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Another big name shuns the Confederate flag.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR's most popular driver, told the Associated Press that the Confederate flag is "offensive to an entire race" Friday. Mr. Earnhardt spoke in support of South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley鈥檚 decision on Monday to remove the flag from the South Carolina Statehouse.

Earlier this week, NASCAR released a statement reiterating its stance on the Confederate flag debate.

In fact, for more than a decade, NASCAR has banned the use of the Confederate flag from appearing on race cars or any NASCAR-licensed merchandise.聽聽The Wall Street Journal notes that the motor-racing organization famously blocked pro-golfer "Bubba Watson in 2012 from driving the orange, Confederate-flag bearing car from 鈥淒ukes of Hazzard鈥� before an event at Phoenix International Raceway."

鈥淚've made my comments about the Confederate flag several times, and I stand behind NASCAR's stance to remove it," Earnhardt said. "I think if it's offensive to an entire race, it really does nothing for anybody to be there flying. It belongs in the history books, that's about it."

The flag has been a source of contention in recent weeks after a shooter killed nine black worshippers at a Charleston, S.C. church in mid-June. Dylan Roof, the suspect in case, had posed with the Confederate flag in several photos that were discovered only after the attack, prompting a national conversation on the role Confederate symbols play in today鈥檚 South.

This week, major corporations such as Apple, eBay, and Walmart have announced that the Confederate flag and its related symbols will be removed from their stores and websites. Yet the issue is particularly sensitive to NASCAR, a brand that, along with Walmart, has a wide target audience in the South.

"It's a delicate balance,鈥� said Earnhardt鈥檚 teammate Jeff Gordon. 鈥淲e race all over but the South is an area where we have a lot of fans and everyone has a different opinion and expression of that."

鈥淩acing used to be in the Southeast -- that鈥檚 where NASCAR lived and played and that鈥檚 where you had to go to see it,鈥� pit reporter Krista Voda told the International Business Times in 2014. 鈥淣ow NASCAR goes to every corner of the country and you find fans everywhere.鈥�

More than most sports, NASCAR heavily relies on older, white male fans, the New York Times reported. And many of them bring Confederate flags to NASCAR races. But a shrinking audience, exacerbated by the recession, has meant that audience base alone hasn鈥檛 been enough to keep the brand afloat. With hopes of reversing its declining popularity, NASCAR devised a five-year 鈥渋ndustry action plan鈥� in 2010 to attract a younger, more diverse audience.

But those efforts have paid only modest dividends. The Wall Street Journal points to a聽Luker on Trends-ESPN Sports Poll, which shows that the percentage of African-Americans identifying as NASCAR fans has stayed flat over the decade at 34 percent, while the percent of Hispanics has declined to 32 percent from 43 percent. Nielsen Scarborough data cited by NASCAR shows the number of multicultural fans has risen three percentage points since 2011.

But the Wall Street Journals also points to a possible path forward for NASCAR: