Confederate flags have been common at Nascar racetracks for decades, with fans often flying them above their motor homes along with American flags and banners of their favorite drivers. Nascar, with its predominantly white Southern fan base, has always tolerated the presence of the flag at its races even after banning it from official use.
But now the wave of opposition to the Confederate flag that has swept across the country since the June 17 attack that left nine people dead at a church in Charleston, S.C., has given Nascar an opportunity to try to rid the sport of the flag once and for all.