NASCAR Cup Series managing director Jay Fabian has a September court date regarding charges of animal cruelty.
Fox Sports reported Wednesday that Fabian had "stepped away" from his role as the Cup Series director ahead of a Sept. 27 court date in Mecklenburg County. Per the North Carolina courts site, Fabian has two felony case numbers in the system and a misdemeanor case set for that day.
NASCAR said in a statement to Fox that Fabian had "stepped back" from his role until the case was resolved. If a driver or crew member for a team in NASCAR had been facing similar or lesser criminal charges, he or she would be named on NASCAR's penalty report and officially suspended from the series for violating its code of conduct.