Crew chief for NASCAR team running 'Back the Blue' car suspended by NASCAR after assault arrest
A crew chief for the NASCAR Xfinity Series team running cars supporting the “Back the Blue” movement has been suspended indefinitely by NASCAR after his arrest.
NASCAR announced Friday that Mike Harmon Racing crew chief Theodore Brown had been suspended indefinitely for a violation of its behavioral rules. Per Motorsport.com, Brown was arrested for habitual misdemeanor assault — a felony — and assault on a female on June 8.
According to arrest records in the Statesville Record & Landmark, a Theodore Brown, of the same age and street location was also arrested in November of 2018 on two counts of assault by strangulation inflicting serious injury.
MHR started running a Blue Lives Matter car at Homestead on June 13, five days after Brown’s arrest and three days after Bubba Wallace drove a Black Lives Matter car at Martinsville in the Cup Series on the same day that NASCAR banned the Confederate flag.
Brown was the crew chief for Kyle Weatherman’s No. 47 Blue Lives Matter car in each of the two Xfinity Series races at Homestead.
On June 20 he was the crew chief for Harmon’s No. 74 Blue Lives Matter car and was set to be the car’s crew chief again on Sunday at Pocono.
Mike Harmon Racing is a backmarker in the Xfinity Series and Harmon and his team have been more known for what’s happened off the track than their results on it in recent years. Harmon challenged fellow Xfinity Series driver Michael Annett to a fight at Applebee’s in September in a hilarious Twitter fight. Annett did not join Harmon at Applebee’s.
"I'm not going to be disrespected, by no means." - Mike Harmon.
"I guess I had a dinner date at Applebee's last night that I didn't find out about until it was too late. It's a shame. Love their riblets." - Michael Annett@XfinityRacing // @NASCAR_Xfinity pic.twitter.com/lwYI1Ug3zC— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 7, 2019
In 2013, Harmon was arrested for his alleged involvement in a scheme to steal another driver’s racing equipment. The charges were dropped later that year.
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.
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