Hundreds of NASCAR fans, dozens of Confederate flags at NHMS – WMUR Manchester

Hundreds of NASCAR fans traveled to Loudon, New Hampshire, for the 5-Hour Energy 301 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race, and dozens of Confederate flags were on display.

As controversy mounts over the Confederate flag, New Hampshire Motor Speedway is offering fans the chance to turn in their Confederate flags for a free American or racing flag this weekend.

But Kristen Lestock of NHMS said the speedway and other NASCAR tracks are not banning the Confederate flag, but asking fans to keep the flags at home.

“The entire NASCAR industry understands the controversial nature of the confederate flag, and so what we are simply doing is just asking that we provide a fan friendly experience for all of our guests and making sure that everybody feels comfortable,” Lestock said.

But Lestock said Saturday that no one has taken advantage of the exchange program yet.

“We have not had anyone come through the speedway gift shop as of yet and exchange any flags, no,” Lestock said.

To some, the Confederate flag symbolizes slavery and a dark era in American history. But for others, the right to fly the flag is protected by the freedom of speech.

“I don’t care. It’s a flag. If we take down one, we’re going to take them all down,” said Ashley Lasher of Cohoes, New York.

Last month, NASCAR chairman Brian France called the Confederate flag an “insensitive symbol” and said he wants it eliminated from NASCAR events.  

Despite that flags, shirts, and even a corn hole set brandishing the Confederate flag can be found in Loudon. Some items are being sold at vendors outside the speedway.

Inside the track campgrounds, fans like Lise Gagner of St. Albans, Vermont, say they have the right to display the Confederate flag.

“It has nothing to do with the history. It has nothing to do with the north and the south. It’s really just freedom of expression and freedom of speech,” Gagner said.

This month, the Confederate flag was removed from South Carolina’s capitol grounds after nine people were shot and killed in Charleston, South Carolina, in an allegedly racially-motivated act of terrorism. Pictures surfaced, showing the man accused in the shooting posing with the flag.

But some fans say the flag has nothing to do with racism.

“We don’t fly it because we want to offend them or we don’t fly it because our view is different from theirs. It’s just really our right to express ourselves in our own way,” Gagner said.