NASCAR Fans Ignore Request To Leave Confederate Flags At Home

Lydia O'Connor
Updated
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - JULY 03: A fan holds a Confederate flag during practice for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Subway Firecracker 250 at Daytona International Speedway on July 3, 2015 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) (Photo: )
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - JULY 03: A fan holds a Confederate flag during practice for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Subway Firecracker 250 at Daytona International Speedway on July 3, 2015 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) (Photo: )

Confederate flags flew in full force at NASCAR's Coke Zero 400 race last weekend despite event officials asking fans to keep the controversial banner away from the event.

While several major retailers stopped carrying the flag after a white gunman apparently obsessed with the racist symbol allegedly slaughtered nine black churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina, earlier on June 17, Florida’s Daytona International Speedway and 29 other NACAR racetracks stopped short of an outright ban and asked fans to voluntarily keep them away from future events.

At the Coke Zero 400 race in Daytona this weekend, the first NASCAR race since the shooting, event officials also implemented an optional exchange in which attendees could trade in their Confederate flag for an American one.

daytona confederate
daytona confederate

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Many fans passed on NASCAR's offer. According to the Associated Press, "dozens" could be seen flying in the stands.

"It kills me that NASCAR is jumping on the bandwagon," attendee Paul Stevens told the AP. "They should just let it pass, let everything die down. But NASCAR is too quick to try to be politically correct like everybody else."

Other fans reiterated the oft-heard argument that the Confederate flag is a point of Southern pride, not racism.

daytona confederate
daytona confederate

"It's just our heritage and our Southern way of life. And it makes us happy when we're able to show something that represents us," attendee Jason Clark told First Coast News, adding that he's flown the Confederate flag at the Daytona race for 25 years. "People with the Confederate flag are not just going to give it away."

Going forward, NASCAR might be less flexible. Daytona speedway president Joie Chitwood hinted to ESPN that he may consider imposing a ban.

"[Banning it] is definitely an option that we have to look at, but also understanding the nature of our event, and when you have people that actually have purchased tickets, they're attending and in terms of policies that are in place when they purchase their tickets -- all those elements come into play," he said. "We want to do what's right. But we have to be thoughtful and have a good plan to get there where it's appropriate for everyone."

Bree Newsome of Charlotte, N.C., removes the Confederate battle flag at a Confederate monument at the Statehouse in Columbia, S.C., on Saturday, June, 27, 2015.
Bree Newsome of Charlotte, N.C., removes the Confederate battle flag at a Confederate monument at the Statehouse in Columbia, S.C., on Saturday, June, 27, 2015.
Police surround the flagpole flying the Confederate battle flag at a Confederate monument at the Statehouse in Columbia, S.C., on Saturday, June, 27, 2015 as Bree Newsome of Charlotte, N.C. climbs the pole to remove the banner.
Police surround the flagpole flying the Confederate battle flag at a Confederate monument at the Statehouse in Columbia, S.C., on Saturday, June, 27, 2015 as Bree Newsome of Charlotte, N.C. climbs the pole to remove the banner.
Bree Newsome of Charlotte, N.C., climbs a flagpole to remove the Confederate battle flag at a Confederate monument in front of the Statehouse in Columbia, S.C., on Saturday, June, 27, 2015.
Bree Newsome of Charlotte, N.C., climbs a flagpole to remove the Confederate battle flag at a Confederate monument in front of the Statehouse in Columbia, S.C., on Saturday, June, 27, 2015.
Workers raise the flag at a Confederate monument in front of the Statehouse in Columbia, S.C. Saturday, June, 27, 2015.
Workers raise the flag at a Confederate monument in front of the Statehouse in Columbia, S.C. Saturday, June, 27, 2015.
Bree Newsome of Charlotte, N.C., right, is taken into custody after she removed the Confederate battle flag from a monument in front of the South Carolina Statehouse in Columbia, S.C., on Saturday, June, 27, 2015.
Bree Newsome of Charlotte, N.C., right, is taken into custody after she removed the Confederate battle flag from a monument in front of the South Carolina Statehouse in Columbia, S.C., on Saturday, June, 27, 2015.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.