The sport of NASCAR rallied around Bubba Wallace Monday after a supposed noose was found hung in his garage the day before the Gieco 500 at Talladega.
The hate crime came shortly after Wallace, the only black driver in the sport, lead a charge to have the confederate flag, almost synonymous with the sport and the majority of its fanbase, banned from all races and events.
Before the opening lap on Monday, drivers from each team helped push Wallace’s #43 car to the front of the race in a tear jerking moment of solidarity, where he would eventually go on to finish 14th overall.
Only problem? There was no hate crime and there was no noose.
After an FBI investigation was launched to figure out of origins of the noose, it was determined Tuesday that the noose was no more than a pull rope for the garage door that had been in the same place since late 2019.
The news was announced via NASCAR’s social media accounts.
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 23, 2020
Here’s the statement the FBI released revealing its findings:
The below photo shows what was thought to be the noose hanging from the same garage in November of last year, with it being in the same spot (having been cut down after it was discovered over the weekend) on the right.
Another photo from years past shows the pull rope fashioned similar to a noose in another stall.
