NASCAR will ‘eliminate’ Confederate flag’s presence at races

NASCAR will take further steps to distance itself from the Confederate flag, CEO and Chairman Brian France told the Associated Press Saturday.

Calling it an “offensive symbol,” France said NASCAR would “go as far as we can to eliminate the presence of that flag,” which is associated with bigotry and racism and frequently used as a symbol by white supremacy groups.

“Obviously, we have our roots in the South, there are events in the South, it’s part of our history like it is for the country,” France told the AP. “But it needs to be just that, part of our history. It isn’t part of our future.

“We want everybody in this country to be a NASCAR fan, and you can’t do that by being insensitive in any one area.”

France’s comments Saturday are a tougher stance than a NASCAR statement released earlier in the week.

On Tuesday, the sanctioning body supported South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s call to remove the Confederate flag from the state courthouse, but did not go as far to say it would work to prevent fans from displaying the rebel battle flag at its tracks. The flag is prevalent at NASCAR races throughout the country, but is more widely seen at events staged within the deep South.

What the Confederate flag symbolizes has come under scrutiny following the June 17 slaying of nine African-Americans by a white gunman inside a Charleston, S.C., church. Since Dylann Storm Roof was arrested and charged with the murders, several photographs of him with the flag while promoting racist viewpoints have emerged.

“That’s what we’re working on -- working on how far can we go,” France told the AP. “If there’s more we can do to disassociate ourselves with that flag at our events than we’ve already done, then we want to do it. We are going to be as aggressive as we can to disassociate ourselves with that flag.”