NASCAR bans Confederate flag from its races, venues

DAN GELSTON

AP Sports Writer

For more than 70 years, the Confederate flag was a familiar sight at NASCAR races. Through the civil rights era right on through the season opener at Daytona in February, the flag dotted infield campsites and was waved in grandstands by fans young and old.

As the nation - and at last, NASCAR -- comes to grips with race relations in the wake of the death of George Floyd, it was time: The flag is no longer welcome in the stock car series.

NASCAR banned the flag at its races and all its venues Wednesday, a dramatic if overdue step by a series steeped in Southern tradi...