Confederate Flags to Fly at Daytona

NASCAR fans who flock to Daytona International Speedway over the July 4 weekend won’t have to leave their Confederate flags at home. They can, however, trade them at the door for shiny new American flags.

That’s the word from track officials as the Subway Firecracker 250 and Coke Zero 400 prepare to race into town July 4 and July 5, respectively.

The speedway has taken the official stance that it’s just too late in the game to change its policy regarding the Confederate flag for the holiday weekend’s event. Even so, officials say they are reexamining the flag policy, according to ESPN.

“We want to be inclusive to everyone, and the last thing you want is for anyone to come to a sporting event and really not enjoy that experience because of symbols that really represent things we’re not proud of,” speedway president Joie Chitwood told the network.

While the Confederate flag can still fly over Daytona this weekend, NASCAR chairman Brian France has gone on the record saying he wants to “eliminate the presence of that flag,” according to the Huffington Post. “We’re working with the industry to see how far we can go to get that flag to be disassociated entirely from our events.”

See Also:

• Leaving the Confederacy Behind: Is It Time?
• Look Who Will Pay Legal Fees for ‘Hero” Who Removed Confederate Flag

NASCAR’s moves come on the heels of the deaths of nine black churchgoers in Charleston, S.C. The accused shooter in that case, which has been deemed a hate crime, has been associated with the Confederate flag. Backlash against the symbol has torn through the country with renewed calls to have the flag removed from public spaces throughout the country. An activist in South Carolina even scaled a flagpole to remove the Confederate flag from public view.

In Florida, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor is calling for the removal of a statute of a Confederate general’s statute from the U.S. Capitol. She’s say the image isn’t representative of the Sunshine State.

The backlash has even reached the entertainment industry with TV Land pulling reruns of the once popular television show “Dukes of Hazzard.”

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