ROWAN COUNTY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY ENWS) — The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office has served additional warrants on a local race team owner for a sex offender violation.
The RCSO’s Sex Offender Unit said on Friday, Aug. 25, they received information from the Guildford County Sheriff’s Office last week concerning Joel Richard Courage.
Courage, who is a registered sex offender in Guilford County, was recently charged by the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office on several sex offender registry charges.
During their investigation, it was discovered Courage owns a race team in Rowan County, E33 Motor Sports, located at 2295 London Road, that employs several minors as drivers.
The race team helps find and develop young drivers for growing NASCAR and International Motor Sports Association Teams, authorities said.
During the investigation on Courage and E33 Motor Sports, detectives discovered that Courage was supervising multiple minors on his race team. The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office obtained warrants on Courage charging him with the offense of ‘Sex Offender Employment Violation.’
The Rowan County warrants were served on Courage by the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday, August 24. He was released after posting a $25,000 secured bond.
According to the North Carolina Sex Offender Registry, Courage was convicted in February 2008 for 11 sex crimes with a minor in Sacramento, California.
Courage has been indefinitely suspended from NASCAR, authorities said.
