Sabates issues apology for his slam on Michigan
Friday, Jan. 29, 2010
Felix Sabates talks with driver Reed Sorenson at Daytona International Speedway in 2008. JEFF SINER – jsiner@charlotteobserver.com
AP
Team owner Felix Sabates speaks during a news conference at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. The NASCAR Banking 500 auto race is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 17. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)
Felix Sabates, the colorful businessman and popular NASCAR team owner, has backed away from some of the remarks he made during the NASCAR Sprint Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway recently. He has issued the following statement after Brant James' account appeared on ThatsRacin.com and in The Charlotte Observer this week.
"In an attempt at humor I made some comments about the city of Detroit and the people of Michigan that were in poor taste and that I sincerely apologize for.
"I have worked directly or indirectly with the auto industry for over 40 years as both a auto dealer and a NASCAR owner and it was never my intention to put down the auto industry, its workers, the city of Detroit or the state of Michigan.
"I have such respect for all of them. I am so frustrated over the challenges that this tough economy has brought to everyone in this country that I inadvertently joked about one of the areas hit the hardest. Those of us that have the luxury of getting to work in such a great sport like NASCAR owe a great deal to the city of Detroit and their support of the auto industry because without either, the sport of NASCAR would not be what it is today.
"In fact, Michigan International Speedway, even in this tough environment, drew an impressive 100,000 fans to the track at their last race. My sincerest apologies to anyone that I might have offended, it was certainly not my intent."
The Charlotte Observer is pleased to be able to offer its users the opportunity to make comments and hold conversations online. However, the interactive nature of the internet makes it impracticable for our staff to monitor each and every posting.
Since charlotteobserver.com does not control user submitted statements, we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted on our website. In addition, we remind anyone interested in making an online comment that responsibility for statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not The Charlotte Observer.
If you find a comment offensive, clicking on the exclamation icon will flag the comment for review by the administrators, we are counting on the good judgment of all our readers to help us.
@Nyx.CommentBody@