CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Michael Rodriguez, a Hispanic driver from Pennsylvania, filed a complaint in U.S. District Court, alleging that NASCAR denied him opportunity to compete in the 2005 and 2006 Drive For Diversity because he was “too white.”

Rodriguez stated in his complaint that he believes he was discriminated against because of his light complexion. According to his claim, he is of Puerto Rican and Spanish descent and identifies himself as Puerto Rican. He states in his claim that he is blue-eyed and fair-skinned.

NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program was created to develop minority drivers and crewmen and help them advance through the NASCAR ranks with the goal of reaching the sport’s top series. It was administered by Access Communications.

NASCAR puts most of the onus on Access as far as the legal liability for choosing diversity drivers, but NASCAR also backed Access attorneys, who stated in their summary judgment brief that “the act of excluding (Rodriguez) from an affirmative action program because he appeared to be Caucasian is consistent with NASCAR’s stated goals of recruiting drivers who would change the face of NASCAR and make it look more like America.”

Access attorney Dhamian Blue followed later, reiterating what Access argued in its summary judgment brief, saying that the color of a driver’s skin can be proper criteria for an affirmative action plan.

“NASCAR recognized their need to change the face of NASCAR,” Blue said. “The ultimate desire was to pan across pit road and see minority drivers and minority crewmen. … When you talk about changing the face of NASCAR, color weighs very heavily.”

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