NASCAR team shows support for first responders with ‘Back the Blue’ car
MIAMI, Fla. (WJW) — One NASCAR team supported first responders with a new paint job on their team car during Saturday’s race in Miami.
Mike Harmon Racing (MHR) painted Kyle Weatherman’s car in a “Back the Blue” paint scheme which aims to support law enforcement officers.
The car features the “Thin Blue Line” and the “Blue Lives Matter” flag, which is most commonly associated with police. Officers are known to display the flag as a sign of solidarity.
MHR unveiled the a photo of the design on Twitter Saturday morning with a caption reading, “Mike Harmon Racing supports our LEO’s and First Responders, we THANK YOU for your service, sacrifice and dedication.”
Weatherman, who piloted the vehicle, also shared photos on Twitter.
He sported the car the #47 Chevrolet during the NASCAR Xfinity Series Hooters 250 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday.
He says there is “a lot going on in the world right now and I wanted to express that most first responders are good people. My uncle is a firefighter and he would do anything to help save lives.”
The MHR design comes just days after NASCAR issued a statement announcing the Confederate flag will be banned from “all NASCAR events and properties.”
Bubba Wallace, the only full-time African American driver in NASCAR’s Cup Series, recently said NASCAR should ban the flag at its properties and formally distance itself from what for millions is a symbol of slavery and racism.
“My next step would be to get rid of all Confederate flags,” Wallace said after last Sunday’s race.
At that race he sported the “Black Lives Matter” slogan on his car and wore a black T-shirt with the words “I Can’t Breathe.”
**Watch the video above for more on Wallace’s reaction to the Confederate Flag ban.**
Both Wallace and Weatherman’s cars follow a nationwide string of protests and rallies in response to the death of George Floyd, as well as several other African Americans who died in police-involved incidents.
Floyd died in Minneapolis police custody on Memorial Day after an officer put his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than 8 minutes. The officer, Derek Chauvin, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder.
The three other officers at the scene — Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao — were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. All four were fired.