Earnhardt is a longtime opponent of the modern display of the Confederate flag at NASCAR events. He wrote in his 2001 autobiography "Driver #8" about his experience being asked about the flag in a Q&A at Richmond International Raceway (now Richmond Raceway) the previous year. "I think it means something different to me than it does to y'all..." he responded. He has distanced himself from race fans who display the flag, explaining, "It never really was me." In 2006, Earnhardt told Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports: "We live in a country where you can speak freely and do as you may. I don't know (if) what that flag stands for is the same for me as it is the guy who might have it flying out there. I am not going to agree with everything everybody does all my life. So I don't have any control over it." Following the Charleston church shooting in 2015, Earnhardt told reporters: "I think it's offensive to an entire race. It does nothing for anybody to be there flying, so I don't see any reason. It belongs in the history books and that's about it."