HOMESTEAD, Fla. — NASCAR’S Kyle Weatherman has debuted a new paint scheme for the Dixie Vodka 250 held this weekend in Homestead, Florida.
The 47 car has a large American flag with a blue line painted across the hood of the vehicle that shows support for police. It also has “Back the Blue" painted on it, CBS Sports reported.
His team called it #ThinBlueLine paint scheme, USA Today reported.
Weatherman’s car was announced after Bubba Wallace drove a car that had “Black Lives Matter” painted on it, CBS Sports reported. The two slogans were in similar locations on each car.
Weatherman nor his team said the “Back the Blue” scheme was in response to Wallace’s design, USA Today reported.
The Washington Post reported that “Blue Lives Matter” or the “Thin Blue Line” flag was a slogan and symbol of law enforcement, other first responders and their supporters in the response to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Despite the flag being carried by white supremacists and neo-Nazis next to Confederate flags at violent demonstrations in Charlottesville in 2017, one manufacturer of the flag said at the time it only stands in support of law enforcement, not an association with racism or hatred, the Post reported.
It had been banned in 2019 from being flown at county buildings and police stations in Montgomery County, Maryland. County Executive Marc Elrich (D) said at the time, “the flag provides a symbol of support to some but it is a symbol of dismissiveness to others," the Post reported. Other cities have also banned police officers from wearing “Blue Lives Matter” symbols, KTVU reported.
In addition to the car driven by Wallace, who is the only African-American driver in NASCAR’s top-flight Cup Series, the group also took the step to ban any display of the Confederate flag at NASCAR events and properties, The Washington Post reported.