Last Updated on June 23, 2020
NASCAR racer Bubba Wallace appeared on CNN Tuesday night in order to double down on his claim that the garage pull down rope in his garage was a “noose,” despite the FBI and NASCAR debunking this publicly, releasing their statement on Twitter.
Wallace appeared on CNN Tonight with Don Lemon and doubled down on his claim that a noose was left in his garage at the Talladega Superspeedway, claiming that he was victim to a racially motivated crime.
“I’ve been racing all my life, we’ve raced out of hundreds of garages that never had never had garage pulls like that,” said Wallace. “From the evidence that we have, that I have, it’s a straight up noose.”
Wallace went on to claim that “The FBI stated that it was a noose over and over again,” and claimed that NASCAR backed up this claim.
In reality, NASCAR released a statement, quoting the FBI, saying that the “garage door pull rope was fashioned like a noose,” and there was no actual noose in the garage.
“I can confirm that I actually got evidence of what was hanging in my garage, over my car, around my pit crew guys, to confirm that it was a noose,” Wallace went on despite this information. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
"I've been racing all of my life, we've raced out of hundreds of garages that never had garage pulls like that. … It's a straight up noose."
Bubba Wallace to Don Lemon. pic.twitter.com/HnJYpbPrlZ
— Jordan Heck (@JordanHeckFF) June 24, 2020
The FBI specifically stated that Wallace was not the victim of a hate crime, nor was a noose placed in his garage with racially motivated intent.
“The FBI learned that garage number 4, where the noose was found, was assigned to Bubba Wallace last week,” the statement continues. “The investigation also revealed evidence, including authentic video confirmed by NASCAR, that the noose found in garage number 4 was in that garage as early as October 2019. Although the noose is now known to have been in garage number 4 in 2019, nobody could have known Mr. Wallace would be assigned to garage number 4 last week.”
The FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office made the “decision not to pursue federal charges is proper after reviewing all available facts and all applicable federal laws,” and offered thanks to “NASCAR, Mr. Wallace, and everyone who cooperated with this investigation.”
Wallace previously boasted about being the “only” driver “from an African American background” at the “top” of NASCAR, and told his followers that they’re “not gonna stop hearing about ‘the black driver’ for years.”
“Accept it and enjoy the journey,” Wallace added.
There is only 1 driver from an African American background at the top level of our sport..I am the 1. You're not gonna stop hearing about "the black driver" for years. Embrace it, accept it and enjoy the journey..
— Bubba Wallace (@BubbaWallace) November 8, 2017
