NASCAR bans Confederate flags at all races, events
Ahead of its Cup Series race Wednesday night in Martinsville, Virginia, NASCAR said it is banning the flying of Confederate flags at its races and other events.
“The presence of the Confederate flag at NASCAR events runs contrary to our commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all fans, our competitors and our industry,” NASCAR said in a statement on its website.
“Bringing people together around a love for racing and the community that it creates is what makes our fans and sport special. The display of the Confederate flag will be prohibited from all NASCAR events and properties.”
This week, driver Bubba Wallace, the first full-time African American driver in the Cup Series since 1971, called for NASCAR to go further than 2015, when it asked fans not to bring the Confederate flags to races.
“No one should feel uncomfortable when they come to a NASCAR race. It starts with Confederate flags,” Wallace said. “Get them out of here. They have no place for them.”
Initially, Confederate flags did not bother him, Wallace said, but after educating himself he sees how uncomfortable it makes people.
“There’s going to be a lot of angry people that carry those flags proudly but it’s time for change,” he said.
At a race Sunday, Wallace wore a “I Can’t Breathe” T-shirt in solidarity with protesters around the world who have been calling for justice in the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died at the hands of Minneapolis police.
Wallace plans to race a Black Lives Matter paint scheme on his car Wednesday night on a track where he had success as a driver in the trucks series.
Wallace, 26, became the first African American driver since Wendell Scott (1963) to win an event sponsored by NASCAR when he won a trucks series race at Martinsville in 2013.
Martinsville is one of the tracks where Confederate flags are often seen in the parking lots and campgrounds, but Wednesday’s race will have no fans. NASCAR won’t allow limited numbers of fans in the grandstands until Sunday at the Cup race in Homestead, Florida.
NASCAR was formed in 1948 and runs three national series — Cup, Xfinity and trucks.
