Alt-right troll Jack Posobiec took a break from pushing debunked conspiracy theories to make a very stupid tweet. While he posted several photos from this weekend’s NASCAR race at Dover International Speedway, he clearly didn’t read the track’s policies on firearms.
Posobiec said terrorists never attacked a NASCAR race, because, well, insert stereotypes here:
Unfortunately, he is wrong.
You can’t bear arms at a NASCAR race. NASCAR explictly tells its fans to leave their guns outside the track. Here, for example, is Dover’s list of banned items:
YOU MAY NOT enter the Grandstands with ANY or the following:
- Any bag, backpack or container larger than described above
- Beverage tubes larger than 14″
- Glass containers
- Knives or firearms
- Umbrellas
- Strollers
- Fireworks
- Inflatables (beach balls, etc.)
- Laser lights and pointers
- Pets (except trained service animals that are leashed at all times
- Items that obstruct views
- Any other item the Dover International Speedway deems to be a safety or health risk
NO items may be left at the gate.
Just in case you thought there might be a loophole for those who camp out, the track’s RV policies also ban weapons, and the track reserves the right to search anything that comes in its gates.
In fact, I’ve had to to physically open up my bag at the gate to get into any race I’ve attended as a spectator so track staff can look for banned items—just in case.
Jalopnik has reached out to NASCAR to ask if there’s any standard security procedures from track to track [see update below], but in our experience, Dover’s list of banned items is pretty standard—especially the “no guns” part. Yes, even at races sponsored by gun-totin’ #brands like Duck Commander or the National Rifle Association.
While there may be a firearm or two locked away in a car in the parking lot, or even some that sneak through the gate in RVs, that’s a far cry from “all” NASCAR fans.
Besides, do you really want That Guy who’s had one too many Bud Lights to be packin’ heat? Probably not.
Members of the NASCAR community aren’t happy about Posobiec using their series alongside recent tragedies in his cry for attention, either. Fox Sports NASCAR reporter Alan Cavanna posted Dover’s policies on the matter in response:
A man claiming to be on public safety staff chimed in that even lower-series NASCAR events search spectators for banned items:
But perhaps the most biting response of them all was from Amy Earnhardt. When you get a “bless your heart” out of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s wife, you know you screwed up:
The one upside to this now-viral tweet is that it’s inspired millions of hilarious versions mocking its dubious conclusion:
Honestly, the idea that terrorists don’t like Nissans or cats makes more sense than Posobiec’s original tweet about NASCAR.
UPDATE: A NASCAR spokesman confirmed to Jalopnik that guns are banned from all of their race weekends. The series does not divulge specifics as to how they enforce that ban, only that NASCAR coordinates with local, state and federal authorities on their security policies for race weekends.
