The familiar scene of Confederate flags being waved by fans at NASCAR tracks could soon be a relic of auto racing’s good old roots.
Key points:
- The Confederate flag is considered by some to be a symbol of pride in the heritage of the Southern United States and a memorial to the American Civil War.
- However, it is widely associated with racism, slavery, and white supremacy.
- In 2015, NASCAR racing teams attempted to prevent fans from flying the flag, but many continue to do so at races.
Bubba Wallace, the sport’s only black driver, wants the stock car series with deep ties to the South to ban the flag from its properties and formally distance itself from what is for millions a symbol of slavery and racism.
There are signs that NASCAR is about to take that step.
As the nation grapples with social unrest following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, drivers, mostly white, have united for a video promoting social change.
A black NASCAR official took a knee before Sunday’s race near Atlanta in what could be a first for the series, and the governing body pledged to do a better job combating racial injustice.
Wallace, who wore a black T-shirt with the words “I can’t breathe, Black Lives Matter” during Sunday’s race, seized the opportunity and issued his most compelling comments yet on the topic of race and racing: “My next step would be to get rid of all the Confederate flags.
“There shouldn’t be anyone who feels uncomfortable coming to our events, having a good time with their family, who feels something special about something they saw, something they saw stolen,” Wallace told CNN.
Bubba Wallace is the only black driver in NASCAR’s elite, and he’s speaking out on racial issues. (AP: Brynn Anderson)
“No one should feel uncomfortable going to a NASCAR race. So it starts with the Confederate flags. Get them out of here. They don’t belong.”
Wallace came to the sport touted as something of a pioneer in a series that has long lacked diversity in the field.
He finished second in the 2018 Daytona 500, but had limited success and often required disparate sponsorship deals to continue racing.
His biggest role right now is as an agent of change: The 26-year-old Alabama native has brought the issue of race to the forefront of NASCAR.
“We want everyone to feel welcome at our events going forward,” said Daryl Wolfe, NASCAR executive vice president and chief sales and operations officer.
NASCAR has been more open in recent times to eradicating the Confederate flag.
Former President Brian France tried in 2015 to ban the flying of Confederate flags at race tracks, a proposal that was too broad to be implemented and angered NASCAR’s Southern fan base.
Not everyone obliged, and fans fiercely defended their Confederate flags and flew them on their RVs.
“Now it’s kind of like the fans are giving the finger,” NASCAR historian Dan Pierce said.
Social change is coming to NASCAR
But as Confederate monuments are toppled across the South and calls for social justice continue to resonate, those fans may have run out of time.
Wallace will make another statement when NASCAR returns to Martinsville Speedway in Virginia.
He drives a No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet with #BlackLivesMatter paint.
“I think it will say a lot about what I stand for,” Wallace said in a video on Twitter.
“We knew the Martinsville race was open, we didn’t have a sponsor lined up for it, and that sparked the idea of, why not run a #blackout car?”
The message is simple for Wallace: “All lives don’t matter until black lives matter.”
Wallace admitted, however, that he rarely gave much thought to the Confederate flag.
“What I’m looking for is checkered flags, and that was kind of my narrative,” Wallace told CNN.
Wallace is no longer silent. He has become NASCAR’s leader after Mr. Floyd’s death.
Mr Floyd, a black man, died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on Mr Floyd’s neck while Mr Floyd was handcuffed and saying he could not breathe.
Wallace’s fellow pilots followed his lead and broke with past protocols, where the slightest hint of irritation toward corporate sponsors often led to muted responses to societal problems.
“I think it’s one of those things that some of us ignore and don’t really think about or care about,” 2017 Cup champion Martin Truex Jr. said Tuesday.
“And then you hear someone like Bubba talk about it and what he thinks about it and it wakes you up a little bit. Yeah, I think NASCAR is going to do the right thing there.”
NASCAR was hit hard when driver Kyle Larson was fired in April after uttering a racial slur during a live-streamed virtual race. But the drivers have continued to move forward, ready to create what they hope will be a new legacy in the sport.
Two-time Daytona 500 champion Denny Hamlin said he would support NASCAR if it took a hard line on the Confederate flag.
“NASCAR is going to continue to make changes and I’m sure they’re going to think about what flags they want to fly in the infield,” Hamlin said. “If you look at all the trucks every weekend, they have American flags flying all over them. That’s what we salute when we sing the national anthem.”
Ryan Blaney, a close friend of Wallace, said he joined some of the “peaceful protests” in Charlotte, North Carolina, and also called for an end to the Confederate flag.
“Bring your 50-star flag (not the Confederate flag),” Blaney said.
NASCAR has traditionally avoided commenting or protesting controversial issues, but that could change. (AP: Brynn Anderson)
2012 Cup champion Brad Keselowski was more reserved: “I’m not going to tell people they have to get rid of it. It’s not my right either, but I certainly don’t salute it or respect it.”
Brad Daugherty, the only black team owner in NASCAR’s Cup Series, told The Associated Press he supports Wallace.
“After everything this country has been through in the last three months, I think Bubba Wallace’s idea of removing Confederate flags from NASCAR events is an idea whose time has come,” he said.
Earlier this year, the Marine Corps ordered all Confederate flags, stickers and similar items removed from bases. Will NASCAR be next?
“That hard core that may have waved the rebel flag has diminished dramatically in NASCAR,” Pierce said.
“I wouldn’t say it’s an expensive position for today’s fans who follow NASCAR.”
AP
