NASCAR / 2000 controversy In 2000, Norfleet announced he would field and drive his own team in the
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, but was unable to come up with sponsorship. In an effort to help Norfleet,
Brian France, who at the time was NASCAR Vice President, called a number of companies who were interested in sponsoring a NASCAR team, and even flew in some company executives, to see if they could work a deal and sponsor Norfleet so he could attempt races. Norfleet came up with sponsorship from 40 Street Records and
So So Def Records. Norfleet failed to qualify for his first race at
Martinsville Speedway. Norfleet made his NASCAR debut at the
Portland International Raceway road course. He competed against
Bill Lester in that race. Norfleet qualified 11 miles per hour slower than the pole speed, but made the race after 33 cars qualified for 34 spots. By comparison, Lester ran the full race and finished 24th. In the next race at
Pikes Peak International Raceway, Norfleet's entry was denied by NASCAR officials, as he was not licensed to run tracks larger than a mile. NASCAR requires drivers to either show proficiency on shorter tracks, or have some experience on one mile and larger tracks in a lower series before they are allowed to race on larger tracks. Norfleet claimed the decision was racially motivated, and people protested outside NASCAR's headquarters. After failing to qualify for his next race at
Evergreen Speedway, he stopped running NASCAR; he stated he intended to file suit over the issue, ==Personal life==