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No apology Lawyer nixes meeting between Simpson-NASCAR
Instead, he waited alone in NASCAR's lobby for 15 minutes before being told that NASCAR officials couldn't meet with him. A NASCAR lawyer told Simpson that the seat belt maker's lawyer had written NASCAR officials in April asking that they avoid direct communication with Simpson unless he had an attorney present. NASCAR chairman Bill France and president Mike Helton were at the headquarters at the time, but no meeting with Simpson had been scheduled. "Mr. Simpson did not have an appointment with anyone at NASCAR," NASCAR managing director of communications John Griffin said. "We informed Mr. Simpson that -- per the request of his lawyer that we refrain from dealing with Mr. Simpson on a one-to-one basis -- no one could meet with him." Griffin said he did not know of any plan for Simpson and NASCAR officials to meet. "I have not been made aware of the date of any future meetings." Simpson was tight-lipped after the news. "I have nothing to say about nothing," Simpson, chairman and CEO of Simpson Performance Products in North Carolina, said as he left NASCAR's headquarters in a hurry. After Earnhardt's fatal crash at the Daytona 500 on Feb. 18, NASCAR reported that a broken seat belt was discovered in Earnhardt's car. The news resulted in at least one racing team dropping Simpson as a supplier and angry racing fans sent Simpson death and bomb threats. Simpson has demanded exoneration, saying an emergency worker on the scene has said Earnhardt's belt was intact after the crash. In addition, a court-appointed medical examiner who studied Earnhardt's autopsy photos has said that "restraint failure does not appear to have played a role" in Earnhardt's death. But NASCAR officials wouldn't meet with Simpson. "We're not going to meet face-to-face or directly with Bill without his lawyer here," said NASCAR spokesman John Griffin. "Any contact with Bill must be done through his legal counsel." Simpson's attorney, Robert Horn, didn't return a phone call to his Jackson Hole, Wyo. office. The last time NASCAR officials met with Simpson was just a few days after Earnhardt's crash. At the meeting in North Carolina, Simpson was allowed to view Earnhardt's car and the seat belt, Griffin said. NASCAR is conducting its own investigation into the crash and the results are to be released in August. NASCAR officials continue to believe that the seat belt was separated, Griffin said.
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