Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon throw support behind growing movement to remove Confederate flag from the grounds of South Carolina State House.

SONOMA, Calif. — Two of NASCAR’s biggest stars expressed support Friday for NASCAR’s stance this week on removing the Confederate flag from the South Carolina State House grounds.

Four-time Cup series champion Jeff Gordon and NASCAR’s most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., said they agreed with NASCAR’s support this week of the efforts of South Carolina Republican Gov. Nikki Haley and others to remove the flag.

A national groundswell of support for removal of the flag has grown since last week’s shooting deaths of nine black members of the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. The suspect in the case embraced Confederate symbols before the attack, posing with the rebel battle flag.

“As far as the Confederate flag, I think that … I know how we approach it at Hendrick Motorsports and that is everything that we can control. We have eliminated the ability to use it in any way or it show up in any of the things that we are involved with,” Gordon said at Sonoma Raceway. “I think that is the stance I see that NASCAR has taken.

“To me, I’m in support of what they are doing. It’s a delicate balance. We race all over, but the South is an area where we have a lot of fans. Everyone has different opinions and expression of that.”

Earnhardt was more succinct.

“I think it is offensive to an entire race,” he said. “It really does nothing for anybody to be there, flying. It belongs in the history books, and that’s about it.”

NASCAR bars the flag symbol in any official NASCAR capacity.

PAGENAUD TAKES INDYCAR POLE

FONTANA, Calif. — The Southern California heat did nothing to slow Team Penske.

Simon Pagenaud earned his second career IndyCar pole and teammate Helio Castroneves finished right behind him, giving Team Penske the top two spots in qualifying on a hot Friday afternoon at Auto Club Speedway.

“It’s awesome to get the opportunity to run up front on ovals,” Pagenaud said. “Team Penske and Chevy are giving me the opportunity to do so. The car feels great.”

The Fontana race had been at night and was the season finale each of the past three seasons, but a date change threw a wrench into car setups and driving conditions on the 2-mile oval.

Though there was cloud cover and smoke from nearby wildfires, temperatures were in the low 90s for Friday’s qualifying, making it more essential for drivers to find the right seams on the track.

“It’s very slippery when it’s hot, becoming very challenging,” said Castroneves, a three-time pole winner at Fontana. “Even when you have several lanes to go, the car just wants to go one way. And that’s the biggest one, trying to find your lines without having any huge moments.” Pagenaud was one of the first drivers to go out and he posted a two-lap average of average of 218.952 mph to earn the pole for today’s 500-mile race (3 p.m., NBC Sports).

“In terms of performance, we’ve been so strong all season and my guys have not been rewarded yet,” Pagenaud said. “It’s good for them to get a red hat and enjoy it tonight, then get back to work tomorrow morning.”

Juan Pablo Montoya finished fifth in qualifying, behind Marco Andretti and Ed Carpenter, to give Penske five of the top six spots.