A view of American and Confederate flags seen flying over the infield during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts at Kentucky Speedway on July 11, 2015 in Sparta, Kentucky.
Texas Motor Speedway president and CEO Eddie Gossage released a statement Wednesday supporting NASCAR's decision to ban the confederate flag at its events.
"Texas Motor Speedway is, and always will be, a place where everyone is welcome and included," Gossage said. "The family atmosphere that exists in the motorsports industry is second to none. We support NASCAR in its position on the confederate flag and will work together to remove it from our events and our sport."
In 2015, former NASCAR chairman Brian France decided to ask fans to stop displaying the confederate flag but stopped short of fully banning the Civil War symbol. But angered fans did not heed the request.
On Wednesday, the racing league said the presence of the flag doesn't serve to bring racing fans together and said it will now be prohibited at all sanctioned events and properties.
NASCAR has not yet addressed how it will enforce the ban.
NASCAR will make its return to Texas Motor Speedway July 18-19 after the coronavirus pandemic delayed the season for four months.
Sports Connection
Connecting you to your favorite North Texas sports teams as well as sports news around the globe.
While fans haven't been allowed at any NASCAR races yet this season, it remains to be seen if fans will be allowed at TMS in Texas, where Gov. Greg Abbott allowed stadiums to open up to fans at 50% capacity.
IndyCar raced at TMS without fans earlier this month.
A limited number of fans will be able to attend races later this month at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida and Talladega Superspeedway and Alabama, which will be the first tests over the confederate flag ban.
