It’s been around for as long as all of us have been. “People are disappointed that NASCAR has taken that stance. “They’re doing very well,” said the Helena, Alabama resident, who has been selling an array of wares at NASCAR races for 21 years. Ed Sugg’s merchandise tent flew them prominently in a display alongside Trump for 2020 banners and an American flag. Pickups truck with Confederate flags flying from the back tooled around Speedway Boulevard. But lines seemed to flow quickly and the sun was shining until about an hour before the race, when rain and lightning started.īathrooms had arrows directing patrons which way to enter or exit, and attendants lined the way holding signs urging them to “please wear your masks.” “That doesn’t sit well with all the good ole boys but it is what it is.”įans had to go through screening and wear masks to get in for the race, though a few were walking around inside without theirs on. “I don’t think there’s a place for it in NASCAR, to be honest with you,” the 32-year-old said. Radvansky, who started coming to Talladega in the 1990s when his father parked cars at races, applauded NASCAR’s decision to ban the Confederate flags.

It’s eerie,” said David Radvansky, 32, from suburban Atlanta, who brought his wife and boys, 3 and 6. But before the rain came, the scene was a dramatic departure from the Talladega norm.

The race was pushed back to Monday afternoon because of heavy rain and lightning. NASCAR hasn’t disclosed how it will handle fans flying flags. The Confederate flags that once flew openly around the infield and stands are still for sale across the street. Look up, and you might spot a plane pulling a banner of the Southern symbol, now banned from being displayed inside race tracks, with the words “Defund NASCAR”

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