NASCAR President On Bubba Wallace: Noose, Concern ‘Was Real,’ But I Should Have Said ‘Alleged’

During a conference call with reporters on Thursday following the release of the findings of an FBI investigation, NASCAR President Steve Phelps stressed that the rope “fashioned like a noose” found in African-American driver Bubba Wallace’s garage and concern that Wallace was the target of a hate crime “was real.” While he stressed that very “real” concern, he also suggested that NASCAR should have been more cautious in its initial announcement about the “noose.”

“Upon learning of and seeing the noose, our initial reaction was to protect our driver,”  Phelps said on the call Thursday, as reported by AFP. “We’re living in a highly charged and emotional time. What we saw was a symbol of hate and was only present in one area of the garage and that was of the 43 car of Bubba Wallace.”