Two days after Bubba Wallace called for NASCAR to ban all Confederate flags at racetracks, the organization did just that.
NASCAR communications put out the following statement Wednesday:
“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. 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.”
The move comes amid social unrest around the globe following the death in police custody of George Floyd, an unarmed black man in Minneapolis. Protests have roiled the nation for days and Confederate monuments are being taken down across the South — the tradtiional fan base for NASCAR.
Wallace, the circuit’s only black full-time driver, had told CNN Monday: “My next step would be to get rid of all Confederate flags. No one should feel uncomfortable when they come to a NASCAR race. So it starts with Confederate flags. Get them out of here. They have no place for them.”
Wallace, who drives the No. 43 car for Richard Petty Motorsports, recognizes his position will not sit well with some people.
“There’s going to be a lot of angry people that carry those flags proudly, but it’s time for change,” he said. “We have to change that, and I encourage NASCAR — we will have those conversations to remove those flags.”
Wallace, a 26-year-old native of Alabama, said he wasn’t always bothered by seeing Confederate flags.
“What I’m chasing is checkered flags, and that was kind of my narrative,” Wallace said. “But diving more into it and educating myself, people feel uncomfortable with that, people talk about that — that’s the first thing they bring up.”
When asked whether he thought his opinion on the Confederate flag was unpopular, Wallace said he sees it as something on which the sport must take a strong stance.
“We should not be able to have an argument over that,” he said. “It is a thick line we cannot cross anymore.”
NASCAR’s next race is Wednesday night at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia. Richard Petty Motorsports announced Tuesday that Wallace would drive a car with a Black Lives Matter paint scheme in the race to promote racial equality.
The flag issue has been a thorny one for NASCAR. Former chairman Brian France in 2015 tried to ban the flying of Confederate flags at race tracks, angering many fans.
NASCAR did not address how it would enforce the policy or indicate any penalties for fans who violate it by bringing the Confederate flag to the track. NASCAR has not raced with fans since the sport resumed last month amid the pandemic and was expected to have minimal fans allowed at races this month in Florida and Georgia.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.