Tia Norfleet NASCAR Career a HOAX? [PHOTOS]: Bobby Norfleet's Daughter Lies, Exaggerates 'First Female African-American' Racing Title

A few years ago, popular drag and stock car racer Tia Norfleet told Sporting News that she was on her way towards becoming the first female African-American driver in NASCAR history. On her official website, the 24-year-old daughter of NASCAR legend Bobby Norfleet claims that she's an accomplished racecar driver who plans on racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series this year. But according to recent reports, Norfleet's impressive NASCAR bio is a total hoax - well, sort of...

According to a New York Times report published on March 6, Norfleet is not even licensed to compete in NASCAR... and the avid promotion of her promising racing career has some NASCAR officials confused.

Back in May 2011, Norfleet told Sporting News that she planned on making her NASCAR debut later that year with hopes of paving the way for other African-American women to race. "That's one of the things I want to change," Norfleet told SN's David Steele. "We want to bring a different light to NASCAR. You ask the average person, black, what NASCAR is, and they say, 'You drive around in a circle, and that's it-so what?' Well, they don't see anyone there they recognize, or that they can identify with."

Norfleet has told her story to a number of other credible tabloids including the Washington Post and Huffington Post. But according to the Times, it's all false.

A recent press release distributed by Norfleet's representatives Platinum Sports Entertainment Group claims that she is the first and only African-American female driver in NASCAR and ARCA (another professional auto racing club). Norfleet's website TiaNorfleet34.com makes similar claims, with reports that she's planing to race in the 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series. But according to the Times, Norfleet is not evn licensed to compete in either NASCAR or ARCA -  the only NASCAR-sanctioned event she has competed in was in a low-level event last year at the Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, VA (she completed just one lap before parking). Norfleet has only bought licenses to compete at minor local and regional events, which aren't regulated by NASCAR. Not only is Norfleet not approved to race in the 2013 Nationwide Series, she may not even be qualified. 

"I am uncomfortable with Tia representing herself in the way that she has," Marcus Jadotte, NASCAR's vice president for public affairs and multicultural development, told the Times. "Ms. Norfleet is one of thousands of individuals who have purchased licenses in the Late Model Division of our sport. I am uncomfortable with attempts Ms. Norfleet and her representatives have made to forgo the sport's development process."

NASCAR currently runs a Drive for Diversity program, designed to help develop minority drivers (including Darrell Wallace Jr.).  But according to NASCAR officials, Norfleet was never invited to participate in the program. Her father (Bobby Norfleet) did participate in the truck series in the early '90s.

The Augusta, GA native also has a "secret" criminal record in Georgia and Virginia - she was found guilty in 2005 and 2009 of assault and drug-related offenses.

In response to such hoax allegations (which the Times compares to the recent Manti Te'o scandal), Norfleet said, "I've been racing in non-sanctioned races before. I've been racing forever. For as long as I can remember. I race in non-sanctioned races."

Norfleet also tweeted:

@TiaNorfleet: "I'm not going to let a biased, smear campaign stop me. I've been dealing with this type of obstruction since I got my license back in 2010."

And:

@TiaNorfleet: "Just as a state issued license, there not just handed out! You take a test, pass it, and last but not least pay for it!!"

So what do Mstars readers think - is Norfleet's promising NASCAR career truly a hoax, or at least maybe an exagerated fabrication?