A 23XI Racing employee who allegedly assaulted a 77-year-old man with a golf cart at Charlotte Motor Speedway has been indefinitely suspended by NASCAR.
Evanna Howell, 35, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, according to a report filed in Cabarrus County, North Carolina. The report states the incident occurred at the race track around 1:45 p.m. on May 23. Circumstances surrounding the incident are currently unknown.
NASCAR announced Howell’s indefinite suspension from the sport for behavioral reasons in its weekly penalty report that was released Wednesday.
Howell was released from the Cabarrus County jail after posting a $125,000 bond. She is scheduled to appear in court June 16.
WCNC, a Charlotte, North Carolina, television station, reported that Howell’s LinkedIn said she was a senior account manager for the Huntersville, North Carolina-based team. The team has made no comment.
A North Carolina native, Deb Williams is an award-winning motorsports journalist who is in her fourth decade covering auto racing. In addition to covering the sport for United Press International, she has written motorsports articles for several newspapers, magazines and websites including espnW.com, USA Today, and The Charlotte Observer. Her awards include the American Motorsports Media Award of Excellence, two-time National Motorsports Press Association writer of the year, and two-time recipient of the Russ Catlin award. She also has won an award in the North Carolina Press Association’s sports feature category. During her career, Deb has been managing editor of GT Motorsports magazine and was with Winston Cup Scene and NASCAR Winston Cup Scene for 18 years, serving as the publication’s editor for 10 years. In 2024 she was inducted into the NMPA Hall of Fame.