A noose was found in the garage stall of Bubba Wallace, the only Black driver in NASCAR’s top circuit, at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama, on Sunday.
Wallace has been very outspoken in the last few weeks about the Black Lives Matter movement after George Floyd’s death and successfully pushed the stock car racing series to ban the Confederate flag at its tracks and facilities.
“Late this afternoon, NASCAR was made aware that a noose was found in the garage stall of the 43 team. We are angry and outraged, and cannot state strongly enough how seriously we take this heinous act,” NASCAR said in a statement. “We have launched an immediate investigation, and will do everything we can to identify the person(s) responsible and eliminate them from the sport.
“As we have stated unequivocally, there is no place for racism in NASCAR, and this act only strengthens our resolve to make the sport open and welcoming to all.”
Wallace addressed the noose incident in a Tweet (above) on social media saying that he was incredibly saddened by “today’s despicable act of racism and hatred” and that it serves as a reminder of how much farther we have to go as a society.
“As my mother told me today, ‘They are just trying to scare you,”’ he wrote. “This will not break me, I will not give in nor will I back down. I will continue to proudly stand for what I believe in.”
