NASCAR reverses stance on racism: "we thought it meant race car driving"

Confederate flag at a NASCAR event in South Carolina.

NASCAR has reportedly reversed its stance on racism in its leagues. "We've known about the racists in our league for a long time, and we just thought it meant people who race, but now we understand that we are mistaken," said a spokesperson for NASCAR.

The change in course comes days after NASCAR received intense scrutiny for investing $7.4 million over the last two decades in "race studies" and "race sciences" firms.

"We swear we thought it meant something different," says NASCAR president Steve Phillips.

“How can we be held liable for every dollar we spend? We try to do our due diligence but at the end of the day it’s just not possible to ensure no money is inadvertently spent furnishing racism. I mean, look at Walmart.“

Charges against NASCAR include their longstanding unwillingness to ban use of Confederate symbols by fans and drivers. The fifth most commonly used race car number in NASCAR is 88, a racist dog whistle for white supremacy.

Phillips shrugs off the suggestion. "The number 88 is the racing number of Ralph Earnhardt. The popularity of car 88 has nothing to do with race and everything to do with the culture of racism," Phillips paused, "or 'race car driving', if that's what you want us to call it."

"Of course it's racist, we're all racists", says NASCAR fan Cleetus Barnes, who says he flies a confederate flag on the back of the truck he drives to every NASCAR event. "They wouldn't call it racism if it wasn't about race. I was born a racist, and I'll die a racist."

According to Oxford English Dictionary, "racist" is a term historically used to describe NASCAR drivers and general race enthusiasts alike since the genesis of NASCAR.

“It’s really easy to understand the mix-up when you better understand the history of NASCAR”, says Phillips, “it’s just rooted in racism, and some how along the way they changed what racism means.”

This isn't NASCAR's first stumble into the public spotlight. Last month, the company was in hotwater after an internal memo soliciting female employees for "racy" photos was leaked.

However, it’s not all bad news for NASCAR. According to Phillips, they did manage to get out ahead of some of the controversy: “We’re just glad we went with ‘race cup series’ instead of ‘race wars’”.