The checkered flag has been waving at Daytona International Speedway for decades.
It’s the symbol that represents everything great about American motorsports.
But Ron DeSantis just declared war on this racing tradition with one shocking decision that has NASCAR Nation furious.
Florida wipes out racing tradition overnight
Florida Department of Transportation crews showed up at Daytona International Speedway around 7:30 PM on Tuesday with paint and brushes.
By Wednesday morning, they had erased one of NASCAR’s most beloved symbols.
The iconic checkered flag crosswalks outside America’s most famous racetrack were gone – painted over with boring white stripes that look like every other generic intersection in Florida.
These weren’t just any crosswalks.
For years, hundreds of thousands of NASCAR fans took pictures at these intersections during the Daytona 500, the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and the Rolex 24.
It was a celebration of racing culture right in the heart of NASCAR country.
When Speedway officials unveiled the design in 2021, they said it was a way to “share the racing excitement just ahead of the start of NASCAR’s season right here in its hometown of Daytona Beach.”
Now it’s gone because some bureaucrat in Tallahassee decided checkered flags are too dangerous for drivers to see.
The real story behind DeSantis’s war on crosswalks
Here’s what this is really about – and it has nothing to do with safety.
DeSantis has been on a crusade to paint over decorative crosswalks across Florida, and it started with the rainbow crosswalk near the Pulse nightclub memorial in Orlando.
That move generated national headlines and angry pushback from local residents who kept repainting it.
So now DeSantis’s team is going after every decorative crosswalk in the state to avoid looking like they’re specifically targeting Pride symbols.
The checkered flag crosswalks at Daytona became collateral damage in DeSantis’s political maneuvering.
At a press conference in Tampa, DeSantis tried to justify this overreach by claiming Florida won’t use roads for “messaging.”
“The Florida legislature passed a law that was very clear … we’re not doing the commandeering of the roads to put up messaging,” DeSantis said.
But since when is celebrating NASCAR considered political messaging?
DeSantis picks the wrong fight with the wrong fans
Look, here’s what DeSantis doesn’t understand about the mess he just created.
NASCAR fans aren’t your typical government-loving crowd – these are people who appreciate tradition, freedom, and telling bureaucrats where to stick their regulations.
And now DeSantis just told them that checkered flags are somehow dangerous.
Local residents are already calling this move ridiculous.
“I think it fits the area well. The racetrack’s here, it’s good,” Kyle Plain told reporters. “It never distracted me, but I think the checkered flag looks good in the road with the racetrack right here.”
https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1958583393714667572
Charles McDowell, another Daytona Beach resident, was equally baffled: “I really don’t understand what’s a big deal, you know?”
The Florida Department of Transportation claims decorative crosswalks “can distract drivers and pose safety risks.”
Really? Checkered flags are distracting to drivers in the city that hosts the Daytona 500?
That’s like saying American flags are distracting in Washington, D.C.
The Trump factor nobody’s talking about
You want to know what makes this even more politically stupid for DeSantis?
Donald Trump loves NASCAR – he’s appeared at Daytona races, he understands the culture, and NASCAR fans are a huge part of his base.
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy – who Trump just appointed – issued guidance requiring roads to be free of “political messages.”
But Duffy’s directive was clearly aimed at stopping cities from turning crosswalks into political billboards.
It wasn’t meant to wipe out local traditions that celebrate American culture.
DeSantis is using Trump’s policy to attack symbols that Trump voters actually love.
This is the kind of tone-deaf bureaucratic overreach that drives regular Americans crazy.
The checkered flag isn’t a political statement – it’s a celebration of American motorsports in the city where NASCAR was born.
If DeSantis thinks he’s going to build a presidential campaign by declaring war on NASCAR tradition, he’s about to learn a hard lesson from some very passionate fans who don’t forget when politicians mess with their sport.
¹ Michelle Vecerina, “FDOT paints over Daytona’s iconic checkered crosswalks amid state directives,” Central Florida News, August 27, 2025.
² Jim Abbott, “State paints over checkered flag crosswalks at NASCAR headquarters in Daytona,” Daytona Beach News-Journal, August 27, 2025.
³ James Tutten, “Crews remove checkered flag crosswalk at Daytona International Speedway,” WFTV.com, August 27, 2025.
⁴ FOX 35 Digital Staff, “FDOT orders Daytona Speedway checkered crosswalk painted over in safety crackdown,” FOX 35 Orlando, August 26, 2025.
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Author: rgcory
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