© John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Tuesday afternoon NASCAR released a statement that the FBI has concluded their investigation into an apparent noose found in Bubba Wallace’s garage, saying the driver was not the victim 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,” the statement reads. “This was obviously well before the 43 team’s arrival and garage assignment.”
U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp, Jr. released their own joint statement that clarified their findings.
“The FBI learned that garage number 4, where the noose was found, was assigned to Bubba Wallace last week,” it stated. ” 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.”
After the Geico 500 at Talladega was postponed due to rain on Sunday, someone found what looked like a noose in Bubba Wallace’s garage. Before the race on Monday afternoon, drivers and pit crew members pushed Wallace’s car to the front of the grid in an emotional show of support for the only full-time Black driver in NASCAR’s top circuit.
NASCAR looked into the incident with the help of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“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 welcome and inclusive environment for all who love racing.”
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 23, 2020
NASCAR says it will continue to investigate “to try to determine why there was a rope fashioned into a noose, which obviously happened sometime last October or before” per NASCAR president Steve Phelps.
