Photo of alleged noose found in Bubba Wallace's garage stall surfaces online
A photo of the alleged noose that was found in Bubba Wallace's garage stall has appeared online, with NASCAR confirming that the photo features the rope in question.
After the rope was found by a Richard Petty Motorsports crewman, who notified Wallace crew chief Jerry Baxter. The discovery sparked an official investigation from NASCAR, as the FBI was called in to see if the rope was a noose. The FBI concluded that the noose had been in the stall as early as October 2019.
"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," NASCAR said in a statement Tuesday. "This was obviously well before the 43 team’s arrival and garage assignment. We appreciate the FBI’s quick and thorough investigation and are thankful to learn that this was not an intentional, racist act against Bubba."
Following the conclusion of the investigation, Wallace released a statement showing his relief and thanking NASCAR for its thorough work.
"It's been an emotional few days," Wallace wrote. "First off, I want to say how relieved I am that the investigation revealed that this wasn't what we feared it was. I want to thank my team, NASCAR, and the FBI for acting swiftly and treating this as a real threat."
NASCAR President Steve Phelps said that calling the FBI was justified.
"To be clear, we would do this again," he said. "Of the evidence that we had, it was clear that we needed to look into this."
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