NASCAR Needs To Compromise On Confederate Flag Issue

By Brian Thornsburg | Jul 4, 2015

There are two things you need to do when you have a problem. Realize exactly what the problem is and fix the problem once it is discovered. That is exactly what NASCAR needs to do after asking fans not to bring the Confederate Flag to racetracks, effectively alienating a crucial part of their audience in the process.

Should fans be allowed to show their southern heritage at tracks? Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

While it seems like NASCAR has indeed found the problem and fixed it, all it really did was create a bigger problem for The Motorsports giant. What is that problem you may ask? Well, according to NASCAR fan demographics, NASCAR has not only alienated a huge chunk of their audience by doing this, they have also seemingly issued this ban for no reason whatsoever.

Looking at the demographics for NASCAR, which I pulled from brentsherman.com, it states that although minorities account for 18 percent of the NASCAR audience, only 8 percent of that audience is African American. Furthermore, another demographic presented by brandongaille.com, states that 27 percent of African-Americans are less likely to watch NASCAR then their Caucasian counterparts.

Looking at the other side of these demographics, it is stated that 40 percent of NASCAR fans are from the south. While that doesn’t mean that all 40 percent would be in favor of The Stars and Bars, it certainly shows that NASCAR’s decision is sure to anger and alienate a good chunk of their loyal audience.

According to the brandongaille.com survey, African-American fans count for only two percent of the entire fan base. That’s a huge contrast from the 94 percent Caucasian audience that the demographic page states. While some may be thinking that I’m suggesting that NASCAR ignore their smaller fan base in favor of their larger one, I’m not. I am only saying that by doing this, NASCAR runs the risk of making their core audience very angry with this kind of decision.

The problem here, in my opinion, is overreaction. NASCAR anticipated that fans, media outlets and social justice groups would be angry with the sport if they did not remove the flag after the tragic church killings in Charleston South Carolina. This led NASCAR to quickly announce the ban at all race tracks before anyone could call them out for not doing so.

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Think about it.

Did anyone say that NASCAR needed to institute this ban? Did any fans come out of the woodwork and say they were uncomfortable with the rebel flag being displayed at race tracks and in the infield? The answer to this is no. No one is feeling excluded by this flag. No one is feeling discriminated against by this flag. This is just NASCAR’s attempt at being politically correct and trying to keep the sports door open to people of other nationalities and walks of life.

The only problem with this is, that NASCAR is effectively trying to protect one of the smallest demographics of their fan base. No, that doesn’t mean I think NASCAR should just consider their core audience instead, I just believe NASCAR should have a better alternative that are positive for all fans.

Now that we have looked at the problem with what NASCAR has done by asking fans to turn in their flags for an American flag, let’s look at some solutions that NASCAR can do to help remedy this. First off, the flag should be banned from the stands of racetracks, since flags in general seem likely to be a nuisance while watching a race.

As for the infield of a track, the southern flag should be able to fly as free as it wants to without being taken down. If you are someone of a different nationality then most of the fan base is, then you know what you are getting into when you want into the infield of any given racetrack.

Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

Honestly, that would be like going to a gay pride rally and getting angry that the rainbow flag somehow offended you. While this might seem like I’m suggesting that fans of other nationalities should just suck it up, I’m really not. I honestly haven’t even heard one example of a rebel flag ever being a problem at a NASCAR race. If it became a problem, then NASCAR should take appropriate action.

While it shouldn’t be a problem to display a rebel flag in the infield of a race track, I believe flying the flag on Television is a vastly different thing. The world is still struggling to recover from the mass shooting at the historical Charleston church and NASCAR should indeed take note of that without hurting their fan base in the process.

What I mean by this, is that when NASCAR is doing their usual shots of the infield and the stands during the race, camera personnel should make a conscious effort not to display images that have the rebel flag on them. This will help NASCAR continue to grow their multicultural audience without alienating the ones they already have.

Also, pre-race shows and other before race activities should not show the flag as well. This way, NASCAR is continuing to establish a welcoming environment for race fans on broadcast television, while still catering to their fans at the race track. It’s a nice compromise and I think it would work very well if NASCAR decided to institute it.

Let’s be honest here. NASCAR is a sport that is deeply rooted in the south and will always continue to be. This is a sport that was created when moonshiners were trying to make their deliveries and would have to outrun the cops down the backwoods streets of southern towns everywhere. That’s not going to change and asking NASCAR’s core audience to change or hide their heritage is ridiculously foolish.

In today’s society, we should have compromises like the one I’ve given above. Sure, it’s not perfect. It alienates multicultural fans in the infield and censors long time race fans from displaying their flag on television or in the stands, but it honestly seems better than the solution that NASCAR has chosen to go with right now.

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