Grant paints picture of 'ignorant' NASCAR culture

Mauricia "Mo" Grant spent nearly three years as a race official in the Nationwide Series , working for NASCAR as the only African-American female in such a role. Now she's at the center of a $225 million lawsuit filed against the organization, in which she alleges sexual and racial discrimination, sexual harassment and wrongful termination. She claims she was called demeaning names, subjected to sexual advances -- including two male co-workers allegedly exposing themselves to her -- and made the brunt of graphic and lewd jokes.

In her first face-to-face and most extensive interview since the lawsuit became public, Grant, 32, spoke to SI.com this week about some of the background of the suit. During the two-hour, sometimes emotional interview (including an animated discussion about last week's NASCAR race at Michigan ), her passion for the sport was evident.

Some have said you "set NASCAR up" while employed there in order to file this lawsuit. What is your response to that?

"I can't believe people would say that. I worked really hard to get where I was. I studied hard, I passed exams, I did a good job. I was a good official."

How did you first become involved in NASCAR and the racing scene in general?

"I moved to Los Angeles after college and worked as a temp at different studios. I did some advertising, but I would always be staring out the window and wanting to be outdoors, outside, out of the corporate office environment. I wanted to do something with my hands, and I knew I wanted to peel off the work suit and do something cool. So I decided to go and get training at the Urban League Automotive Training Center [in L.A. ]. I knew that I didn't want to start at the bottom, in any type of oil changing capacity -- I wanted to start at the top. So, I aimed to work in a major league motorsports environment. And NASCAR was it.

"I was already interning at Irwindale Speedway [in the Fall of 2004]. They ran me ragged, but it was fun, it was Saturday racing. Saturday night racing. We got there before the sun rose, and worked all day on inspecting the cars, qualifying practice, all in one day. It was a one day show. The head inspector there taught me everything. And all the guys there were very happy to have some young, ambitious intern who wanted to learn everything and who worked hard. It was hard to leave."

You joined NASCAR in January 2005. When did you feel like you first experienced discrimination?

"It was a couple of months in, after the honeymoon period wore off. People started to get a little loose with their language; I can't think back to specific charges, but it was a pretty loose environment. I've been talking to some of my friends since the [lawsuit] story hit, and a lot have called and said, 'Remember the time you told me this? Remember the time you told me that?' And I'll say, 'Oh, wow, I forgot about that. And these are instances from 2005, and I didn't start documenting until 2006. There's a lot more that happened we don't have in the lawsuit, simply because I didn't start documenting it."

What made you start documenting things?