reckless speed."

France's arrest comes at a difficult time for NASCAR. Television audiences for the sport are about half of what they were at their peak a decade ago, and attendance at races also has fallen. The sport's fan base is aging, and NASCAR has failed to replace high-profile drivers like Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon, whose celebrity and marketability transcended their sport.

It is not clear what ramifications France will face if he is found guilty of the charges. His position in the sport is akin to that of a league commissioner, but since NASCAR is a closely held, family-owned business he is not accountable to team owners and the public in a way that leaders like the NFL's Roger Goodell and the NBA's Adam Silver might be.

France was arrested a few hours after Chase Elliott, a popular young driver and the son of NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott, won his first NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen, N.Y.