Getty NASCAR Cup Series managing director Jay Fabian faces legal issues.
NASCAR Cup Series managing director Jay Fabian will step away from his duties at the sanctioning body amid legal issues. According to multiple reports, he faces animal cruelty charges in Mecklenburg County, N.C. He allegedly willfully neglected his dogs, leading to the death of one.
According to “Racer,” Fabian faces two felony counts of cruelty to animals and one misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals. He has a court date scheduled for Sept. 27 in Mecklenburg County. Fox Sports reporter Bob Pockrass added that arrest warrants surfaced on Friday, Aug. 20 and that authorities arrested Fabian on Monday, Aug. 23.
“NASCAR takes the situation seriously and will continue to gather information as it becomes available,” the sanctioning body said in a statement, per Pockrass. “Jay Fabian will step back from his role until this matter is resolved. NASCAR will have no further comment.”
The Warrant Listed Multiple Charges Relating to Alleged Animal Cruelty
“Motorsport” writer Jim Utter noted a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police incident report from July 21. The report listed a 911 call at Fabian’s address regarding an animal cruelty case. When the police officers arrived at the scene, they allegedly found “a deceased dog,” an “almost deceased dog” and a third dog that they listed as the “healthiest.”
According to a copy of the arrest warrant, Fabian allegedly “did, intentionally and with malice, deprive his dog, Jasper, of all necessary sustenance in which to live, causing the animal to suffer unjustifiable pain, suffering, and death in a torturous and cruel manner.”
The warrant for the second felony charge said that Fabian allegedly “did cause torment and unnecessary suffering (extreme dehydration and starvation almost to the point of death) of his dog, Aubrey, by the malicious and cruel omission of care and neglect.”
Finally, the warrant for the misdemeanor charge states that Fabian allegedly “unlawfully and willfully did intentionally torment and deprive of necessary sustenance an animal, a dog named Roscoe owned by Jay Fabian.”
According to North Carolina animal cruelty laws, “if any person shall maliciously torture, mutilate, maim, cruelly beat, disfigure, poison, or kill, or cause or procure to be tortured, mutilated, maimed, cruelly beaten, disfigured, poisoned, or killed, any animal, every such offender shall for every such offense be guilty of a Class H felony.”
NASCAR Will Rely on Multiple People To Fill Fabian’s Role
While Fabian remains away from the Cup Series and his duties, NASCAR will rely on several people to fill his role. According to “The Charlotte Observer,” Kip Childress, assistant director of the NASCAR Cup Series, will take over many of Fabian’s daily responsibilities.
Additionally, Xfinity Series director Wayne Auton and Truck Series managing director Brad Moran will be in charge of race control duties for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway on Aug. 28.
Fabian became the Cup Series managing director on Jan. 16, 2019. According to a press release at the time, he previously served as the managing director of technical integration at NASCAR and oversaw post-race technical inspection at the NASCAR Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C. Fabian’s other roles in motorsports included spending time as an over-the-wall crew member and as a crew chief.
Prior to joining NASCAR in 2016, worked at Michael Waltrip Racing. He spent 10 years with the organization, resulting in three playoff appearances — 2012, 2013, and 2015.
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