Metro Legal is recommending a hearing be set for Metro Fair Board Chairman Jasper Hendricks relating to an ethics complaint filed about efforts to bring NASCAR to the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.
The complaint was filed on Sept. 18 by four residents living near the speedway, including former Metro Councilmember Sandra Moore and local attorney John Spragens, who also founded Citizens Against Racetrack Expansion (CARE) for Nashville.
Speedway-area residents allege Jasper Hendricks accepted gifts, negotiated secret deal
The complaint alleges that Hendricks accepted free tickets to the 2023 NASCAR awards gala, leaked a confidential speedway deal term sheet to local Fox affiliate WZTV and negotiated a secret deal with Bristol Motor Speedway. The filing also notes that Hendricks accepted campaign contributions from Bristol Motor Speedway during his unsuccessful 2023 campaign for Metro Council and alleges that he took advice from a Bristol consultant on what to say to local news outlets.
Metro Legal director Wally Dietz authored a report to the Metro Board of Ethical Conduct recommending a hearing be scheduled for the accusations of accepting free NASCAR awards tickets, leaking a term sheet and taking guidance from Bristol officials on communication with the media. Â
However, Dietz said the claims that Hendricks negotiated a secret deal and accepted campaign contributions would not qualify as code violations.Â
The Metro Board of Ethical Conduct will vote on whether to move forward with the hearing at an Oct. 27 meeting. If the board finds Hendricks violated Metro’s standards of conduct, it has the ability to issue a written warning, recommend or issue a public censure of Hendricks, refer the matter to Metro Legal or recommend that Hendricks resign.
Hendricks previously denied the allegations and told the Nashville Post that the claims are “baseless and rely on speculation, not facts.”Â
This article was first published by our sister publication, the Nashville Post.
