Pro golfer Bubba Watson recently purchased his 'dream car' in the form of the General Lee from the hit TV show The Dukes of Hazard for $110,000 at the Barrett-Jackson automobile auction. Being a professional golfer has it's perks like that.
Bubba is also close friends with NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin, and was recently invited by the Phoenix International Raceway to be the honorary race official at the Sprint Cup race there on March 4, and cruise a lap in General Lee before the start of the event. But apparently NASCAR forgot about the giant confederate flag on the roof of the car...
Sorry to say @nascar won't let me drive The General Lee at the @PhoenixRaceway !!! #dreamcrushed
— bubba watson (@bubbawatson) February 15, 2012
Yeah, even though confederate flags abound in Southern states to this day, many see it an an offensive symbol that shouldn't be on display. Obviously NASCAR are some of those people.
The car is named after Confederate General Robert E. Lee from the Civil War, and even though the car itself is a pop culture icon, the possible PR backlash is too much for NASCAR not to err on the side caution when it comes to public correctness.
For more on NASCAR, head over to NASCAR Ranting and Raving and SB Nation's NASCAR hub.