Bubba Wallace Pushes NASCAR To Ban Confederate Flags At The Track

Bubba Wallace is ready for change. NASCAR is, too, after stopping cars on track prior to the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway to address protests happening throughout America.

NASCAR President Steve Phelps went over the radio with all 40 cars stopped on the frontstretch to say that NASCAR “must do better.” Then, a 30-second moment of silence took over what is usually a place full of noise to make fans, drivers and teams realize the impact of George Floyd’s untimely death.

Now, Wallace, NASCAR’s only African American competitor, is advocating for change more than ever before. Wallace appeared on CNN late Monday evening, discussing the sport’s issue of allowing fans to have Confederate flags.

“No one should feel uncomfortable when they come to a NASCAR race. It starts with confederate flags,” Wallace said in an interview with Don Lemon. “Get them out of here. They have no place for them.”

The issue of banning Confederate flags at NASCAR races made headlines in 2017. NASCAR made plenty of its traditionally conservative southern fans uncomfortable following the Charlottesville riots.

The sanctioning body offered fans a chance to swap their Confederate flags for American ones. At the time, then-NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France straight up called Confederate flags an “offensive symbol.” But since then, Confederate flags have still waved throughout the infields and parking lots of NASCAR tracks.

Now, though, is the time to ban Confederate flags from appearing at any NASCAR facility.

“There’s going to be a lot of angry people that carry those flags proudly but it’s time for change,” Wallace said. “We have to change that, and I encourage NASCAR to have those conversations to remove those flags.”

Wallace has been outspoken over the past two weeks about his role in the NASCAR community as the sport’s lone African American racer. He’s appeared on NASCAR Race Hub and on the Dale Jr. Download to discuss how difficult the road to equality truly is.

On the Dale Jr. Download, Wallace shared that his cousin, 18-year-old Michael Brown, was shot by police in 2003.

“I was running around the gym with all the other brothers and sisters there, and all of a sudden, I hear a scream — like the worst scream that you’d want to hear,” Wallace said on the podcast. “Not like a somebody-scared-you scream, like something bad had just happened. And I look over and I see my mom running out the door, and we had just found out my cousin had been shot and killed by a police officer. Unarmed.”

Wallace had a simple message on CNN for those who believe they should still be able to bring Confederate flags to the track.

“Get back on the road where you came from,” Wallace said.

Just hours after Wallace appeared on CNN, Sports Business Journal reporter Adam Stern said NASCAR is indeed considering a permanent ban on Confederate flags.