The American auto racing company NASCAR usually holds its Geico 500 NASCAR Cup Series in April or May. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the race was postponed from 26th April to 21st June. It was ultimately held at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama on June 22, 2020, due to delays by rain.
On the weekend before the race event, a noose was found on the garage of Bubba Wallace, an American professional stock car racing driver. The discovery of the noose on Sunday afternoon in Wallace's garage stall comes as the United States and NASCAR in particular, more squarely address America's systemic racism in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd. Wallace, the only Black driver in NASCAR's top circuit, has been an outspoken advocate of the Black Lives Matter movement and the corresponding protests against racism and police brutality. He has been seen with an "I Can't Breathe" shirt before one event and had even repainted his car with the phrase "Black Lives Matter". Notably, he also pushed NASCAR to ban the Confederate flag.
The 39 other drivers at the event stood in unison with their crews to march down the pit road as they pushed Wallace’s No. 43 to the front of the line, moments before the race. Workers even painted “#IStandWithBubba” on the infield grass before the race. The crowd watching the event had dwindled significantly from Sunday and up to 5,000 fans were allowed into Talladega making this the second race with fans since NASCAR returned from the pandemic-forced shutdown. It is worth noting that Confederate flags were nowhere to be seen inside the sprawling facility that would usually hold more than 80,000 fans with dozens of RVs lined up across the infield.
The FBI and US Justice Department were thoroughly investigating the discovery of a noose on in the garage stall of African-American race car driver Bubba Wallace. Their investigations concluded that NASCAR's Bubba Wallace was not a target of a hate crime. They report that no such federal crime had been committed in the process as the noose had been placed there last year during the fall, even before the drivers had been assigned for the race. Garage no. 4 was only assigned to Wallace last week.
Richard Petty Motorsports, which owns Wallace’s No. 43 car, said they were “grateful the findings conclude there was no direct threat” to the driver or others associated with his team.
NASCAR released the statement on the FBI investigation, “The FBI has completed its investigation at Talladega Superspeedway and determined that Bubba Wallace was not the target of a hate crime. The FBI report concludes, and photographic evidence confirms, that the garage door pull rope fashioned like a noose had been positioned there since as early as last fall. This was obviously well before the 43 team’s arrival and garage assignment. We appreciate the FBI’s quick and thorough investigation and are thankful to learn that this was not an intentional, racist act against Bubba. We remain steadfast in our commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all who love racing.”
Although the FBI has already concluded their investigation, NASCAR President Steve Phelps said the association's inquiry is still ongoing. "We're continuing our portion of the investigation to figure out why there was a rope fashioned as a noose," Phelps told reporters in a Tuesday evening press conference. The discovery of the noose stunned the stock car series as it takes an active position in a push for inclusion while distancing itself from its rocky racial history. The series first tried to ban the Confederate flag five years ago but did nothing to enforce the order.
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