Ray Ciccarelli, a NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series team owner and driver, announced this week that he intends to step away from the sport after NASCAR banned the Confederate flag at races.
Ciccarelli, who owns CMI Motorsports and serves as a part-time driver of the No. 49 Chevrolet Silverado, published a post on his Facebook page this week saying that he intends to retire from stock car racing at the end of the 2020 season and cited NASCAR’s recent ban on displaying the Confederate flag at races and NASCAR-owned properties as his reasoning.
Ciccarelli is far from a prominent NASCAR Truck Series competitor. He contested 18 races over the span of three years and recorded a best finish of ninth at the 2019 Corrigan Oil 200 at Michigan. He failed to qualify for this year’s NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona, which is the only Truck Series event he has contested so far this year. He plans to race in this Saturday’s Baptist Health 200 from Homestead-Miami, though it’s unclear if CMI Motorsports plans to contest any further races in 2020 before his alleged retirement.
NASCAR banned the Confederate flag this week following widespread protests over racial injustice, inequality and police brutality. The series’ full statement on the matter is as follows:
“The presence of the confederate flag at NASCAR events runs contrary to our commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all fans, our competitors and our industry. Bringing people together around a love for racing and the community that it creates is what makes our fans and sport special. The display of the confederate flag will be prohibited from all NASCAR events and properties.”
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Comments
Congratulations, i wish all drivers had the courage and would threaten to quit in protest, I am not a racist and think we all want to live in harmony, but by banning freedom of speech or expression is not the way to go. We are the land of the free not communist China
This isn’t banning freedom of speech. It a private company refusing service to all individuals that display a flag found offensive by a large part of the population. This is actually a very capitalist thing to do because nascar may lose some fans, but they’re going to gain a bunch more new fans. Since it is still a free country, people can still have their little civil war participation flags, they’ll just have stay off of Nascar property.
This guy is a clown anyways. 0 wins, basically no following/fans. Nobody will miss or even remember this guy. Maybe just a publicity stunt, since nobody knew who he was to begin with.
Lol, voluntary lose your career because you can’t have a flag of a nation that fought against America. In his next race elsewhere he’ll have the choice of Nazi Germany, North Veitnam, USSR, Imperial Japan or Islamic Afghanistan flags on his car…
I don’t think he will be racing anymore after the failure that was his racing career.
Folks who downvoted don’t get it. The south LOST. They started a war with the US and LOST. You don’t get to catch an L and the fly your flag proudly. That should go to all the statues that are still being displayed proudly throughout the nation. Those guys were traiters. You don’t see Germany proudly flying the Nazi flag.
There have been many wars and battles. There are always winners and losers. Yet, a lot of those that lost wars and battles are still around and get to fly their flags proudly.
Ok, Karen. I think the series will survive without you.
Another instance of stupidity and propaganda in mainstream media and sports. Anyone who can read could find that there is a lot more than slavery connected to the Confederate flag, in fact slavery was only a part of the war and had nothing at all to do with the beginning of the war. I don’t fly the flag by my own choice but I have put my life on the line in service to this country in order for our citizens to have the FULL FREEDOMS provided by the Constitution of the United States of America and that includes flying any damn flag you choose,where you choose! What nascar is doing here is discriminatory and only shows ignorance and intolerance! Whether you agree with the flag or not does not matter one iota! I don’t have to agree with you about anything at all but even if I don’t agree with you, I’m still willing to stand on that line and proudly defend your right to display any flag you choose. And as for taking a knee during the Anthem, it’s in protest of some pretty terrible things that are going on in the government and not myself nor any of those whom I have served with have any problems with those who kneel, it has nothing to do with the Anthem other than being a medium in which the protesters are more visible and not one other military member I have spoken with has felt any disrespect due to it, on the contrary, most of us applaud the people of America everywhere who are willing to fight for justice in whatever way they can. Just something to think about… May God bless each of you and heal the hearts of hatred 🙏💯
So the Civil War started over States rights, what was the main states right the south went to war over?……..
BTW it’s ok to fly the British Empire flag next to ours and sing “God Save the Queen” next to the SS Banner right?.
Lmao!
According to the definition of Free, Yes, you could do just that, and do it while wearing a Kilt and playing a Drum with wooden spoons, you are well within your Rights to do so.
