(AP Photo/John Raoux)

(AP) -- A sign at the entrance to Daytona International Speedway warned spectators the Confederate flag was not welcome on property. Its presence, NASCAR wrote, "runs contrary to our commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment."

Pass through the tunnel and onto the sprawling grounds and not a single Confederate flag was flying over the campsites. If any had been smuggled in, they weren't displayed to be easily spotted over two weeks of racing at Daytona as the stock car series kicked off its season.

NASCAR half-heartedly tried in 2015 to ban the Stars and Bars from its events, but that first effort lacked a meaningful enforcement plan. Five years later, pushed by the only Black driver during a summer of national unrest, NASCAR t ook its firmest position in its 73-year existence.

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