On Wednesday night, NASCAR announced that it’s banning the Confederate flag from all of their racing events. The decision was swift in response to driver Bubba Wallace’s call for the ban. NASCAR also announced they will allow protests during the national anthem, including kneeling. But, at least one driver is not having any of it.
NASCAR Truck Series Driver Quits Racing
Ray Ciccarelli, a 50-year-old NASCAR Truck Series driver, took to social media after the new NASCAR guidelines were announced.
He explained that it has been a “fun ride and dream come true” to race. But, he does not like the direction NASCAR is going. He sees it as submitting to social justice reforms from the left.
“I don’t believe in kneeling during Anthem nor taken ppl right to fly what ever flag they love,” he said, according to Fox News.
“I could care less about the Confederate Flag, but there are ppl that do and it doesn’t make them a racist all you are doing is (expletive) one group to cater to another and i ain’t spend the money we are to participate in any political BS!! So everything is for SALE!!”
RELATED: Bubba Wallace Demands NASCAR Ban Confederate Flags From Races: ‘Get Them Out Of Here’
NASCAR Bans Confederate Flags – Allows Anthem Kneeling
Ciccarelli made his move shortly after NASCAR announced they would ban the Confederate Flag:
“The presence of the Confederate flag at NASCAR events runs contrary to our commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all fans, our competitors and our industry. Bringing people together around a love for racing and the community that it creates is what makes our fans and sport special. The display of the Confederate flag will be prohibited from all NASCAR events and properties.”
NBC Sports reporter Dustin Long added, that “NASCAR eliminated the guidelines before last weekend’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
NASCAR official Kirk Price knelt during the invocation and raised a fist. Price, who served on active duty in the U.S. Army for three years, remained kneeling during the anthem while he saluted the flag.”
NASCAR official Kirk Price is believed to be the first competitor or official to kneel for the national anthem in the Cup Series. https://t.co/yed0jvHtFn
— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) June 8, 2020
Bubba Wallace Calls Flag Ban A ‘Powerful Move’
Bubba Wallace, the only black driver in the top level of NASCAR, described Price’s protest as a “powerful move.”
“If I would have seen it, I would have went there and stood next to him, kneeled next to him because it’s such a powerful move,” Wallace told CNN.
“A man, an incredible man, who has served our country, kneeling down. People think it’s disrespecting the flag and going against our military, and it’s definitely not.”
“I was so uneducated what the kneeling meant when it started but now reading about it and what it stands for … and I’m still doing a lot of learning myself, don’t get me wrong, I don’t know everything about what’s going on in the world but that’s what we are trying to deliver the message. Listen and learn to be able to better educate ourselves.”
RELATED: Go Behind the Scenes of NASCAR’s New Virtual Racing And Why Bubba Wallace Rage Quit
On Wednesday night, Wallace raced in a car that was adorned in a Black Lives Matter color scheme.
In case you missed @BubbaWallace’s post race interview ?@NASCAR | @NASCARONFOX pic.twitter.com/iV1FnPv5el
— Richard Petty Motorsports (@RPMotorsports) June 11, 2020
Before the race, Wallace was spotted wearing a shirt that read “I Can’t Breathe,” which has become a mantra for the Black Lives Matter movement.
.@RPMotorsports owner Andrew Murstein says that the team is planning to renew @BubbaWallace‘s contract for 2021.
?: ‘We plan on running Bubba in the famous 43 next year and hopefully for many years to come. … Bubba in his own special way is a great ambassador for the sport.’ pic.twitter.com/uoA1MHtIib
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) June 9, 2020
This morning, Wallace heaped more praise on NASCAR when he appeared on “Good Morning America.”
Bubba Wallace responds to NASCAR’s ban on Confederate flags: “Just really proud of the efforts of Nascar for stepping up and wanting to be a part of change.”@BubbaWallace@RobinRobertshttps://t.co/bfCqRmJxi1 pic.twitter.com/2LDMPm5uNW
— Good Morning America (@GMA) June 11, 2020
Submitting To The Left
Banning the Confederate flag is one thing, but NASCAR allowing drivers to disrespect the American flag by kneeling during the national anthem is quite another.
It’s sad to see NASCAR submit to the radically anti-America left in such a blatant way.
NASCAR may think it is doing something “noble” with this move, but in reality, all it is doing is alienating millions of conservative fans who will always love America, regardless of what leftists say.