IndyCar has cut ties with its NTT Series flagman after a Facebook post circulated Thursday morning in which he criticized NASCAR’s recent moves to allow protesting during the national anthem and banning the Confederate flag.
An IndyCar spokesperson confirmed to NBC Sports that Brad Hockaday had been relieved of his duties Thursday. The spokesperson said Hockaday was a part-time and seasonal employee who worked in the flag stand for IndyCar’s June 6 season opener at Texas Motor Speedway.
Hockaday had worked with IndyCar since the 2017 season. He also has worked with other racing series (including as a race weekend official for ARCA) and owns a company in Kannapolis, North Carolina, that provides timing and scoring, scoreboards, radios and flags to the motorsports industry.
In a Facebook post (that apparently was deleted or since made private but was shared in an IndyCar thread on Reddit), Hockaday called on short tracks to pull their NASCAR sanctions because of recent policy moves by the stock-car governing body.
Hockaday didn’t respond to requests for comment.
NBC Sports reported Wednesday that NASCAR recently had updated its guidelines for the national anthem, allowing for kneeling as official Kirk Price did at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
NASCAR announced late Wednesday afternoon that it was banning the display of the Confederate flag from all of its events.