NASCAR's move to ban the Confederate flag from being displayed at its race events has once again been thwarted by a protest group.
Bristol Motor Speedway hosted the series' All Star race on Thursday and a small plane was seen towing the flag over the race course during the buildup to the event.
The sighting is the second of its kind after the flag was previously towed above a race in June at Alabama's Talladega Superspeedway.
Last month a banner towed alongside the flag also bore the message "Defund NASCAR" - a play on the "defund the police" slogan of some protesting racial injustice - while this time it included a website URL related to a group called Sons of Confederate Veterans.
Speaking to the Columbia Daily Herald in June, the commander in chief of the Tennessee-based group, Paul C. Gramling Jr. said, "It is the hope of the Sons of Confederate Veterans that NASCAR fans will be allowed the fundamental American right of displaying pride in their family and heritage. We believe NASCAR's slandering of our Southern heritage only further divides our nation."
NASCAR in June banned the flag at its events, but protesters at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama paraded past the main entrance waving them from their vehicles.
President Donald Trump has criticised NASCAR for banning the Confederate flag, blaming the decision for the sport's "low ratings," although TV ratings for NASCAR have been up since racing resumed.
