The Sons of Confederate Veterans bills itself as an organization dedicated to preserving the history and legacy of the citizen-soldiers of the Confederacy who fought in the Civil War. Lately, though, it has seemed that the group's primary goal is to ensure that the Confederate battle flag remains a feature of popular culture, most especially on specialty license plates issued in a number of states.

Earlier this year, the SCV succeeded in getting Georgia officials to approve a specialty license plate for the organization that more prominently features the Confederate battle flag, which forms the basis for the group's logo. Similarly, in a Texas case, a federal appeals court ruled in July that the state couldn't ban the sale of an SCV specialty plate including the Confederate flag.

Apparently not satisfied with those developments, though, the Sons of Confederate Veterans has turned its sights on stock-car racing, claiming in a recent press release that the declining attendance at NASCAR races is a direct result of NASCAR distancing itself from the Confederate battle flag.

In support of its position, the SCV relies in part on a 2012 NASCAR decision not to have the General Lee appear in a parade lap at a race. The General Lee is the Dodge Charger from the old TV series "The Dukes of Hazzard." The car featured a Confederate battle flag emblazoned on its roof. The SCV release quotes a NASCAR spokesman as saying then that the "image of the Confederate flag is not something that should play an official role in our sport as we continue to reach out to new fans and make NASCAR more inclusive."

The SCV news release then reaches back a couple of more years, quoting another NASCAR spokesman as saying, "We don't condone ... putting the flags out, the Confederate flags. That is not something that we think is good for the sport, candidly."

From there, the SCV goes on to say that "... NASCAR's continued attack upon the Confederate battle flag and Southern heritage symbols appears to be having unintended consequences, not the least of which is that it appears that it is NASCAR racing, itself, that seems to be dying away."

It's true enough that NASCAR "seems to be dying away," but that's about all that the SCV gets right in its press release. The reason that NASCAR is having difficulties with its fan base is, in fact, far simpler than the SCV's postulation.

NASCAR is losing ground with its fan base solely for market-driven reasons. Put plainly - and I'm speaking here from a fan's perspective - NASCAR's product is declining in quality, while at an average of $92, its ticket prices - particularly in today's lackluster economy - are prohibitive.

Over the last several years - and again, I'm speaking from a fan's perspective - NASCAR has "evolved" to the point that its fans are now "treated," with some few exceptions (Darlington Raceway and road course racing chief among them) to watching cookie-cutter drivers piloting cookie-cutter cars around cookie-cutter speedways. As a result, after attending two Darlington races within just the last few years, I'm now not at all motivated even to watch NASCAR on television. And I'm far from alone among stock-car racing fans.

So, much as the SCV would like to hang NASCAR's troubles with its fan base on what is an admittedly uneasy relationship with the Confederate battle flag, the truth is that NASCAR isn't falling victim to the forces of political correctness; it's falling victim to the forces of the market.