P R E S S R E L E A S E

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 14, 2025

RACECAR DRIVER’S HARASSMENT STORY SPARKS NATIONAL INVESTIGATION IN MOTORSPORT ORGANIZATION

LOS ANGELES, CA, August 14, 2025 — A grassroots racecar driver’s decision to publicly share months of harassment has prompted NASA (National Auto Sport Association) headquarters to open an investigation — while the regional chapter at the center of the controversy remains silent. In a four-part video series that has generated over 700,000 views so far, SayoHaraishi laid out a detailed timeline of harassment and repeated targeted online abuse from a burner Instagram account that targeted her between late 2024 and July 2025. In April 2025, the abuse escalated when the account referenced a private conversation inside the NASA NorCal race control tower between Race Director, co-founder and former CEO Jerry Kunzman, Haraishi’s racing coach, and Haraishi — and included remarks of a sexual nature. Within 24 hours of Haraishi posting her first public statement on July 27, the account was deleted entirely.

NASA’s national office, which says it was unaware of the harassment until her public post, has since confirmed it will investigate. They clarified that NASA National and NASA NorCal are separate entities, but acknowledged that Jerry Kunzman, who is at the center of the controversy, still owns one-third of the national organization. NASA National stated the investigation will proceed without his involvement — though it will not be conducted by an independent third party.

To date, NASA NorCal officials including Jerry Kunzman and Robert Kinley, Chief Operating Officer of NASA NorCal, have not contacted Haraishi directly, despite being tagged in all four videos.

“Motorsport should be safe and inclusive for everyone,” said Haraishi. “When leadership ignores serious concerns, it sends a message that this kind of behavior is acceptable. That’s not the future I want for this sport.”

The full four-part series — including screenshots, emails, and a documented timeline — is available on Haraishi’s Instagram.

“This isn’t about hurt feelings,” Haraishi said. “It’s about accountability and making sure this kind of abuse of power and negligence doesn’t happen again in motorsports.”