“We will be as aggressive as possible to disassociate NASCAR events from an offensive and divisive symbol,” France said. “We are working with the industry right now to achieve that goal.”

NASCAR’s earlier statement had indicated it would not act when it came to fans flying the flag on their own at races.

It said Tuesday that NASCAR “recognizes that freedom of expression is an inherent right of all citizens.”

Saturday’s statement seemed to show France’s thinking on the flag issue has been taken a step further.