This is a money thing plain and simple. Today’s Nascar needs big corporate sponsors. Those sponsors will pull out if there’s a chance of backlash against their companies products. They’re publicly traded companies and responsible to their shareholders. It is what it is. Nascar as we’ve known it can’t exist without big money. I see this as a last ditch effort to save something that was already on life support anyway. I still enjoy watching old races where the cars were actually something from the showroom and all of the engines were something you could actually buy. Today’s cars are all the same and pretty boring.
This will further diminish their fan base though. They’re screwed either way. Lose the money to support the enterprise or lose the the fans which in turn will cause the whole thing to collapse anyway.
Yes , the brave new world. The Confederate flag means nothing to me. The same applies to that multi coloured rainbow flag . BUT , on the one hand a few people are forcing their will onto others. Some idiots refer to Hitler , Nazi Germany , perhaps North Korea will be next. All while flying gay , lesbian , Venezuelan , etc flags all over the place. Those very same idiots will scream RACIST for no reason , force you to follow their and only their ways , and if not …..
This guy is just making a statement doing this.
and now these sons of b****** of NASCAR want to go after our 2nd amendment rights, f*** NASCAR period, i will never watch that product again.
The reason so many people have different reasons for the war is because it was a. War fought for many reasons depending on who you were and where you lived.
The basis for the war starting was slavery and states rights. Yes both were in play.
Now for individuals they fought because they were drafted. Some were paid to fight for others in the North too. Some fought for slavery some for revenge.
In the south they were drafted and they fought for pride. Many fought for revenge as they lost farms and family. Ironically while some of the officers owned slaves most who fought and died were poor share croppers and just farmers.
Then at the end of the war Grant and Lincoln wanted to heal the country and let all go back to their farms. They were let have a horse and side arm.
So in a way the south may have surrendered but they were never defeated in their eyes.
They then went home and found much was destroyed and there was little industry to help them recover.
If Lincoln had lived I speculate the south would have been rebuilt. But once he died many took away most help and left the south in trouble for nearly 100 years to recover. This focused much hate to the blacks by some. Note I say some as not every southerner was a racist.
Anyways there were decades of bitter feelings as this was a family fight vs a global war.
The south over the years took offense for being held down black and white. This is why they embraced the flag as it was not a symbol of slavery to many but a symbol of defiance to the North.
There are many facets to this war and all Ned to be put into context to make sense of all the points of view.
Just a example of how things were. Jesse James went on his robbing of northern banks mostly due to revenge of his mother losing an arm due to a bomb a yankee planted on her farm.
The move Josie Wales this not an actual person but a composite of the animosity after the war. Many were killed and hunted after the war.
People fail to understand in the Civil war more Americans died than all the other wars we fought in combined. Nearly everyone suffered loss in some way.
So while most pick and choose their points there are generally many points left out in this argument as to why many fought in that terrible war.
If care is not taken there are some today that would destroy our country from with in if they can. With social media it could be done with out a shot.
So be careful what freedoms you waive. Even wrong freedoms need protected because someone may say what you believe could be wrong in their eyes and turn things for the wrong reasons.
Just about everyone has accepted the flag that looks like a mixed bowl of fruit salad, yet peeps get upset with a flag that really nothing but some fun and freedom to them! Besides Nascar sucks especially since they first stopped using real production cars second when they let Toyota in!
Nascar sucks and so does watching grown-ups play a game. You finally see the light. It is such a waste of a weekend watching better men perform at worthless games.
Now that all the conservative snowflakes have given up the NFL and Nascar, maybe you can spend some time at church or reading a book, bettering yourselves.
Just remember in North Korea you can’t display USA or South Korean flag or probably any other flag, is this where we want America to go
Just remember you can fly your rebel flag in the United States. Just not at private NASCAR events.
NASCAR isn’t a government.
Regarding the comments comparing the Rainbow flag to the Rebel flag; There’s a huge difference between the two. One is inclusive and the other is exclusive. That is exactly why one is deemed acceptable and the other is deemed offensive. It’s not that hard to figure out.
Why now????
Because only one, little known, third string driver said it offends him?
“Black Lives Matter” as a slogan offends me— it should be “ALL Lives Matter”
Who do I call to get the slogan changed?