NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Officials at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville say they're going to keep an eye out to see if a confederate flag controversy pops up there this weekend.
Their race this Saturday will be the first race since the debate about the confederate flag re-emerged.
Speedway officials say people usually don't bring rebel flags to the track in Nashville, but that was before the big debate over what should happen to the Confederate flag, following the church shooting in Charleston, S.C. last month.
Meanwhile, NASCAR has asked fans to leave their confederate flags at home, but several fans ignored that plea ths past weekend at Daytona.
NASCAR is not affiliated with Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville, but folks at the speedway say they just don't know what to expect Saturday. They say they'll have to gauge that before deciding whether to recommend a rule regarding the Confederate flag at the races.
“We'll look at the race Saturday and see,” said Buck Dozier, the director of Fairgrounds Nashville. “Since it's now become a problem [elsewhere], it seems, they'll be people probably reacting either way to it.”
“We may not see a symbol of a rebel flag [on Saturday], and then again, who knows, there may be hundreds of them in the grandstands,” said Tony Formosa, the race promoter.
The Metro Fair Commissioners Board oversees the fairgrounds and they would have the final say to any rule changes.
