Amid the pit crews and drivers listening to the national anthem before Sunday's NASCAR race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, one person stood out for kneeling.
Kirk Price.
A 49-year-old technical inspector, Price, who is black, transitioned into NASCAR through the Drive for Diversity program aimed at diversifying the sport.
"I believe in humble protesting," Price told The Charlotte Observer on Sunday.
The moment — showing Price, with head bowed his right hand in the air — was shared across social media.
“I fully respect the flag. I fully do,” Price said. “That’s not what the issue is here. The issue is African Americans being oppressed for so long under the flag.”
NASCAR doesn’t have a policy regarding the anthem, but owners in 2017 — in response to NFL protests — threatened to fire personnel who didn’t stand during the “Star-Spangled Banner.”
Before the race Sunday, NASCAR president Steve Phelps addressed the drivers and fans, saying that as a sport it “must do better” in listening so as to understand racism and racial injustice.
Bubba Wallace, the only African American driver on NASCAR's biggest circuit, wore a T-shirt with the words "I Can't Breathe."
“I’m just glad that I was able to show some type of support on the platform that I’m on,” Price told the Observer.
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