HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- NASCAR chairman Brian France refused Sunday to discuss his political support of President-elect Donald Trump and quickly pivoted the conversation toward his own efforts at improving diversity in his sport.France addressed the media hours before Sundays title-deciding season finale, and a day after Mexican Daniel Suarez became the first foreign-born driver to win a NASCAR national title. Earlier in the 17-minute news conference, France declared that Suarez would never have been in position to win the Xfinity Series championship if not for Frances diversity efforts.Without the Drive for Diversity program, with certainty, Daniel Suarez is not in NASCAR, France said.When the topic turned to Trump, France quickly shut down the questioning.France was an early supporter of Trump and took several drivers to a rally in Georgia earlier this year. France also appeared as a Trump supporter at a town hall meeting during the campaign.Its been Trumps stance on immigration, specifically with Mexico, that has appeared to be in conflict with Frances efforts. France has pushed for increased diversity, and was outspoken on his desire to remove the Confederate flag from NASCAR events.Asked Sunday about Suarezs championship in comparison to his support of Trump, France cut off the question from NBCSports.com.Ill stop you right there, he said. First of all, nobody wants to hear my political views. Not one person on this stage wants to hear from me politically. So I wont be talking about that.But on my diversity, nobody, nobody in this company, has worked harder, done more and resourced it better than me. I founded the Diversity Council. I fought for every single thing that makes sense, because thats my core belief about diversity. Its very, very important. I talk about it frequently, and my efforts there should never be challenged, no matter what my political views might be. Thats a ridiculous thing to do.France was prickly about several other topics and sweating profusely under the lights of the Homestead-Miami Speedway dais.He argued that the sport is healthy, even though Sprint is ending its 13-year association as title sponsor after Sundays race. NASCAR has had nearly two years to replace Sprint, but no sponsor has been named. In recent days, Monster Energy has emerged as a possible front-runner for the title rights.Its taken a little longer than I thought, but its also a big agreement and an important agreement, France said. Its not just dollars and cents, but its a fit for us. We dont want to announce anything certainly around this weekend. Were in a good spot with that, I believe, but well have to see how it finally plays out.France also downplayed the decline in television ratings -- eight Chase races have been down double-digits this season -- but France doesnt think the elimination-style playoff format is to blame. He noted ratings declines in all major sports and that consumption has shifted. For example, France said, he watched a Duke basketball game in a highlight package on his laptop rather than watch the game live on television.While some fans have pointed to the Chase for the championship system as a reason they no longer watch races, France believes the format now used in all three national series is best for the sport.Were very pleased with the formats. Wouldnt change a thing, he said. Go back a year ago for the Xfinity Series ... you had the winner and the champion and a couple others talk about all they needed to do was finish the race. `If I ran 30th, Ill be OK. 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LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- The IOC has disqualified a silver medal-winning Turkish weightlifter from the 2008 Beijing Olympics for doping with an anabolic steroid.The IOC says Sibel Ozkan, who placed second in the womens 48-kilogram class, tested positive for stanozolol in recent re-tests of her urine sample.The 28-year-old Ozkan has been ordered to return her medal and faces being banned by the International Weightlifting Federation.Bronze medalist Chen Wei-ling of Taiwan is seet to be upgraded to silver, and fourth-placed Im Jyoung-hwa of South Korea could get bronze.ddddddddddddarlier Friday, the IOC announced new results from reanalysis of doping samples of the 2008 Olympics and 2012 London Olympics, including 23 medalists from the Beijing Games.A total of 98 failed tests have now been detected from the stored samples. ' ' '