NASCAR says it found noose in black driver’s garage

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) – The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) said it found a hangman’s noose in the garage of Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. — the sport’s only black driver in the Cup Series — during Sunday's Geico 500 at the Talladega Superspeedway in the state of Alabama.

"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," the association said in a statement.

An "immediate" investigation has been launched and the world's largest governing body for stock car racing vowed 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," said the statement.

On June 11, NASCAR banned the display of the Confederate flag from all of its events and properties after Wallace called for Confederate flags to be removed from NASCAR races.

The announcement came in response to nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd, a handcuffed, unarmed black man who died on May 25 in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota after a since-fired police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, despite Floyd's repeated pleas that he could not breathe.

Wallace wore a shirt with Floyd’s last words, "I Can’t Breathe," before a NASCAR race on June 7.

Wallace took to Twitter to blast the noose incident as a "despicable act of racism and hatred," saying it "serves as a painful reminder of how much further we have to go as a society and how persistent we must be in the fight against racism."

"Nothing is more important and we will not be deterred by the reprehensible actions of those who seek to spread hate. As my mother told me today, ‘They are just trying to scare you.’ This will not break me, I will not give in nor will I back down," said Wallace in the statement.

"I will continue to proudly stand for what I believe in."

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